Rich Rodriguez understands about rivalries.
Nationally, all college football fans clearly know how big the annual Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is. Books have been written about the epic battles between the Buckeyes and Wolverines.
Inside the state of Michigan, the Wolverine-Spartan rivalry is nearly as big and some say it’s the biggest of all.
“Everywhere you go, wherever you go, people talk about the game quite a bit,” Rodriguez said of Saturday’s upcoming Michigan-Michigan State game at his weekly press conference on Monday. “Usually in our state, there are people on one side or the other. This is special because of the location of the two teams and the intensity of it.”
Rodriguez is the first-year University of Michigan head coach and he gets it. Over the years, Michigan has won 67 and lost 28 to Michigan State and there have been five ties.
The teams renew the rivalry Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Michigan is 2-5 overall and 1-2 in league play. Michigan State is 6-2, 3-1 and the clear favorite for the first time in years.
Michigan State joined the Big 10 in the 1950's and in the 1960’s the Spartans were clearly the best team in the state, led by the 1966 team that was unbeaten except for a 10-10 tie against Notre Dame (and a later loss in the Rose Bowl).
But over the last quarter-century, the Wolverines have dominated.
Last year MSU led at home in the fourth quarter but Michigan rallied for a 28-24 victory. After the contest, Michigan All-American running back Mike Hart, usually a mild-mannered quiet type, told the press Michigan State was like “a little brother” to Michigan.
“I heard that,” said Rodriguez. “Mike was a great player. He was a senior, so I’m sure he was just speaking from his own emotions and not for anyone else.”
Hart is now in the National Football League, on injured reserve and unable to play. He’s expected to be in Ann Arbor for the game on Saturday.
Not all coaches in this rivalry have understood how big this game is -- at least initially.
Bo Schembechler took over as Michigan coach in 1969 and immediately made his presence known as his underdog Wolverines upset No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Ohio State to win the Big 10 title. But earlier in that season, Michigan lost to Michigan State.
Schembechler, who was an assistant at Ohio State before coming to Ann Arbor, later admitted he underestimated the Spartans. Before he became coach at Michigan, his predecessor Bump Elliott appeared in a weekly TV show with Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty and Schembechler refused to continue the show. He felt the Wolverines were above the Spartans and shouldn’t share the spotlight.
Ironically, the only first-year coach to win in this series was Michigan State’s Nick Saban in 1995. When Saban bolted East Lansing four years later, he cited a major reason was his distaste for battling Michigan on the recruiting trail. Saban said he wanted to coach a team that was clearly No. 1 in its state.
This year Michigan is clearly struggling and it’s a chance for Michigan State to make a statement. It’s also a chance for the Wolverines to get off the floor and make a statement of their own.
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