The famous former Spartan posted on Twitter a one-sentence message of encouragement for his alma mater about the game: “I’m looking forward to seeing my MSU Spartans beat UofM on Saturday!”
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Last night, number-16 Stanford rolled past visiting UCLA, beating the 18 ranked Bruins 56-35. There is not much that gets a heart pumping like a rivalry game.
Izzo makes a great point there- vandalizing the homage to a mascot, an idealized version of a human being (Sparty) is a completely different ballpark from sullying a monument that honors an actual living human being. With in-state rivals Michigan and Michigan State set to clash this weekend, a few hijinks were certainly expected.
Spartans men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo wasn’t exactly surprised.
U-M students have been on watch on Central Campus all week, with students taking turns camped out on a couch under a tent near the Diag, and also guarding the Bo Schembechler statue at Schembechler Hall on South State Street.
For players, this stuff can be extra motivation.
“We have no idea who did this”, said Cody, of an incident being investigated by MSU Police.
For the most part, Michigan State has owned the rivalry in recent times. The Michigan State Spartan statue was painted in Michigan colors twice this year, in April and again in September before the Spartans hosted Oregon.
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The Paul Bunyan Trophy should be fought for with class in Ann Arbor.
