Michigan State vs Michigan: The Best/Worst Games in the Storied Rivalry

 The Paul Bunyan Trophy is on the line this week in Ann Arbor. Will the Spartans be able to recover from that SEVEN turnover affair against Rutgers? Can Michigan keep the momentum from a great offensive display against Minnesota? Michigan State is looking to snap a two-game skid against the Wolverines, while Michigan is hoping to win three in a row for the first time since winning six in a row in 2002-07. We all know what happened after that game (thanks Mike Hart!)

As a primer for the game this weekend, and to explain to my new law school friends who don't quite get why this is one of the best rivalries in the country, behold the best and worst games in the rivalry. Although this is from an MSU perspective, just flip the results if you root for that team in Ann Arbor...

MICHIGAN STATE'S BEST VICTORIES

1908: East Lansing FINALLY hosted the rivalry after countless meetings in A2. The Spartans held the ranked Wolverines to a scoreless tie, one of the biggest "upsets" of the year.

1913: Michigan State wins their first game in the series, a 12-7 contest. This was the first game in which Michigan State scored multiple touchdowns in the series. George Julian found the end zone both times in this victory.

1915: Michigan State shutout Michigan 24-0. The Detroit Free Press afterwards said "Twenty-four to nothing sounds like a horrible beating but it doesn't even begin to express how completely the M.A.C. team outplayed and outfought Michigan's. It wasn't merely a defeat for the Maize and Blue but a massacre, a rout, an annihilation. . . . Michigan was beaten in everything. In music, cheering, fighting and playing football, the Aggies just naturally outclassed their foemen so badly that the Maize and Blue crowd could find no single straw at which to clutch as it drowned in a sea of tears".

1934: Michigan State took on a Michigan team that had won 22 straight contests. Holding Michigan to 72 yards of offense, Michigan State won 16-0. This was the start of a four-game win streak for Michigan State.

From 1950 to 1953, Michigan State won four in a row in the series, just the second time they had accomplished that feat. It would be duplicated 1959-1962 and 2008-2011.

1956: #2 Michigan State and #5 Michigan squared off, the highest combined ranking in series history. The Spartans used two turnovers to score in the second half of this game. MSU wins 9-0.

1969: #13 Michigan came into East Lansing with a 3-1 record. In Bo's first year, they would go to the Rose Bowl, but they suffered this 23-12 loss after Don Highsmith ran for 134 yards and QB Bill Triplett ran for 143.

1978: #5 Michigan came into East Lansing to take on 1-3 Michigan State. Led by QB Ed Smith, the Spartans pulled off an improbable upset. The defense also picked off Rick Leach three times in the 24-15 victory.

1987: Michigan State defeats Michigan 17-11. The game itself wasn't all that pretty, but the defense SWARMED Michigan all day. Oh, and John Miller set the single game MSU interception record with 4. This MSU team wins the B1G and goes on to win the Rose Bowl.

1990: "#1 vs. No One"--The Wolverines were the top-ranked team in the country. Michigan State came in with a record of 1-2-1. Michigan State led 28-21 with 20 seconds to play. Michigan had the ball on the MSU 28 with :22 seconds to play. Click below to watch the thrilling conclusion.

If you skipped past the video, you missed Elvis Grbac and Derrick Alexander connect for a touchdown. Gary Moeller and the Wolverines, trailing 28-27 elect to go for two and the victory. Desmond Howard drops the football, and Michigan State upsets #1 Michigan. Both teams would be part of a four-way tie for the conference title.

1995: Michigan State beats Michigan 28-25 in Nick Saban's first year. An 88-yard fourth quarter drive by Tony Banks, hitting Derrick Mason and Nigea Carter on clutch passes led to the thrilling victory.

1999: Bill Burke and #11 Michigan State hosted #3 Michigan in a battle of 5-0 teams. Twice the Spartans got out to 17 point leads before Tom Brady and the Wolverines attempted to comeback. The Spartans would recover the onside kick and escape 34-31.

2001: Referred to as "Clockgate" by those in Ann Arbor, Spartan faithful would instead point to the facemask and 12 men on the field penalties that prolonged that drive. On that final penalty, Michigan State was incorrectly charged with a timeout as well, so they should have had one as Jeff Smoker spiked the football. So MSU gets the extra play with 0:01 to go? That's when the magic happens.

2008: "The Pride Comes Before The Fall"...So in 2007, Michigan comes back from a 24-14 deficit and takes down Michigan State 28-24 for the sixth straight victory in the series (see below). After Mike Hart's comments, and Brandon Graham's guarantee of a victory over MSU in 2008, Michigan State delivers a statement at Michigan Stadium, 35-21. This started a streak of seven wins in eight years for Michigan State under Mark Dantonio.

2009: Michigan State leads 20-6 just six seconds into the fourth quarter after a Glenn Winston touchdown run. The Wolverines rally for fourteen unanswered on the arm of Tate Forcier to send the game into overtime. In the extra frame, Larry Caper cements his place in the rivalry.

2013: "-48" The Michigan State Spartans were on their way to the Rose Bowl with a historic defense. Their best effort might have come against Michigan in front of a rowdy crowd. The Spartans sacked Devin Gardner seven times, sending Michigan to -48 rushing yards for the game, a 29-6 rout.

