Dantonio familiar with this week's foe, says no animosity with Ohio State staff

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, left, congratulates Kurtis Drummond (27) following a 14-3 win over Minnesota in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis) (The Associated Press)

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer joins his team in singing the school's alma mater after their 42-41 win over Michigan in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Julian H. Gonzalez) DETROIT NEWS OUT; NO SALES, MANDATORY CREDIT (The Associated Press)

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Mark Dantonio wants to make it abundantly clear that there's no lingering animosity between him and the coaching staff at Ohio State.

There have been occasional dustups between the schools over the last couple years, involving recruiting and even the quality of game film sent from Ohio State to Michigan State. Dantonio says there are no issues at this point.

Dantonio's 10th-ranked Spartans take on the second-ranked Buckeyes on Saturday night in a Big Ten championship game that seems to become more intriguing with each passing day. Dantonio was an assistant at Ohio State when the Buckeyes had their national title season in 2002. Now he's standing in the way of a different Ohio State staff that is also on the verge of playing for a national championship.