The annual in-state rivalry game that splits households, workplaces and schools for a week — or maybe even a full year in some instances — took place on Saturday, Oct. 21, and it was an absolute dud.
Sure, expectations weren’t high for the Michigan-Michigan State game on Saturday night in East Lansing — Michigan State is limping its way through a disaster of a season, and Michigan is one of the best teams in the country — but the game proved to be even more boring and lopsided than perhaps many expected.
Michigan, the nation’s No. 2-ranked team, scored a touchdown on its opening drive of the game thanks to a stellar quarterback play from J.J. McCarthy. Senior running back Blake Corum punched in a one-yard score to give the Wolverines an early 7-0 advantage.
The Spartans turned the ball over on downs on their opening drive of the game, and Michigan quickly struck back with a five-play, 51-yard touchdown drive that lasted 2:52. McCarthy found senior wide receiver Roman Wilson in the end zone for a 25-yard score.
Things only got uglier for Michigan State. By halftime, the student section that had been jumping and screaming just over an hour before was almost half empty.
Why would they stay, though?
After all, the smallest glimmer of hope MSU fans carried into the game was long gone, so watching the remainder of the beatdown from a nearby bar on campus seemed much more appealing to many of the Spartan faithful.
Michigan added three touchdowns in the second half, and the vaunted Wolverine defense held the Spartans to no points for the first time since Oct. 21, 2000.
It was one of the most lopsided games in rivalry history as the two rival programs continued their paths in completely opposite directions.
But how did we get here?
Just two years ago, Michigan State, a top-10 team in the country at the time, beat Michigan in East Lansing, 37-33, thanks to five rushing touchdowns from running back Kenneth Walker.
It is widely recognized as one of the best and most classic games in rivalry history.
Now, less than two calendar years later, Michigan State has failed to score a single point in 60 minutes of game action against its most hated rival.
Since the classic showdown in 2021, Michigan has lost just two games — both of which came in the College Football Playoff — while the Spartans have lost 14.
The Wolverines have won two consecutive Big Ten championships, while the Spartans are on the hunt for a new head coach.
With Michigan winning four of the last six meetings, a rivalry that was dominated by Michigan State during the late 2000s and early 2010s has now totally flipped on its head. It doesn’t appear MSU will be a formidable opponent for the Wolverines in the near future, either, so Michigan could be on its way to its own dominant stretch in the rivalry.
But we’d be naive not to look at how quickly things have changed in the last two seasons and think it couldn’t happen again.
It’s certainly plausible Michigan could lose Jim Harbaugh as well as potentially 15 starters from this year’s team heading into 2024. Just like that, the Wolverines could be rebuilding with a new head coach.
Meanwhile, Michigan State could make an A-plus hire (maybe they hire an unnamed fellow who went 7-0 against Michigan during his time as the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes), and the Spartans would be right back on the map again in 2024.
No one knows how the rivalry is going to shape up in the future, which is what makes it so fun. Sure, Michigan holds the edge right now, but as evidenced in the last two years, things can change extremely quickly.
