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    The football rivalry between MSU and Michigan was characterized by eventful and even games
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    The football rivalry between MSU and Michigan was characterized by eventful and even games

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    3 minutes, 50 seconds Read

    EAST LANSING – The Michigan State-Michigan football rivalry has become almost everything a truly great rivalry should be – eventful, consistently memorable, thrilling, full of extreme highs and lows and, above all, almost even.

    For 25 years, Michigan has led the series 13-12, with each team in control of the series for an extended period of time. Looking back 20 years, it's 10-10, with each team winning by double digits five times.

    Before Michigan's 49-0 win over the Spartans last season, the point total over the previous 19 seasons was 455-454, with the Wolverines leading by one point.

    MORE: Couch: Jonathan Smith throws himself into the rivalry that will define his tenure as MSU football coach

    What's made this rivalry so interesting over the last two decades are the wild swings, the game-changing games, the ups and downs of the two programs and how those games have made us think about the state of things. Even within the last three to four years.

    There are players in these current squads who have experienced it all. MSU has two players – receiver Montorie Foster and defensive back Angelo Gross – who have played in each of the last four games against Michigan from 2020 to 2023 – and two other players – defensive lineman Maverick Hansen and linebacker Cal Haladay – who have played in each of the last three meetings.

    Linebacker Darius Snow played in 2020 and 2021 but missed the last two seasons against the Wolverines. Hansen was also with the team in 2020 and only missed the Michigan game. Cornerback Chuck Brantley, one of the stars of the 2021 game, also played in 2022 but missed last season's matchup.

    “I would say it was definitely eventful,” Haladay said this week. “I mean, 2021 was probably one of the best games of my career here. That was an all-time game. It was an unreal environment and everything that happened in that game. And then, I mean, last year was really unfortunate. It's easy, it's hard. It’s really both ends of the spectrum.”

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    The 2021 game, of course, was MSU's Kenneth Walker-led 37-33 victory at Spartan Stadium over a Michigan team that went on to win the first of three straight Big Ten titles. A year earlier, MSU, as a 25-point underdog during the pandemic, beat a Michigan team that turned out to be equally flawed in an empty Big House. But it was still an unforgettable day. The 2022 game will forever be remembered for several Spartans beating up a pair of Wolverines in the tunnel after Michigan's win, a fight that led to the suspension of eight MSU players, including Grose.

    Last year was also unforgettable – because of the Connor Stalions drama that led to it and because of the haunting score.

    For Michigan, defensive back Makari Paige is the only player to have participated in each of the last four meetings, from the pandemic year through last season. Long snapper William Wagner played in 2020, 2021 and '23, but not the game two years ago. Running back Kalel Mullings played in the 2020-22 games but not last season. And defensive back Quinten Johnson and DB and special teams contributor Keshaun Harris (from Lansing Waverly) have both played in the last three meetings.

    Given both programs' recent developments, it's notable that the last four games have been tied 2-2 – although it's appropriate given how this rivalry has played out.

    This season marks the beginning of another iteration of the rivalry. Two new head coaches. Two 4-3 teams. Two programs come from different places and are trying to find their footing. Memorable games are undoubtedly coming, perhaps this Saturday.

    Because memorable games have defined the era of this rivalry long before the last 20 years, but especially in the last 20 years.

    Twenty years ago, Braylon Edwards and Michigan rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to break the Spartans' hearts in triple overtime.

    Three years later the game “Little Brother”.

    In 2008, MSU's Revenge took place in the Big House. In 2012, Michigan exhales in the Big House. In 2013, “Fourth-and-48.” In 2014, Joe Bolden's bold tentpole. In 2015 there was “trouble with the snap”. In 2018, there was a pre-game collision with Devin Bush. In 2020, Rocky Lombardi, Ricky White and the pandemic are playing. In 2021 the Kenneth Walker game. In 2022 the tunnel will be. 49-0 in 2023.

    These games can all be summarized in a few words and remembered.

    Maybe that will be the case.

    MORE: MSU at Michigan: 5 deciding factors and a prediction

    Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.

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