EAST LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan and Michigan State football coaches are preparing for a rivalry game unlike recent years.
Saturday’s meeting will be the first time neither program is ranked in the AP Top 25 since 1998. Both head coaches are also in their first year.
Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith has never played against Michigan, but he quickly learned how important the rivalry is when it was mentioned to him during his introductory press conference.
“This is what college football’s all about…” Smith said. “This is an important game — the most important regular season game we’ll play. The passion for it, I love being a part of. I’ve been a part of multiple in-state rivalries. No question, on my end, that this thing is important.”
The Wolverines won the past two matchups, but the series is tied at five wins each in the past 10 years. Sherrone Moore’s squad wants to keep the Paul Bunyan trophy in Ann Arbor, but is coming off of its second straight loss. The Wolverines will have to play strong to keep the trophy away from the confident Spartans.
“I think the culture overseeds the losses right now,” Moore said. “Those guys see what they’ve done, how they’ve worked to get to this point. There’s a lot of pride in who they are as people, for them, for their village, for this team, for Michigan. So guys aren’t going to stop playing.”
Both teams are 4-3 and see every game in the second half of the season as a must-win. Moore might switch quarterbacks to spark the offense again, but he’s not sure who will start Saturday: Davis Warren, Alex Orji or Jack Tuttle. Michigan State is scouting all three quarterbacks so it can be as prepared as possible on defense.
“We’ve got tape of all of their players that have played offensively,” Smith said. “It is about the run game because this run game of theirs is potent. It can be unique in some of their schemes. They do a nice job of that, so it’s a physical brand of football that we have to get ready for.”
The Wolverines are also emphasizing scouting Spartans quarterback Aidan Chiles.
“You’ve got to do a great job with the rush lanes,” Moore said. “You’ve got to do that with that guy because once he gets outside of the pocket, he can be dynamic. He can do some things to hurt you.”
Saturday’s battle for the Paul Bunyan trophy kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. It will air on the Big Ten Network.