Michigan Football: 3 things to watch against Michigan State

Spartan Stadium has not been kind to Michigan football

Of all the stadiums where Michigan normally plays, maybe none has caused the Wolverines more heartbreak than Spartan Stadium.

Certainly, there have been some tough defeats in Columbus at the Horse Shoe and some tough games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa, but East Lansing has been a house of horrors for Michigan, dating back about 20 years.

Both in 1999 and 2001, the Wolverines brought top-10 teams to Spartan Stadium only to lose. Of course, 2001 was the infamous clock game, where the Spartans got an extra play, which allowed them to sneak out a 26-24 victory.

In 2011 and 2013, Michigan came into the game ranked, as did Michigan State and both times, the Spartans destroyed UM, winning 28-14 and 29-6. Those were two bad days for Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner.

Jim Harbaugh is 1-0 at Spartan Stadium, winning 32-23 two years ago. Yet, that Spartans team went 3-9. This year’s team is much better and winning there will be a much tougher task. We will see if Michigan can avoid the trap of previous teams Saturday.