Michigan and Michigan State will meet on Saturday for the 109th time. Today, we’re going to look back at the long history between these two.
Michigan and Michigan State really don’t like each other. With few exceptions, the state of Michigan is pretty firmly divided between blue and green, especially leading up to their annual football game. The game is as inherent to the fabric of the state of Michigan as pointing out your hometown on your hand.
In some ways, like most great rivalries, the game represents a cultural rift as much as anything else. Perhaps the only thing these two fanbases have in common is their common dislike for Notre Dame, although their styles of play have been historically similar, dependent on running the ball and playing strong defense. For a long time, the game was a clash of blue-collar and white-collar as much as it was blue-jersey and green-jersey. Michigan State supporters are seen as gritty and scrappy, Michigan fans are more upper-crust. Spartans tend to be more conservative while Wolverines are more progressive. You’re far more likely to find a Taco Bell in East Lansing than you are a Trader Joe’s.
Michigan Wolverines
The University of Michigan was founded in Detroit in 1817 as something called the “Catholepistemiad” and each of its thirteen schools, mostly science and classical studies, were christened with a pretentious-sounding Greco-Latin name. The school basically vanished from existence for a time but was resurrected after Michigan became a state in 1837 and was relocated to Ann Arbor after the city’s failed bid to become Michigan’s capitol city.
Michigan State was founded as the very not-classically-monikered Michigan Agricultural College in 1855. It was the country’s first land-grant college, a fact which is significant mostly due to its appropriation as the namesake of the somewhat weird trophy game the Spartans play against Penn State each year. Classes began in East Lansing in 1857, which at the time was not East Lansing, but rather the little swamp next to the big swamp that was Michigan’s capitol city.
Michigan’s football program is one of college football’s flagship programs, with more wins and a higher winning percentage than any other FBS program, and was ranked #7 all-time by the AP in their all-time Top 25 poll earlier this year.
Four of Michigan’s championships were claimed from 1901-1904, when Fielding Yost was their coach and punting before fourth down was a legitimate strategy. Those teams were known as the “point-a-minute” teams, probably because “they score a point every minute” didn’t translate well into Latin. The Wolverines went 40-0-1 during those four seasons, playing such venerable competition as Albion, Beloit, College of Physicians and Surgeons Chicago and oh, hey there, Michigan Agricultural College! However, their captain in 1902 was a man named Boss, so that’s worth something. The Wolverines also claim 11 national championships, although only one (1997) of those has come since 1948, and although they played on a national level for the vast majority of the second half of the twentieth century, they have been much less competitive since the dawn of the twenty-first.
Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State has been far less consistent historically, claiming six national championships, some of which are quite sad, although they were ranked #19 overall all-time by the AP. After winning at least one national championship in the fifties and being a part of the national championship conversation for the better part of two decades, the Spartans were mired in mediocrity until recently, winning major bowl games in 2013 and 2014 and qualifying for the College Football Playoff in 2015.
The two teams met for the first time in 1898, Michigan winning 36-0. Four years later, in their second meeting, the Wolverines won 119-0 in what The Michigan Alumnus called “the greatest fusillade of touchdowns ever, except the one of a year ago with Buffalo (which Michigan had won 128-0).” By 1908, however, the Aggies had improved enough to tie the Wolverines, 0-0, in what the Detroit Free Press called, “the greatest game of football ever seen in this part of the state,” reporting that “the 6,000 spectators went wild with delight.”
1913, MAC beat Michigan for the first time, 12-7, but Michigan dominated the series for the next several decades, the newly-rechristened Spartans winning a few games in the thirties and several in the fifties after they had joined Michigan in the Big Ten and rose to national prominence for the first time. The Wolverines lead the overall series 69-36-3. Since 1953, the teams have played for the Paul Bunyan Trophy, although the Wolverines weren’t really interested at first. Since the trophy was introduced, the series has been more competitive, Michigan leading 35-26-2, and Michigan State has won seven of the last eight meetings, all under Mark Dantonio.
As the 1900s began to close, the games between the two rivals became more and more contested. In spite of the fact that rarely were the two two teams competing for a national championship in the same year, the games between them have disproportionally reached “classic” status. My mom used to tell me when I was little that the Michigan-Michigan State would always be worth watching, no matter how bad the Spartans were that year (which was sometimes pretty bad) because “Michigan State always plays their best against Michigan,” and she was right.
