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Now, Michigan football fans haven’t exactly been enthusiastic about the outlook of the Wolverines in the near future, but certainly, they’ll stand up to what CBS Sports is saying at the moment.
Which assuredly has Spartans fans cheering.
CBS Sports released a list of which football program has been the top school in each state the past 3-4 years, with the admission that 2020 isn’t given much weight given the abnormal season due to COVID-19. Of course, the rubric of the past 3-4 years doesn’t reach back to 2015, when Michigan State won the Big Ten — a feat Michigan hasn’t accomplished since 2004. But still, CBS Sports insists MSU has the more relevant program than the one in Ann Arbor, going back to 2017-18.
Michigan — Michigan State: Oh, boy. Where do we even start? It’s not that Michigan has been bad under Jim Harbaugh. No, the Wolverines can’t beat Ohio State and therefore can’t get to the Big Ten Championship game, but they also haven’t been bad — until last year. Michigan State wasn’t good in 2020, either, but it has the most recent head-to-head win. In the past four years, both programs have posted a 10-win season and split the rivalry 2-2. Western Michigan could make a case, too, but the Spartans get a narrow edge for 2021. Perhaps there’s more clarity this time next year. — Kercheval
MSU’s record in that time is 26-20, and it has two head-to-head wins over U-M — one coming in the COVID year, though it was an unexpected and terrible loss for Michigan. At the same time, Michigan is 29-16 from 2017 forward, with an equally as bad two-win season in 2020, but much more success over the course of the past four years in terms of wins and higher-end bowl game appearances. The Wolverines’ two wins over MSU have been more emphatic than the Spartans’ wins in 2017 and 2020, with the 2019 win being the most lopsided victory in recent memory.
While this takes a look at the records, Michigan has also been better in terms of recruiting. The Wolverines sit at No. 13 in the 247Sports composite compared to the Spartans at No. 45. In 2020, Michigan was 14th while MSU was 44th; they were eighth and 33rd, respectively, in 2019, 22nd and 31st in 2018, and fifth and 36th in 2017.
Of course, if Michigan State manages to win again in the head-to-head matchup in 2021, the rivalry will have swung back in favor of the Spartans, but if CBS Sports was truly interesting in determining the best program in the state of Michigan heading into the 2021 season, the Wolverines should get the nod, even if they haven’t lived up to expectations.
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