College Football
The Battle for Bunyan: Michigan vs MSU Rivalry Game 2018
Saturday. High noon. A showdown between two ranked rivals. One trophy. Win or lose; there will be no draw. The rivalry game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans is always an adventure. Michigan is looking to bounce back from last year’s loss at home and regain the Paul Bunyan trophy from their in-state foes.
History of the Rivalry Game
The two rivals have met every year for the past 107 years, with the exception of 1943 and 1944, for reasons that should be obvious. In 1950, Michigan State joined the Big Ten Conference and made it a conference rivalry as well as an in-state rivalry. In 1953 the Paul Bunyan Trophy was introduced and has been the prize ever since. The current series record stands at 69-36-5, favouring Michigan. Michigan State is the current holder of the trophy and an 8-2 record over the past decade.
Recent Events
In 2015, Michigan got a new head coach in Jim Harbaugh. Fun fact about this rivalry: no head coach has won the game in his first year as coach. Harbaugh looked poised to break this streak at home at the Big House in his first rivalry game, until a last second fumble gave MSU back the ball and Jalen Watts-Jackson ran it 38 yards for a touchdown. Harbaugh’s reaction, along with the reaction of fans in the stands, have been the subject of many GIFs since. It was a brutal, stunning ending to a game in which Michigan didn’t trail until those last ten seconds.
In 2016, the game went to East Lansing and in a mirror play of the previous year, Michigan State, attempting a 2-pt conversion in the last seconds of the game, fumbled the ball. Viper Jabrill Peppers scooped it and ran it down the field to give his team an extra 2 point lead.
Last year in Ann Arbor, MSU again came away with the victory. So far during Harbaugh’s tenure at Michigan, neither team has been able to win at home. Hopefully this streak can continue and Michigan can come up big with a win.
Why Michigan Need This Win
Michigan is currently riding a streak of 17 straight road losses to ranked teams. They have been dominant since their opening game loss to Notre Dame, but have yet to play another game away from the Big House. So far on the season they are 5-0 at home, 0-1 on the road. Harbaugh is going to have to prove he can win on the road against ranked opponents. The Wolverines are also 1-5 against rivals MSU and OSU since Harbaugh’s arrival in Ann Arbor. The 2016 victory over the Spartans is his only rivalry win. If we include their rivalry with Notre Dame, they are 1-6 against rivals. Not great numbers. Fans have taken notice, and are none too pleased with their head coach’s inability to win rivalries. No one seems to care that Michigan have gotten a Bowl Game every year since Harbaugh’s arrival. If he can’t beat Urban Meyer and Ohio State, they want him out.
What to Look For on Saturday
The Wolverines have played the last few games without star defensive end Rashan Gary, and that may be continuing this week. No one has said for sure what will happen on Saturday. The Wolverines have managed to pull off wins without him, but nothing is certain against the Spartans. Emotions run high and mistakes get made in rivalry games. Michigan is going to have to be on high alert.
Shea Patterson has settled in nicely to the Michigan offense, but he hasn’t yet had a test like he will face on Saturday. Inexplicable things happen when these teams play each other, and Patterson will have to bring his A-game. So far with Michigan, Patterson has completed 68.6% of his throws. His interception rate is down by half from last year, at 1.8%. His QB ranking is No. 26 nationally. None of this matters if he can’t beat MSU on Saturday.
The QB position has certainly been a big part of Michigan’s struggles against the Spartans in the last decade, when their record is 2-8. Let’s not forget that for a good chunk of that we had to deal with Devin Gardner at QB and that was a struggle in itself, rivalry game or not. But these are the stats Patterson is up against: 5 touchdowns. 14 interceptions. 50% completion rate, at an average of 6.2 yards. In ten years. Michigan is going to have to improve in all those areas if they hope to pull off a win in this rivalry game on Saturday.
Advantage?
Both teams have incredibly talented defenses, even if Gary is still sidelined. This means the run game is probably out on both sides. Both teams are therefore going to have to be on point with their passing game. The issue here for MSU is that most of their first-string receivers are injured. Michigan has a stacked receiving core, and so far *knock wood* they are healthy for Saturday’s rivalry game. Patterson asserts that the five stitches in his hand won’t be an issue on Saturday, and I hope he’s right. The Wolverines’ young quarterback room will be in trouble if he’s wrong. Keep Shea Patterson in your prayers this week, y’all.
Written by Susannah Schmidt
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Photo credit to Paul Kruse via Flickr
