INDIANAPOLIS — The Michigan vs. Michigan State rivalry went from fun, to hated, to heated, to outright and downright violent.
The annual in-state contest took a dark turn, first when Mark Dantonio took over the program in 2007. When the Wolverines had a comeback victory, Mike Hart famously referred to the Spartans as ‘little brother,’ which was the equivalent of setting one-thousand couch fires in East Lansing. The ire coming from central Michigan propelled the green and white to several victories over a lackadaisical maize and blue squad.
However, in recent years, it went from a war of words to a war on the field. Customary shenanigans often took place in between plays, but nothing could compare to what happened in the aftermath of Michigan’s 2022 win, when multiple Spartans jumped two Wolverines in the stadium tunnel, leading to multiple suspensions of said MSU players.
The upcoming matchup in 2023 could be a night game at Spartan Stadium if NBC has its way. Asked about that possibility mixed with the recent issues in the rivalry, Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker doesn’t really see a way out from the current state of vitriol between the programs.
“How do you rein it in? I don’t know how you do that,” Tucker said. “There’s not a day that has gone by that I haven’t heard something about that game. I mean, every day of my life, I hear about that game. So I don’t know how you rein that in. It just is what it is.”
So, what’s the solution? Could the teams take a year off? Even if they could, Tucker doesn’t like the idea.
“No, that’s never gonna happen. That’s not even a reality. So why would we want to do that?” Tucker said. “That’s what’s great about college football. Now, I’ve been a part of — we talked about before, I coached in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Green Bay, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Colorado, Nebraska. Those are big games. I mean, that’s why we coach, why you play to be in those games and ultimately win those games. Oftentimes you’re judged by how you do in those games.
“So I think it’s great. From the day I got here in my initial press conference, I’m not stepping away, I’m not shying away from the challenge of the rivalry. This is the biggest game of the year for us. And it’s always gonna be like that as long as I’m the coach here.”
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