Michigan Football: Revisiting last decade of Michigan State rivalry

Michigan Football and Michigan State will renew their rivalry Saturday and here’s a look at the last decade in the battle for the Paul Bunyan trophy.

The Wolverines and Spartans have met on the football field 112 times, with the first game between the two being played in 1898. The two teams have played every year since 1945 with Michigan football holding the edge in wins 71 to 36. Michigan is currently on a two game win streak in the series.

In 1953 the Paul Bunyan trophy was introduced to the rivalry and it has traveled back and forth between East Lansing and Ann Arbor ever since.

The Last Decade

When looking at rivalries, a 10 year span can give you a good snapshot at what has gone on in the rivalry recently. The past decade has had its highs and lows for both squads.

There have been three head coaches of the Wolverines since 2010. Rich Rodriguez (0-1), Brady Hoke (1-3), and Jim Harbaugh (3-2). The Spartans were coached by Mark Dantonio (6-4) for the entire decade.

Mark Dantonio and Michigan State had a lot of success in the first half of the decade. They went 4-1 against the Wolverines. The games weren’t even that close. Michigan State outscored the Wolverines 136-60.

Michigan State was at the height of their power under Dantonio and that came with great quarterback play and a stifling defense. Kirk Cousins and Connor Cook both won 27 and 34 games respectively, as starters.

Cousins and Cook were flanked by the likes of Leveon Bell, Bennie Fowler, Jeremy Langford, Keyshawn Martin, and Aaron Burbridge among others. They had playmakers at every position.

Perhaps the biggest accomplishment for the Spartans was their ability to take away the Wolverines most dynamic player, Denard Robinson. In three career starts against Michigan State, Denard had five INT’s and only two touchdowns.

Robinson was one of the most prolific offensive threats in Michigan football history and MSU neutralized him for three straight years. Without the leg of Brendan Gibbons, who the game-winner against the Spartans in 2012, Robinson and the Wolverines would have lost five straight to the Spartans.

The inability of Rich Rod and Brady Hoke to consistently beat Michigan State played a factor in the length of their stay as the head coach at Michigan. After the 2014 season, Michigan brought in Jim Harbaugh as head coach and the second half of the 2010’s have been much different.

The Harbaugh Effect

Jim Harbaugh, along with all the fanfare, expectations, and theatrics came to Michigan in 2015. One of the first things on his agenda was getting back to winning the rivalry games against Michigan State and Ohio State.

In five games against the Spartans, Harbaugh has led the Wolverines to a 3-2 record. Two of the wins have came in East Lansing (’16,’18) and one in Ann Arbor (’19).

Remember in the first half of the decade, the Spartans outscored the Wolverines 136-60. Since Harbaugh has been the coach, the Wolverines have flipped the script and outscored the Spartans 130-81.

Outside of the matchup last season, the games have been a lot more competitive. All one or two score games where both teams are in it until the last snap.

Harbaugh and the Wolverines have taken the rivalry serious and the wins have started to come.

Best of the Decade

Michigan vs Michigan State. Ann Arbor. 2015. Trouble with the snap.

The first iteration of Harbaugh vs Dantonio was a memorable one. A top 15 matchup with big implications in the Big Ten race. This is a game that Michigan and Michigan State fans will remember for very different reasons.

The Wolverines and Spartans werent able to get much going early in the game. Both teams failed to find the endzone in the first quarter. Michigan football opened the scoring with a touchdown from Sione Houma. Shortly after that, LJ Scott scampered into the endzone to tie the game. Kenny Allen added a field goal and the Wolverines went into halftime with a 10-7 lead.

Michigan and Michigan State continued to trade scores in the second half.

With ten seconds left in the game, Michigan leading 23-21, the Wolverines had to punt. The rest is history.

Blake O’Neill had trouble with the snap and Jalen Watts-Jackson scooped up the football and rumbled to the endzone for the game winning touchdown as time expired. Spartans win 27-23.

What’s Next?

The only question left to ask is, what will the next decade of this rivalry bring?