When one is up, the other’s done.
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Michigan has historically dominated the series that dates to 1898, winning almost two-thirds of the matchups. The Wolverines are second in yards allowed per game, at 181, and have held their opponents quarterbacks to a passer rating of under 77.0.
It’s all a bit surreal, the idea that Michigan State is undefeated and yet Michigan is favored to beat the Spartans this weekend. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross went to Michigan, and he has been a major financial supporter of the university. We know it is gonna be a great environment there. Former governor G. Mennen Williams established the Paul Bunyan trophy then, and decided that the first battle between the in-state establishments would be the appropriate time to unveil the trophy. Sure, Ohio State won a national championship, but the case could be made that Ohio State qualified for the College Football Playoff last season – and was afforded the leeway to overcome its injury issues at quarterback – in large part because the Big Ten (with the exception of Michigan State) just wasn’t very good. Style points suddenly mattered. “Sometimes you get your little brother excited when you’re playing basketball and you let him get the lead”.
The Michigan State Spartans don’t seem to be as fearsome as they were in previous seasons but at the end of the day their 6-0 record says a lot. You could win bar bets with that one. They are now ranked 12th in the AP poll and 14th in the Coaches poll.
So what’s Dantonio’s reward? Since Harbaugh had inherited the same players that finished 5-7 past year, the most optimistic Michigan fans were hoping for an 8-4 season.
According to oddsmakers at MyBookie, Michigan is the favorite at home in this game, as the Wolverines are getting odds of -8 points against the Spartans.
That’s right: Michigan has not allowed a point in its last three games. He’s done a better job avoiding turnovers since then, and the Wolverines have shown how tough they can be to score on when the opponent doesn’t have a short field.
But while the Wolverines’ newfound talent advantage has been one of the key factors in their success over the past five weeks, so too has been the change in attitude in Ann Arbor. Both teams have something to prove.
Michigan Wolverines quarterback Jake Rudock (15) indicates a touchdown by running back Derrick Green (27) in the fourth quarter against the Northwestern Wildcats at Michigan Stadium.
Michigan State beat Purdue by three and Rutgers by seven.
Rutgers overcame a 10-point deficit to tie it at 24 early in the second half, but Spartans running back L.J. Scott scored on a 3-yard run to make it 31-24 with 43 seconds left in the game.
“I really think this is going to be one for the ages here, it’s got all the making of it. Obviously coach (Jim) Harbaugh, he’s really got them going now”.
The Michigan Wolverines certainly do look like a different team under Jim Harbaugh especially on the defensive side of the football where they have recorded three consecutive shutouts after downing Northwestern 38-0 in week six.
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For the first time since 2011, both teams are ranked in the top 25, with the Spartans ranked seventh in the country and the Wolverines ranked twelfth. We’ll find out tomorrow. The last win by a Maize and Blue team was in 2012 in Ann Arbor. We also know the fans of the winning team will be insufferable for a year – nearly as bad as the fans of the losing team.
