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    Michigan and Michigan State football downplayed the skirmish at the end of the game
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    Michigan and Michigan State football downplayed the skirmish at the end of the game

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    The intensity between Michigan and Michigan State football remained under control throughout the entire 60-minute contest…until the final play.

    Michigan lined up in victory formation with 27 seconds left to win 24-17 to retain possession of the Paul Bunyan Trophy. The Wolverines made the final play of the game, but a scrum broke out between both teams.

    UM tight end Colston Loveland and MSU defensive end Anthony Jones got into a shoving match, with a Jones shove landing across Loveland's face and Loveland responding with a headbutt to Jones' helmet, prompting Jones to grab Loveland by the helmet and to throw He threw him to the ground and there was a huge scrum between both teams as the clock ticked to zero.

    Soon after, Loveland called Michigan State “little brother” in an interview with Big Ten Network. However, he later said he had gone a little too far in the heat of the moment.

    “I kind of got carried away at the end,” Loveland said. “We just talked back and forth, pushed a little bit and stuff, but that's how the rivalry comes about. It's all just heat of the moment after two losses, I really needed those so I was just kind of excited. “We respect every opponent we play; They’re a great football team.”

    The fight lasted less than a minute and no flags were thrown. The two teams were eventually separated, and MSU returned to its locker room while the Wolverines celebrated with the Paul Bunyan Trophy on the field. Although Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore prevented any escalation on the field, she still said it was unacceptable for a fight to break out.

    “Our job is to represent the university,” Moore said. “It's not about reacting to it, the referees should sort that out. So we’ll look into it internally to make sure we take care of it, but that’s not Michigan football.”

    MSU head coach Jonathan Smith, coaching in the rivalry for the first time, also downplayed the incident at the end of the game, saying it was the result of an “emotional” rivalry game. These two teams have a long history of moments boiling over, including the tunnel battle the last time these teams played in Ann Arbor in 2022, but this time the battle didn't reach that point.

    “It's an emotional game and you don't like to end like that,” Smith said. “I was mainly thinking about the football game itself, it was tiring, I thought the boys played really hard and I thought it was a pretty clean game, so it's difficult to finish like that.”

    Both Moore and Smith made their head coaching debuts in this rivalry, with Moore getting initial bragging rights. Michigan State outgained Michigan by 87 yards but had another turnover, a missed field goal and six penalties, while the Wolverines incurred no penalties.

    Smith, who transferred to Michigan State after spending his entire coaching and playing career on the West Coast, said he is now familiar with the in-state rivalry and the intensity between the two teams.

    “It’s passionate,” Smith said. “Neither side likes each other and that’s why I’m going back, it’s pretty frustrating (to lose).”

    And on the other hand, Michigan is reveling in the celebration of its first win in October while ensuring that Paul Bunyan stays in Schembechler Hall for the next year.

    “It feels great to keep Paul home,” running back Donovan Edwards said.

    Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press It covers the city's professional teams, the state's two flagship universities and more. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22and email him at [email protected].

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