EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) – The big win over Wisconsin was barely over, and already Michigan State was eyeing next weekend’s opponent.
It’s the game the Spartans look forward to every season – and this year’s matchup with Michigan is shaping up to be even more special than usual.
“That is the biggest game of the year, bottom line. It just is, there isn’t much more to say,” Spartans linebacker Greg Jones said. “My focus went to Michigan once the seconds ticked off of the clock. It wasn’t really long.”
It’s been more than a decade since the Spartans and Wolverines entered their matchup unbeaten, and that’s exactly what’s in store when they meet next weekend in Ann Arbor. Michigan State held off Wisconsin 34-24 Saturday to move up to No. 17 in the AP poll, one spot ahead of Denard Robinson and Michigan.
The Spartans (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) won for a second straight week without coach Mark Dantonio, who had a heart attack Sept. 19. Dantonio planned to come back for the Wisconsin game but was hospitalized again Thursday because of a blood clot. The school says his prognosis is excellent, but his status for this week remains unclear.
Dantonio has embraced this rivalry since taking over the Spartans in 2007. Michigan running back Mike Hart referred to the Spartans as his “little brother” following a victory at Michigan State that year. The Spartans responded by winning back-to-back games over Michigan for the first time in more than 40 years.
The Wolverines (5-0, 1-0) will be eager to put an end to that run and prove they are indeed a different team than the group that struggled through two poor seasons under coach Rich Rodriguez. Michigan stayed undefeated with a 42-35 win over Indiana on Saturday.
The Wolverines already have won as many games as they did all last season, and Rodriguez’s team is second in the nation in total offense.
“There’s a lot of people out there still waiting for us to fall off, waiting to see where we’re at and when it’s going to break down,” Michigan’s Junior Hemingway said. “We just drive on, keep moving on.”
The elusive Robinson has hurt opponents with his arm and his feet, running for the winning touchdown in the final seconds against both Notre Dame and Indiana.
“Robinson is a great player,” Michigan State linebacker Eric Gordon said. “He’s fast, and it’s a totally different offense from the one we played (Saturday). We’ve just got to refocus.”
Although Robinson’s emergence as a Heisman Trophy candidate has lifted Michigan, the Spartans have been in the spotlight since beating Notre Dame on a fake field goal in overtime. That night Dantonio had his heart attack and has yet to return to the field.
Of course, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been involved. Offensive coordinator Don Treadwell responded cryptically when asked how much contact the staff had with Dantonio during the Wisconsin game, and defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said he’d “never been on the phone so much during a game.”
Michigan State stayed aggressive, going for it on fourth down from the Wisconsin 1-yard line late in the game and sealing the win over the Badgers (4-1, 0-1) with a touchdown. Wisconsin dropped to No. 20 in Sunday’s poll.
The Spartans are off to their first 5-0 start since 1999, when Nick Saban was their coach. They actually started 6-0 that year, capping the streak with a victory over an unbeaten Michigan team. Now the Spartans will try for a repeat performance.
Add A Comment