So, what follows is a list of the best games between Michigan and Michigan State, as well as the stories, controversies, figures and moments that have defined this rivalry as it has heated up in the past few decades. The games are in chronological order and they have highlights. As far as any controversies are concerned, I try not to voice an opinion, although there will be commentary from people who were there and were involved in those games.
1990 – “Howard! He got it- dropped it! He dropped it!”
In Gary Moeller’s first season after Bo Schembechler’s retirement, Michigan climbed to the top of the AP Poll, winning three straight after losing their opener to then-#1 Notre Dame before hosting the Spartans at the Big House. Michigan State was unranked after a season-opening tie against Syracuse and losses to Notre Dame and Iowa. Michigan students labeled the game “No. One vs. No One.”Michigan scored first on a 16-yard pass from Elvis Grbac to Derrick Alexander, but the Spartans tied the game on an 8-yard run by quarterback Dan Enos and it was 7-7 at halftime. The teams traded touchdowns again in the third and fourth quarters until a nine-yard run by Michigan State running back T.J. Duckett gave the Spartans a 28-21 lead with 1:59 left.
Michigan scored first on a 16-yard pass from Elvis Grbac to Derrick Alexander, but the Spartans tied the game on an 8-yard run by quarterback Dan Enos and it was 7-7 at halftime. The teams traded touchdowns again in the third and fourth quarters until a nine-yard run by Michigan State running back T.J. Duckett gave the Spartans a 28-21 lead with 1:59 left in the game.
Grbac led the Wolverines down the field, converting a fourth down at the Michigan State 29-yard line with 22 seconds left. Two plays later, Grbac found Alexander again for a seven-yard touchdown to bring Michigan within one with six seconds left.
Six years before overtime was introduced into the league, Moeller decided to roll the dice on a two-point conversion attempt instead of settling for a tying extra point. Grbac quickly threw to Desmond Howard, who was in single coverage against Eddie Brown. Howard ran a slant and got position on Brown in the endzone, but his foot got caught on Brown’s hand and he started to fall. As he fell, Grbac’s pass ball hit him in the chest. Howard held on to the ball for a moment, but it popped out of his grasp as he hit the ground and the pass was ruled incomplete.
Howard and the Wolverines begged for a pass interference call, but they did not get one and the Spartans led, 28-27. Michigan lined up for the onside kick and recovered it in Michigan State territory. Forgoing the long field goal attempt, the Wolverines tried a Hail Mary, but it was intercepted near the goal line and Michigan State won.
The next week, Dave Parry, the Big Ten supervisor of officials, called Moeller to tell him, according to Moeller, “they blew it. He said they missed it on the pass interference.”
The Spartans lost the following week at Illinois before winning five in a row and finishing #22 in the AP Poll. They would defeat #21 USC 17-16 in something called the John Hancock Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Michigan would follow the same pattern, losing their next game against #23 Iowa before rattling off five straight wins. They finished #12 in the AP Poll and rolled over #15 Ole Miss, 35-3, in the Gator Bowl.
2001 – “The clock had stopped at one! They stopped the clock, Jim!”
Michigan came into Spartan Stadium 6-1, having lost only to #15 Washington and ranked #6 in the country. Michigan State was 4-2 with a win over #23 Notre Dame but losses to Minnesota and #16 Northwestern.
A touchdown pass from Jeff Smoker to Charles Rogers opened the scoring for the Spartans, but Michigan responded with a field goal and a Marquise Walker touchdown reception from John Navarre to take a 10-7 lead in the second. T.J. Duckett scored for the Spartans to move ahead 14-10, but Navarre’s second touchdown to Walker took the lead back for the Wolverines, which they would hold until a Michigan State field goal tied the score at 17 late in the third.The Spartans took the lead on another field goal early in the fourth, but Navarre’s third touchdown pass, this one to backup quarterback Jermaine Gonzales, put the Wolverines ahead for a third time, 24-20.
The Spartans took the lead on another field goal early in the fourth, but Navarre’s third touchdown pass, this one to backup quarterback Jermaine Gonzales, put the Wolverines ahead for a third time, 24-20.
With 2:09 left in the fourth, the Spartans started driving to try to take the lead once more. The Wolverines were flagged twice on the drive, once after stopping Michigan State on fourth down, to keep the Spartans’ drive alive. Facing fourth and four at the 11-yard line with 27 seconds left and no timeouts, Smoker completed a short pass to Duckett for a first down, then spiked the ball to stop the clock with 17 seconds left.