2014--"The Stake Game": The idiots from Ann Arbor decided they would plant a stake on the field at Spartan Stadium despite being beaten five of the past six seasons. So, Michigan State decided to rub it in at the end of this 35-11 rout. 

2015--Even a casual college football fan knows this one now. For my personal story, I was a freshman at MSU. I bought a ticket and road the Greyhound bus down to Ann Arbor for the game. I sat next to some old lady who was the only Spartan in my section. With a few seconds left, everyone is talking trash and I'm just hoping he shanks the punt so we have a Hail Mary attempt. Well all of the sudden the ball is on the ground and we are running towards the end zone. I looked up at the clock and thought "get out of bounds! We can kick it and win!". My thoughts then turned to "please just don't be short" as he was running inside the five. As he scores, the old lady and I start jumping up and down, hugging, and cheering and singing the fight song in front of a silent stadium. You think Saturday will be silent? You weren't there in 2015, that was pin-drop quiet. 

2017--Another personal favorite, and the most recent victory. This time, I got one of my friends to go with me and we sat in the Michigan student section. The rain was falling and when they scored to make it 14-10 and Mr. Brightside came on, I remember thinking "Oh my. We have no chance to hold this lead". The place was ROCKING. Well, QB guru and Michigan grad Jim Harbaugh had John O'Korn throwing in a monsoon (remember they're the "smart" school), and five turnovers later we won 14-10! 

MICHIGAN'S BEST VICTORIES

1898: In the first rendition of the rivalry, Michigan blanked MSU 39-0. The Detroit Free Press called it a "practice game" for a Michigan team that won so bad, they sent their freshman team to play Michigan State in 1899, 1900 and 1901.

1902: By far the biggest blowout in the rivalry, Michigan's 1902 team was their best ever. They outscored opponents 644-12. Michigan won this game 119-0, and they only played 38 minutes....

Between 1916 and 1929, Michigan won all fourteen matchups. They held the Spartans scoreless twelve times, including each year from 1919-1925.

Between 1938 and 1949, Michigan also went undefeated in this series. Two games stand out in general lore (see below).

1940: Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon delivered all necessary offense for Michigan, scoring all three touchdowns and kicking all three extra points in a 21-14 win over the Spartans. 

1947: In the first year of Biggie Munn at MSU, the former Michigan assistant faced the Wolverines on one of the first televised games across the state. Michigan dominated, outgaining Michigan State 504-56 in a 55-0 rout. This remains Michigan's last undisputed National Championship team, seventy-three seasons later....

Between 1970 and 1977, Michigan won all eight games. They were ranked no lower than 8th nationally. Here is the video from the 1970 contest won 34-20 by the Wolverines.

1980: Michigan held a 27-16 fourth quarter lead, before an Anthony Ellis touchdown brought MSU within four. A key interception by Andy Cannavino in the fourth quarter sealed a 27-23 Michigan victory. The Wolverines would go on to win the Big Ten and play in the Rose Bowl. 

1983: Talk about another BLOWOUT. Wolverines blank Spartans 42-0.

1989: Two years after losing to a Spartans team that would go to the Rose Bowl, Michigan went to East Lansing and brought back a 10-7 victory. Michigan would go to Pasadena that January.

1997: Michigan was co-national champions (with Scott Frost and Nebraska) in this season. Heisman Trophy winner (still a shock to many) Charles Woodson had one of six interceptions of MSU in this 23-7 victory. That interception may be the best on his highlight reel.

2000: For the first time since 1985, and the most recent time in the series, one team was shut out. The Spartans did not score, while Michigan got two rushing touchdowns from Anthony Thomas to win 14-0

2002: Michigan DOMINATED Michigan State 49-3. Bobby Williams muttered his most famous lines, perhaps the most infamous regarding the state of State (until 2007...) When asked if he had lost his team, he responded "I don't know". He is promptly fired on Monday.

2004: Michigan and Michigan State played deep into the night on October 30. The Spartans led 27-10 with 8:43 to play before Michigan scored seventeen straight (two Braylon Edwards touchdown grabs) to force overtime. It would take three overtimes before Henne and Edwards delivered the winning score, 47-35.

Part 1: Video Here

Part 2: Video Here

Overtime video below

2005: Michigan raced out to a 21-7 lead over #11 Michigan State at Spartan Stadium. The Spartans would rally, with a 74-yard fumble recovery touchdown by Domata Peko tying the game at 31 and eventually forcing overtime. In the extra frame, Garrett Rivas' kick won it for the Wolverines 34-31.

2007: Talk about a roller coaster. Michigan raced out to a 14-3 lead before the Spartans scored 21 unanswered to hold a 24-14 lead with 7:40 to play. Two Chad Henne touchdowns late, including the winner to Mario Manningham delivered the victory for the Wolverines. This prompted Mike Hart to deliver the most infamous words in the history of the rivalry.

2012--It's Michigan's 900th victory all-time, and they snap a four-year drought against MSU. For being Michigan's "second rivalry", they sure seemed to care a lot when they won. I'm not sure either side wants to relive this 12-10 game...

2016--The Spartans were 3-9 in 2016 and Michigan snapped the four-game losing skid in East Lansing with a 32-23 win.

2018--Michigan held Michigan State to 94 yards of offense in the 21-7 victory. The weather delay was weird in this one...

2019--Michigan 44 Michigan State 10. First back-to-back for Michigan since the six-game streak in the early-mid 2000s. Biggest blowout since 2002.