Look at this Mark Dantonio smile when he heard how big an underdog Michigan State is at Ohio State

He won the last time his team was an underdog in Columbus.

The No. 12 Michigan State Spartans take on the No. 13 Ohio State Buckeyes this weekend in Columbus, and even after upsetting then-No. 7 Penn State on Saturday, Sparty still enters this game as an underdog. MSU is currently listed as a 16-point dog against OSU, and when Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio was informed of this number, his immediate reaction was a smile.

Let’s see that smile one more time, shall we?

Now, Dantonio has a right to smile here. In 2015, the last time MSU played in Columbus, the Spartans entered as 14.5-point underdogs. Sparty upset Ohio State 17-14 on a game-winning field goal

In 2013, Michigan State was a 5.5-point underdog and ended up winning by 10. This game is huge for Sparty’s Big Ten Championship Game hopes, to say the least. Sparty is co-leader with OSU in the Big Ten East, and if it wins out, it’ll earn a berth in the conference title game. While Michigan State’s two losses to Northwestern and Notre Dame hurt Sparty’s overall Playoff hopes, winning out is critical if it wants to even be in the conversation.

We’ll see if Michigan State can have success again on the road as an underdog this week.