Michigan and Michigan State football meet in their annual in-state rivalry showdown for the first time since tension boiled over last year. The two teams, despite both dealing with their own off-field drama, enter the matchup heading in completely different directions.
The last time these two played, there was a postgame fight in the tunnel at Michigan Stadium that ultimately led to legal discipline for MSU players and overshadowed Michigan’s convincing 29-7 win to reclaim the Paul Bunyan Trophy.
Since then, Michigan has continued to skyrocket to the top of the college football world, doing so despite multiple NCAA investigations. MSU fired head coach Mel Tucker for cause because of a sexual harassment allegation, and sits at the bottom of the Big Ten after four straight losses.
Michigan State hosts the 116th matchup of the in-state battle. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. from Spartan Stadium, the first-ever night game in East Lansing in the history of the series, and will be televised on NBC and livestreamed on Peacock and on Fubo (free trial). Michigan enters as a 25½-point favorite.
READ MORE: Cheating allegations against Michigan football cast a pall over its triumphant climb
Michigan vs. Michigan State updates, highlights
Pregame notes
MSU debuts its black “Shadows” uniforms, complete with black helmets, jerseys and pants.
Michigan made national headlines this week for something other than its 7-0 start. The NCAA is investigating the Wolverines for allegedly scouting future opponents in-person, which violates NCAA rules. The news, which broke Thursday, added some discourse between rival fanbases in the buildup to kickoff, but ultimately should not have much of an impact on this game.
The news added life to the week that was pretty mundane otherwise because the Wolverines are largely expected to win. Through seven games, Michigan is undefeated, winning by an average margin of 32.7 points, and holding opponents to under seven points per game. It looks to be another favorable matchup for the Wolverines’ defense against MSU’s struggling offense and redshirt freshman quarterback Katin Houser, who is making his second career start.
Tunnel fight, 1 year later: What happened, where are they now?
J.J. McCarthy and Blake Corum have been the two main catalysts for the explosive Wolverine offense averaging 39.4 points per game. The Wolverine offense has the edge over the Spartan defense which is improved from last year but still susceptible to big plays.
Michigan State enters on a four-game losing streak after another fourth-quarter collapse against Rutgers last week. Interim head coach Harlon Barnett, who stepped up to fill in for Tucker, is looking to find answers quickly in all three phases of the game to try to hand Michigan its first regular season loss since the Wolverines’ last trip to East Lansing.
