It's rights for the title of the state, state champions, who's the best in the state, it's huge, big for the fans, big for the alumni and big for the players and coaches.
~Ryan Van Bergen, UM Defensive End
This Saturday at 12 noon the University of Michigan Wolverines head to Spartan Stadium in East Lansing to face the Michigan State University Spartans . The Paul Bunyan-Governor of Michigan Trophy is awarded to the winner of the game between the Wolverines and the Spartans. U of M holds the series edge at 67-31-5, but the Spartans won again last year, 34-17 comeback to hang onto the trophy for the third straight year. For the 2nd year in a row, both teams are in the AP Top 25, with the Spartans at #23 and UM ranked #11. This game is always a fierce rivalry , but mLive explains that in 2011 it takes on another aspect due to the new Legends & Leaders division structure of the Big Ten12:
...all you have to do beat out five other teams to win your division and you've got a shot at the Rose Bowl. Nebraska isn't what we thought they were, and Iowa just isn't that good. The winner of Saturday's game takes control of the Legends.
If you're looking for tickets, stubhub has them for $188 - $499. The Sports Bank has a brutally honest preview that leads with Spartan DT and NFL Prospect Jerel Worthy's Anti-Michigan Wolverines Tattoo and breaks the game down very quickly and insightfully, and as always the folks at The Bleacher Report deliver with their slideshow of keys to the game and predictions for UM v MSU. The Freep calls it a smash-mouth showcase while the Detroit News lets a pair of former players, Michigan safety Marcus Ray and Michigan State quarterback Tony Banks, lay down the smack. On the blogs, A Beautiful Day for Football wonders if it's "Little Brother No More" and gives some interesting rivalry facts. As Bill Simonson says: "I hope this sports ride never ends."
MSU vs U of M Video Spirit Rally
Choose sides and get in on the discussion over at SpartanTailgate.com or MGoBlog. These are great resources with all the news and updates you need regarding MSU and U of M sports.
Michigan in Pictures has a couple of posts from awhile back about Spartan Stadium in East Lansing (where Saturday's game will be played) and Michigan Stadium aka The Big House.
Somewhere we have to note Whack-a-Wolverine from the Lansing State Journal and we definitely want to hear what YOU think about the rivalry and the game!
18 Comments
Will the game between Michigan State and University of Michigan be televised 11/03/07 and on what channel
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u of m sux
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Well, they're not too good this year, but at least they don't have to fondly look back on Woody Hayes!
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No matter how good State does they always lose to U of M. State hasn't won in the Big House in 18 years and that plays an important role. It's not even a rivalry game cause the Wolverines always win. Plus U of M leads the series 33-19, so it's one sided.
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Happy Saturday to all you Spartans out there! We whooped 'em at The Big House! We whooped 'em at The Big House! Yahoo and GO GREEN!!
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Michigan State's Hoyer wins weekly Big Ten honor
Continue reading: mlive.com
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Rodriguez, Michigan players say they haven't quit
Continue reading:mlive.com
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How can I get an official game day program from last weeks U of M, M State football game?
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67-29-5 Sparty will always be little brother till they win 38 in a row.
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Chris, 1.) I guess your superb intellectual UM 'logic' makes UM, Appalacha's little brother. Maybe that shift sleek new coach should put Appalacha back on the schedule, and keep his fingers crossed. 2.) Admit it, MSU has the coach you wish you had.
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WOW looks like MSU SUCKS this year how was that loss to CMU??? Looks like MSU is CMU's little brother lmao
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Talking trash after you lose is what I like to call "whining". Michigan State dominated the game against Michigan today. Absorb it but don't whine about it.
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msu rox u of m sux
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This is not a rivalry, it can't be a rivalry when one team has more than double the wins of the other team in the series, the only reason MSU argues that it is a rivalry is because the schools are close to each other, if this were a reason for a rivalry EMU would be Michigan's biggest rival.
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I'd like to point out something about Ryan's comment, and that of Michigan fans in general; do you take pride in victories over teams like Western, Central and Bowling Green? Didn't think so. Well, victories over MAC (first version of State), or even MSC (second version) are exactly like that. They shouldn't count in the all-time series (that's like saying "yay, we beat Kalamazoo College!"). We (MSU) joined the Big Ten (after being kept out by Michigan for ten years!) in 1953, and since that time (which is also when we started playing for the Paul Bunyan Trophy), U-M has a much smaller 34-21-2 advantage. That's a much better frame for the rivarly, since it's actually a level playing field (both teams D-1, in the same conference). Michigan has won 58% of the games since then; they lost the majority of games during the '50s and '60s, and went just 6-4 during the '90s; I'd certainly call that a rivalry! Wouldn't you?
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Michigan will win big time. Denard is just too good. Go Blue! MSU SUX BIGTIME!!!!!!!!
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Love this blog!
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From 2010
This Saturday at 3:30 PM MSU travels to the Big House for a date with U of M. The Wolverines hold the series edge at 67-30-5, but the Spartans have held the trophy for the past 2 years. Right now both teams are in the AP Top 25, with the Spartans at #17 and UM ranked #18.
If you're looking for tickets, stubhub has them for $175 - $1422. If you can't swing that, it's on ABC with the pre-game at 2:45 PM. The .00007% of Lions fans who are missing Matt Millen will be happy to learn that Millen has been picked as an analyst for the game by ABC. Millen won't be the only coach in the press box because MSU coach Mark Dantonio (recovering from a heart attack) will be in the box as well.
The rivalry between the two teams and their fans is intense and the Lansing State Journal took note of this last year in their article "Rivalry ingrained in players from families - Intense feelings have bubbled up since childhood." It's made more intense by the fact that it's been 1,000 days since U of M has notched a win in either football or basketball against MSU.
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[...] Michigan’s historic sports rivalries, a few legendary match-ups come to mind: the Big Ten’s Wolverines v. Spartans, the blood-and-guts fury of Red Wings v. Avalanche and the storied “Motown versus Showtown†of [...]
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[...] http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/michigan-vs-michigan-state-football-rivalry/ This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. ← Stanford vs Oregon [...]
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[...] are in the top 25. Get a picture of the trophy along with all the links & history on the Michigan vs Michigan State Football Rivalry page on Absolute [...]
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