It's a new era for Michigan State in the old rivalry against Michigan

EAST LANSING – In his first four years at Michigan State, Cal Haladay was part of wild clashes in a heated rivalry.

The highlight came in 2021 when the linebacker recorded 10 tackles as the Spartans earned a 37-33 win over Michigan in an epic matchup between undefeated top-10 teams.

The Wolverines returned to Spartan Stadium last year for the first time since being destroyed by Kenneth Walker III and the atmosphere in East Lansing was completely different. Michigan State was in the midst of a disastrous season on and off the field while the Wolverines were on their way to a national championship.

The result reflected the program's direction last fall, when Michigan dominated with a 49-0 win, making it the largest home loss in Michigan State history.

“It’s really just both ends of the spectrum,” Haladay said of the rivalry. “Depending on the outcome of the game, it’s either the ultimate high or the ultimate low.”

The annual battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy looks set to be much tougher this year as Haladay looks to finish his career with a winning record in the rivalry. Michigan State (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) is in the midst of its first year of rebuilding and posted its best performance of the season with a 32-20 win over Iowa. Michigan (4-3, 2-2) returns home after a 21-7 loss at Illinois last week, matching the program's total number of losses in the last three years combined.

This is as far away from the 2021 matchup as you can get, as neither team is in the running for a Big Ten title or a spot in the College Football Playoff. It's the first time since 2008 that Michigan State and Michigan are unranked before the game, and the first time since 1995, when Nick Saban took on Lloyd Carr, that both have a new coach.

The 117th edition of the rivalry is something of a fresh start for both sides and perhaps a necessary reset after numerous ugly moments in recent years.

A Southern California native, Smith never coached east of Montana before taking over the Spartans 11 months ago. He was at the center of heated interstate rivalries, including as quarterback, assistant and head coach at Oregon State University against Oregon. Smith left what was once known as the Civil War for a clash between neighbors in the Midwest.

“I've felt it since I've been here,” he said, “understanding that this is an important game, the most important regular-season game that we're going to play, and that passion for it that I'm happy to be a part of.”

With a revamped staff and 61 new players on the roster, Smith tried to educate everyone in the room at Sunday's team meeting about a rivalry he was just getting to know. He shed light on the history of the Paul Bunyan Trophy, but newcomers won't really know until they experience it for themselves.

“I think it's going to be an intense game, probably a little touchy-feely,” said sixth-year senior center Tanner Miller, who spent the last five seasons at Oregon State. “They will compete, we will compete and it will be a great atmosphere, of course on hostile terrain.”

Smith was asked if he had ever seen previous Michigan State-Michigan games and said with a smile, “I remember a player that… I don't go there,” alluding to the famous “Trouble with the Snap.” game in 2015. Most of Smith's staff came with him from Corvallis and had plenty of time to kill waiting in hotel rooms for kickoff.

“I was watching from the West Coast and saw a lot of these games and the passion behind them and then listened to a lot of former players and some of our staff that were involved,” offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren said of the rivalry he’s getting into. “Listening to them talk about it and how important it is to them, it’s pretty cool to get the chance to be a part of a big rivalry like this.”

While Lindgren is in his first few seasons in the Big Ten, defensive coordinator Joe Rossi has firm roots in the conference. He spent the last seven years in Minnesota coaching trophy games against Michigan (Little Brown Jug), Wisconsin (Paul Bunyan's Axe) and Iowa (Floyd of Rosedale). Rossi appreciates the effort, but wants to silence the noise.

“The way you win the rivalry is by winning the game, and the way you win the game is you have to act on your side of the ball,” he said. “I have played in rivalry games over the years. Sometimes when you're worried about other things, like before the game or the week before, we don't worry about it. We worry about practice and creating habits so we can get going and implement them.”

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