On second down, Smoker tried to scramble to the endzone but was tackled in-bounds at the two-yard line. Smoker quickly got his team up to the line of scrimmage, snapped the ball and spiked it. The clock read 0:01. “Nice to have the home clock right there,” ABC analyst Gary Danielson said.
Whether or not the clock had lingered on one second for a fraction too long or not, the Spartans had one more play, and they made the most of it, as Smoker floated a pass over the defense and into Duckett’s arms in the endzone for the win as time expired.
The game was subjected to the American tradition of attaching the suffix “-gate” to any controversial thing and became known as “Clockgate.” In the booth for the Michigan radio broadcast, Frank Beckmann and Jim Brandstatter both cried foul, Beckman calling it “criminal” and saying that the game was “stolen from the Wolverines.”
Bob Stehlin, known by some as “Spartan Bob,” was the Michigan State timekeeper for the game and reportedly insisted that he timed it fairly. In addition, Big Ten officials reportedly told The Detroit News in 2004 that the clock had been properly managed. In either case, the next season the Big Ten made game clock management the responsibility of a neutral Big Ten official, and instant replay became the norm across the nation before the decade was out.
The Wolverines would end up 8-3, #17 in the AP Poll, before losing 45-17 to #8 Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl. The Spartans lost their next three and finished 6-5, defeating #20 Fresno State in something called the Silicon Valley Football Classic, 44-35.
2004 – “It’s caught by Edwards! He’s in the endzone!”
The Wolverines were ranked #12 in the country and had lost only to Notre Dame when they hosted the Spartans. Michigan State came in 4-3 and was a heavy underdog.
DeAndre Cobb’s 72-yard touchdown run put the Spartans ahead on their first drive, but a seven-yard run by Mike Hart, who would run for 224 yards on 33 carries in the game, tied the score at seven. Michigan State pulled ahead late in the first quarter on a Drew Stanton touchdown run and went to halftime with a 17-10 lead after the two teams traded field goals. A Michigan State field goal and Cobb’s second long touchdown run of the game, 62 yards, put the Spartans ahead 27-10 midway through the fourth.
Michigan’s offense came to life late in the fourth, rattling off 17 unanswered points in four minutes, including two touchdown passes from Chad Henne to Braylon Edwards, to tie the game at 27 with under three minutes left. Michigan State’s last-second 52-yard field goal attempt was no good, and the game went to overtime.
The teams traded field goals in the first overtime, and in the second overtime, Jason Teague scored from two yards out to give the Spartans a 37-30 lead. Michigan responded with a six-yard touchdown pass from Henne to Jason Avant to tie the score again and force a third overtime.
On the first possession of overtime number three, Henne found Edwards for a touchdown for the third time, a 24-yard yard catch-and-run to give the Wolverines the 43-37 lead. Henne’s two-point conversion pass to Tim Massaquoi upped the lead to 45-37. Damon Dowdell, filling for Stanton after Stanton separated his right shoulder in the first half, could not get another score out of the Spartans offense, and his fourth-down pass fell incomplete in the endzone, sealing the win for the Wolverines.
Michigan would climb to #7 in the polls before losing to Ohio State in the regular season finale, finishing 9-2 before losing to #6 Texas 38-37 in the Rose Bowl. The Spartans lost three of their last four, finished 5-7 and did not receive a bowl invite.
2005 – “For the game… He’s got it!”
#11 Michigan State came in as the favorite, hosting unranked Michigan two weeks after upsetting #10 Notre Dame on the road. The Wolverines had started the season ranked #4, but losses to Notre Dame and Wisconsin had bumped them out of the top 25 by the time the two met on October 1 in East Lansing.
Michigan built a 21-7 lead in the first quarter thanks to three touchdown passes from Chad Henne. Michigan State scored two unanswered touchdowns to tie the game, but a Wolverines field goal put them in front, 24-21, at halftime. After tying the game with a 26-yard field goal, Spartans kicker John Doss missed a go-ahead 23-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Michigan responded with a one-yard touchdown run by Mike Hart, who finished with 218 yards in his first week back from injury, to take a 31-24 lead. On the Wolverines’ next possession, however, driving in Michigan State territory to try to put the game away, Henne was sacked by Clifton Ryan and fumbled. Defensive tackle Domata Peko picked up the loose ball and ran it back 74 yards for a tying touchdown. The fumble was reviewed and, although it looked like the play could have been ruled an incomplete pass, the officials stayed with the call on the field.
