Mark Dantonio's Return One of Many Michigan-Michigan State Subplots

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After missing two games following a heart attack, head coach Mark Dantonio was to return to his Michigan State Spartans Saturday to coach from a booth high above the field.

His perch was part of two new towers of luxury boxes that rise over the Big House, home of the Michigan Wolverines, who took a 5-0 record against their intrastate rivals, who also were 5-0.

"I'm not going to miss it," Dantonio said early this week, after limping into his news conference looking gaunt, with dark circles under his eyes.

Both teams were 1-0 in the Big Ten; the Spartans were ranked 17th nationally and the Wolverines 18th. But the shade cast upon the grandstands from the new suites was not the only shadow looming over Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez and his team.

In late August, the school met with the National Collegiate Athletic Association to offer a plea bargain -- two years of self-imposed probation plus a few minor slaps on the wrist -- in response to charges that Rodriguez overworked his football players.

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The university, however, objected to the accusation that it failed to "provide an atmosphere of compliance," a charge that could bring more severe punishments like a reduction in scholarships and a ban from bowl games.

A ruling by the NCAA is expected during the season, perhaps later this month. David Brandon, the first-year athletic director, offered his side of it last August at the hearings in Seattle.

"Were we sloppy? Did we not communicate? Did our checks and balances fail?" Brandon asked, rhetorically. "All true. Guilty as charged."

But, Brandon added, "I disagree that Rich failed to provide an atmosphere of compliance."

The decision could be critical for the school, which is coming off two losing seasons under Rodriguez and was hoping Saturday to prevent a third consecutive loss to Michigan State for the first time since 1965-67, when Bump Elliott coached the Wolverines and Duffy Daugherty coached the Spartans.

The NCAA has proven willing in recent years to crack down on even glamorous programs in high-revenue sports. It has penalized Southern California football and Connecticut basketball is currently on the agenda.

Another shadow looming here Saturday was more about the game, the specter of Spartans' linebacker Greg Jones against Wolverines' quarterback Denard Robinson.

Jones is an All-American at his position. Robinson is the nation's leading rusher and considered a Heisman Trophy candidate as the regular season reaches its halfway point.

There is already a photograph circulating of Robinson in the Heisman pose. It occurred naturally, during action of a game, and was not staged as part of a touchdown celebration.

"He scrambles a lot," Jones said of Robinson early this week in a news conference. "The best thing you could do is try and corner him. Try and give him a tight space to run with."

Regarding all the accolades for Robinson -- who has averaged 181 rushing yards per game -- Jones said, "He's obviously earned that -- up to this point. You've got to be smart. Make sure he gets down to the ground. It's not going to be just me stopping him."

But most of Robinson's yards have been against competition less intense than that of the Big Ten, where tacklers can punish bold quarterbacks who dare to carry the ball 20 times per game.

One of them would be linebacker Eric Gordon of Michigan State who said, "It's always fun to play a player that has all this hype and he deserves all the hype, obviously."

Less hyped but potentially as dangerous as Robinson Saturday was Kirk Cousins, the Spartans quarterback, who would be throwing against a defense ranked 120th in the nation against the pass.

Overall, the pre-game mood was upbeat on a balmy afternoon in a stadium surrounded by gold and orange leaves of autumn trees. Fans wearing maize and blue picnicked alongside those in green and white.

The auto business in nearby Detroit has picked up in the last few months. The two big local schools have not met with such impressive records since 1999.

The local celebrity for the week was a retired worker at an office supply warehouse who did not even plan to attend the game. He was Major Hester, a Spartans' fan who lives in Detroit.

In harmony with the Dantonio theme of heart issues, Hester was scheduled to have his third pacemaker installed on Thursday at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital.

But Hester asked his surgeon to postpone the procedure until next Thursday. He did not want his recovery to prevent him from enjoying the game.

"Man, I'm pumped up!" Hester said in a telephone interview Friday. Hester said he goes back as a Spartans' fan to the mid-1960s, when Bubba Smith anchored the M.S.U. defense.

"Kill, Bubba, Kill!" Hester said when Smith's name was mentioned.

He said he understood the urge of Dantonio to get back so soon after suffering his heart attack following an overtime victory over Notre Dame on a fake field goal and touchdown pass play by the Spartans.

"He's probably like me," Hester said. "He's in a high-pressure position. I can't criticize him. He loves the game. I love the game, too. And this is the best one in years. They tell me 'Relax,' but I'm just hyper. My heart starts racing on me."

When Hester requested his surgery be postponed, Hester said his doctor told him "Well, that's your call," and Hester told the doctor: "I know I'm taking a chance. Life is about chances."