After a trip to the College Football Playoff last season, Mark Dantonio's Michigan State squad is sitting at 2-7, and no one is more disappointed than the leader of the Spartans.
On Sunday, searching for answers after their seventh straight loss to Illinois, Dantonio did a survey of sorts with players where he asked them to measure their level of commitment, their level of confidence in their coach, position coach, and how confident they are in his leadership.
"I asked our players to measure their level of commitment this week on Sunday night, level of confidence in their coach, position coach and head coach."
"I then sort of had a town hall meeting with each position group to get things out on the table, just to make sure there’s open lines of communication, to make sure that we can identify the problems," Dantonio went on to explain in a video posted to WLNS.com.
"When I asked our football team, I think most people know the problems. I’m sure whoever becomes president of the United States today knows the problems. But we’ve got to find the solutions. I think that’s where we have to continue to move forward."
Looking back would Dantonio change the lofty goals that they went into the season with this young group of guys?
"I do not think our goals should have been less than they are. I just don’t. You can’t. You can’t go to a College Football Playoff, win the Big Ten the last two out of three years, sit there and say, `Gee, guys, I hope we go 7-5.’ You can’t do that."
Listen to more of Dantonio's comments below, or head here to read the full transcript.