Michigan had one more shot at winning the game in overtime, but Garrett Rivas‘ 26-yard field goal try went wide right with 48 seconds left and the game went to an extra period. The Spartans took the ball first but failed to score as Goss missed a second field goal try, pushing a 38-yard attempt wide right, which gave Rivas another chance to win it for the Wolverines, which he did with a 35-yarder to upset the Spartans, 34-31.
The loss to Michigan was the beginning of a three-game skid for the Spartans, who lost six of their last seven, finishing 5-6 and failing to make a bowl game for the second year in a row. The Wolverines clawed their way back into the top 25 and finished the season 7-5, ranked #20 in the AP Poll before losing to then-Big 12 Nebraska, 32-28, in the Alamo Bowl.
2007 – “Sometimes you get your little brother excited… you let him get the lead.”
Michigan, after losing a stunner to FCS Appalachian State and getting blown out by Oregon in the first two weeks of the season, had rattled off seven wins in a row and were back up to #15 in the AP Poll by the time they visited East Lansing in November in head coach Lloyd Carr‘s final season. The Spartans, on the other hand, had started 4-0 in their first game under Mark Dantonio before losing four out of their last five going into the game.
Michigan State scored first with a field goal on the opening drive, but the Wolverines responded with two Chad Henne passing touchdowns, one to Mario Manningham and one to Carson Butler to take a 14-3 lead in the second quarter. The Spartans, however, would score 21 unanswered points, Jehuu Caulcrick scoring to cut the lead to four, Brian Hoyer throwing a touchdown to Kellen Davis and Caulcrick scoring again to give Michigan State a 24-14 lead with 7:40 remaining in the fourth.
Henne, however, who had left the game briefly earlier with a knee injury, quickly led Michigan down the field and found Greg Mathews with a beautiful pass for a touchdown to cut the lead to three. After the Michigan defense came up with a stop, Henne threw his fourth touchdown of the game, Manningham making an amazing catch to give Michigan the lead once again. The Spartans turned the ball over on downs and the Wolverines won their sixth straight against Michigan State, 28-24.
After the game, Michigan senior running back Mike Hart, who rushed for 110 yards in the game and had beaten Michigan State each of his four years at Michigan, caused a stir by referring to Michigan State as Michigan’s “little brother.”
“I was just laughing. I thought it was funny,” Hart said, “they got excited, it’s good. Sometimes you get your little brother excited when you’re playing basketball and stuff, let him get the lead, then you just come back and take it back.”
Dantonio did not take too kindly to Hart’s comments, saying, “This game is an important game… they want to mock us all, they want to mock us, I’m telling them, it’s not over. So they can print all that crap all they want all over their locker room. It’s not over, it’ll never be over here. It’s just starting… But just remember, pride comes before the fall.”
2009 – “Breaks a tackle… to the house! Touchdown!”
#22 Michigan was 4-0, including a win over #18 Notre Dame, when they came into Spartan Stadium in the first week of October. The Spartans, on the other hand, were 1-3 after losses to Central Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin.
Michigan State scored the first touchdown of the game, Larry Caper scoring on a one-yard run on fourth and goal to give Michigan State a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter. The teams traded field goals, punts and turnovers for the next two quarters until Glenn Winston broke it open for the Spartans, scoring on a 15-yard run to put Michigan State ahead 20-6 early in the fourth quarter, but Michigan would not go away. Tate Forcier found Darryl Stonum for a 61-yard touchdown to close the gap with 4:03 left in the fourth, and after the Wolverines defense forced a three-and-out, Forcier led Michigan 92 yards in 13 plays in the dying moments of regulation in a driving rainstorm, finding Roy Roundtree for the nine-yard tying touchdown with two seconds remaining.
Unfortunately for Michigan, Forcier did not have any magic left for overtime, throwing an interception to Chris L. Rucker on the Wolverines’ possession. Michigan State made the most of their chance as Caper broke free from a defender and scampered for a 23-yard touchdown to win the game for the Spartans, 26-20.
