This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Obviously, their first matchup ever with Michigan State is a big deal to BYU. The Cougars (2-3) travel to East Lansing on Saturday to take on the slumping Spartans (2-2), who have dropped consecutive games to Big Ten foes Wisconsin and Indiana.

For MSU, not so much.

Don't believe me? Just watch MSU coach Mark Dantonio's Tuesday news conference, in which the coach was asked about BYU exactly twice in a 28-minute presser. By comparison, BYU coach Kalani Sitake was asked about the Spartans six times in a 16-minute presser on Monday.

Unlike Sitake, who likes to joke around a little in pressers, Dantonio is all business.

"They will be ready to play. I am quite confident they will be ready to play," he said of his team.

At about the 19-minute mark, Dantonio finally asks reporters if any of them want to talk about BYU.

Some guy says, "i'l bite," and then asks about BYU quarterback Taysom Hill and running back Jamaal Williams.

Dantonio's two-minute reply:

"Taysom Hill is a guy, you know, he was hurt last year with the ankle injury, and before that, I believe, with the knee injury. But he was a productive quarterback prior to that. He can throw the football — he has thrown for over 1,000 yards, and he can run the football.

He's a threat, as far as pulling it on the zone read type of thing. But he's a very, very good quarterback. All their games have gone down to a two-minute drill.

When you look at their two-minute drill tape, I mean, it is large. You are talking five games. You've got 60-plus plays on it. So there is a lot to look at there, and examine, and say, 'OK, and say how did they get into this situation?'

They have lost three very close games and won two very close games.

Williams is the No. 1 running back in the country in yards after contact. I think he had 260 or 280 or so this last week against Toledo — a couple big runs, a breakaway guy, a good running back, No. 21.

Defensively, they play a lot of different people. So they are going to keep their guys fresh.

Receiver-wise, they have a lot of different guys going down the field, bigger wide receivers. Probably four of them with very similar amount of catches, or so.

Kalani Sitake is in his first year there. I think he will be very successful there in looking to build a program."

At the 25:30 mark, Dantonio is asked about BYU's penchant for throwing the ball. His reply:

"People have played them well defensively, so their scores aren't always 53-51, 53-52, whatever it was. We got to play defense like we know how to play, gotta tackle in space, gotta cover down the field. They will be one-on-one, they create one-on-one match ups. I don't think there is any question they create those, whether you are in zone coverages or man coverages. The quarterback is going to make plays. They can run the football.

They have been productive, but other people have held them down as well. They have had some low-scoring games as well, two of them in the teens, one of them in the 20s, and a couple of them higher. So, we will see what we get."

Dantonio is even familiar with the two-year LDS Church missions that many, many BYU players went on, or will in the future.

Why? Because he's got a returned missionary on his roster, for probably the first time ever — former Taylorsville High standout Mufi Hill-Hunt, a freshman defensive end (6-5/240)

"We recruited Mufi and he decided to come, and then he [decided] to go on a mission trip," Dantonio said.

Dantonio relates the story of how Hunt suffered a knee injury while hiking in the mountains before his mission to Virginia, but went anyway. While on his mission, Hunt's knee bothered him so much he had to return home early for surgery. After six months of rehabilitation, he enrolled at MSU and participated in spring ball.

"He will be a good player for us, he's just not ready yet," Dantonio said.

Hunt is already well-traveled. He played his sophomore year at Jordan, his junior year at Brighton and his senior year at Taylorsville before graduating from Sandy's Waterford School, which doesn't have football.

Coincidentally, Hunt told reporters in February of 2015 when he signed that he was really close to signing with Oregon State because of his love for the defensive coordinator there at the time — Kalani Sitake.