Posted by: Chris Vannini on October 10, 2012

Mark Dantonio is feeling a sense of urgency.

But that's no different than any other week. With the Spartans having a young team and the halfway point reached, Dantonio was asked at his weekly press conference about no more excuses when it comes to youthful mistakes. The pressure is there, but that's the case with anyone.

"Everywhere in America right now, every college football team feels a sense of urgency," he said. "We've always felt a sense of urgency. If we were 6-0 or 5-1, there would still be a sense of urgency. If you look, somebody's gaining on you, and that's sort of the way it is. You know you need to stay ahead of everything, whether it's what you do week to week, or whether it's a potential injury, how it affects you, or the potential shortness in the depth area. That's where we're at.

"We just need to continue to play through the storm. That's sort of where we're at. Right now, we're in a little storm. We were in a little storm last year at this time. Just play through the storm and weather the storm, whichever you pick."

At the homecoming game this weekend, MSU will add Biggie Munn's and Duffy Daugherty's names to the Spartan Stadium Ring of Fame. The two coached for all of MSU's six claimed national championships in the most successful era of MSU football in the 1950s and 60s. Dantonio has been big on Spartan history, and made sure to reflect on their accomplishments at his weekly presser.

"When you look at what the two have combined to do, six national championships," Dantonio started. "Really, Biggie brought us into the Big Ten Conference. He had the first African American quarterback to play in the Big Ten Conference at that point in time way back. And Duffy certainly brought us into what I would say and most people would say the modern era of football in the '60s, fully integrated MSU, did a tremendous job recruiting the South and everywhere else, really.

"We just want to celebrate their accomplishments and really welcome their families back to Michigan State and make it a big thing for all of us. There are so many players that have been through here that have such a great respect and high regard for those two coaches."

The Spartans host Iowa this weekend. Below are some of Dantonio's press conference comments.

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Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com