The Spartans won their next two games, but ended up only 6-6 and lost 41-31 in the Alamo Bowl to Texas Tech. Michigan’s season went off the rails after the loss, as they lost six of their next seven, including each of their remaining conference games. They finished 5-7 and were not invited to a bowl game.
2012 – “On the left foot of Brendan Gibbons!”
Michigan State came into the game on a four-game winning streak against Michigan, but came into the game at the Big House unranked at 4-3. The Wolverines were ranked #23, their only two losses coming against #2 Alabama and #11 Notre Dame.
Neither team’s offense could get going in the first half, Michigan State missing a field goal and Michigan connecting on two to take a 6-0 lead into halftime. The Spartans finally scored the first and only touchdown of the game halfway through the third quarter as Andrew Maxwell threw a two-yard pass to Paul Lang to give Michigan State a 7-6 lead. A Michigan field goal after a Maxwell interception gave the Wolverines the lead again early in the fourth, but the Spartans responded with one of their own to take a 10-9 lead with less than six minutes left in the game.
Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson struggled throughout the game, completing fewer than half of his passes and throwing an interception, but he led the Wolverines own the field, going 41 yards in eight plays to set up a 38-yard field goal attempt by Brendan Gibbons, who buried it to give the Wolverines a 12-10 lead. The Spartans’ miracle lateral attempt on the kickoff return failed and Michigan clinched the win.
The Wolverines finished the season 8-4 and ranked #19 in the AP Poll before losing to #11 South Carolina 33-28 in the Outback Bowl. Michigan State finished 6-6 before defeating Texas Christian in something called the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, 17-16.
2015 – “And he scores! On the last play of the game!”
Everything about this play is unbelievable. It’s the perfect storm of disaster, miracle and really, really bad luck.
#12 Michigan led #7 Michigan State 23-21 and faced fourth down with 10 seconds left in the game. Michigan punter Blake O’Neill was back to punt the ball away and probably set up a Michigan State Hail Mary situation. Michigan State had all eleven of their players on the line of scrimmage, ready to rush at O’Neill.
Instead of falling on the ball after the bad snap and taking the loss as many non-punter observers with perfect hindsight have suggested he should have done, O’Neill picked up the ball to try to punt it but unwittingly bounced the ball into the hands of Jalen Watts-Jackson, who took off running and was tackled across the goal line for the game-winning score on one of the most improbable “band on the field” moments in the history of football.
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Michigan State had a 0.2% chance of winning the game before the final play, according to ESPN, who opted to label the thing an “end of game touchdown” in their play-by-play record of the game, presumably because no one knew what to call it. Watts-Jackson had never touched the ball in a college game before and broke his hip upon being tackled, ending his season. But he said he would do it all over again.
Adding to the improbability of the moment is its importance. The win saved the Spartans’ College Football Playoff hopes while keeping them atop the Big Ten East, and it did so in front of 100,000 fans in their hated rival’s house and millions more watching live in primetime.
The shocked expressions of Michigan fans completely captured the unbelievability of the moment and found their way onto memes and t-shirts across the Midwest. Broadcasters George Blaha and Jim Brandstatter did not disappoint with their respective radio calls of the play.
Lost in all of this is the fact that the game was a pretty great game in its own right before that final play. It was Jim Harbaugh‘s game against Michigan State as the Wolverines’ head coach and, despite the fact that Michigan State was the better team statistically, outgaining Michigan 386-230 and picking up 20 first downs to the Wolverines’ 10, the Spartans never led until the clock read 0:00.
Michigan scored on a controversial one-yard touchdown plunge by Sione Houma in the third quarter to take a 17-7 lead, their largest of the game. They couldn’t quite shake Michigan State, however, who—with help from a 74-yard completion on a wheel route from Connor Cook to fullback Trevor Pendleton—scored to cut the lead to 23-21 in the fourth quarter.
The Wolverines halted the Spartans’ attempt at a game-winning drive with less than two minutes remaining and needed only one first down to salt the game away but the Michigan State defense held to bring on O’Neill, who had kicked an 80-yard punt earlier in the game, for the fateful final play.
“Whenever you win a football game, I always feel sort of a sense of contentment,” said Dantonio, “That day was a little bit more exciting, to say the least.”
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The Spartans ended the season with a 38-0 loss to Alabama in the College Football Playoff after winning the Big Ten Championship and going 12-1 on the season. Michigan ended their regular season 9-3 before crushing #19 Florida 41-7 in the Citrus Bowl.