Last Week at The Wolverine Den

Tailgate Attendance

Tailgate Pictures

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Game Preview

It's Michigan vs. Michigan State. Rivalry Week. Little Brother. Assault in the tunnel. Spartan Bob. Trouble with the snap. Night game. Wow. The Spartans are ranked #22 in the AP poll this week and will look to be strong contenders for the Big Ten Championship. Oh, wait, that's basketball. Yes, Spartan nation has turned the page to their basketball team making the remainder of the football season more of an afterthought. MSU has lost 4 games in a row, all against Big Ten teams, and have lost each of them by double digits. This is a bad Michigan State team.

Here are the stats:

32.7 points allowed per game. 119th in the nation (out of 134 teams)
39.8 points allowed against power 4 teams (133rd in the nation)
128th in the nation in Sack yardage allowed
106th in the nation in total offense
100th in the nation in turnover margin
17th out of 18 teams in the Big Ten in the Football Power Index

Pre-game Menu

Bacon Wrapped Filets
Baked Sweet Potato
Caesar Salad
Shrimp Cocktail

I could go on and on. And on. Truth be told, the winner of this game is almost always the team that rushes for more yards. Michigan averages 212 yards per game. MSU averages 123 yards per game. But Michigan State has a way of making this a close game, even winning. Quarterback Aiden Chiles was a 5 star prospect, now in his 3rd year. While he turns the ball over (a lot), he can also make big plays. WR Nick Marsh is one of the best in the Big Ten. Don't be surprised to see these, and many other players hit the transfer portal.

The Wolverine Den Trivia

Q: Michigan State joined the Big Ten Conference in 1949 but didn't start playing football in the conference until 1953. Who dropped out of the Big Ten to make room for MSU?

A: The University of Chicago left the Big Ten to make room for the Spartans.

It's the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Many Spartan fans are hoping for a big loss to their rival so their coach will be fired. State is 8-23 over the last four seasons in Big Ten Conference games. They are not favored in any of their remaining games this year. Without an upset, MSU will finish 0-9 in the Big Ten for the first time ever.

Michigan leads the all-time series with Michigan State 74-38-5.

Michigan is favored by 14 points.

Post-Game Summary

The Michigan Wolverines were victorious over their rivals Michigan State with a 31-20 win on Saturday at Spartan Stadium. It was not a vintage performance by the Wolverines, but it was a win. It is very hard to win on the road, and the Spartans actually played a good game (except for 12 penalties for 105 yards). Michigan was OK on offense and OK on defense. certainly not the performance needed to beat another rival.

Justice Haynes was back from injury, and it was great, 26 carries for 152 yards and 2 TDs. Even missing 1½ games, Haynes is still 4th in the nation in rushing yards. Haynes was named the co-Big Ten Offensive player of the week. On defense, Jimmy Rolder filled up the stat sheet with 10 tackles (9 solo), a sack, two tackles-for-loss, a fumble recovery and a pass break up. Rolder was named the Big Ten Defensive player of the week.

Special teams continue to be a problem for Michigan. Net punting is under 40 yards per kick, we have missed 4 field goals this year and, in this game, we fielded a punt with a fair catch on our own 3-yard line. These could be costly down the road.

Steve's Prediction

31-17

Tim's Prediction

31-14

Brown's Prediction

33-15

Craig's Prediction

40-21

Steve 25, Brown 24½, Craig 17½, Tim 13