Wolverines trying to 
treat Saturday like 

any other game

By MAX COHEN

Managing Sports Editor

As the No. 12 Michigan football 

team 
enters 
Saturday’s 
game 

against No. 7 Michigan State, it 
appears 
to 
be 

on the precipice 
of 
something 

special, a level of 
success that has 
not been seen in 
recent program 
history.

The 

Wolverines have 
rattled off five 
straight 
wins, 

the last three of 
which have been 
shutouts. 
The 

national 
hype 

train has begun, 
and the praise 
for Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh 
has been effusive. Pundits are 
suddenly picking the Wolverines 

to make some noise, and the fans 
are starting to believe.

But one obstacle stands in 

the way of full-blown mania. 
The 
Spartans 
(2-0 
Big 
Ten, 

6-0 
overall) 
haven’t 
won 
as 

convincingly as Michigan, but 
are 
a 
threatening 
opponent 

nonetheless. Michigan State has 
dominated the Wolverines (2-0, 
5-1) by a combined score of 64-17 
the last two years, but Michigan 
does not seem to care.

Harbaugh 
dismissed 
all 

questions about the past at his 
weekly press conference Monday, 
and Michigan’s players largely 
did the same. Harbaugh and 
his assistant coaches have been 
staunch in their belief that if their 
team plays 100 percent every 
week, then it’s impossible to put 
extra emphasis on a rivalry game.

“We’ve just been going about 

our 
business 
down 
there 
at 

Schembechler Hall, and I’m sure 
that there will be a lot of attempts 
made to make it … it’s already 
big,” Harbaugh said. “The game is 
big enough. Fair, healthy, honest 
competition with a heck of a good 
opponent. That’s enough.”

The refrain about fair, healthy, 

honest 
competition 
is 
one 

Harbaugh has often repeated this 
season. In his mind, the fact that a 
rival happens to be the opponent 
does not increase the competition.

Before his first game for the 

Paul Bunyan Trophy, Michigan 
passing game coordinator Jedd 
Fisch 
didn’t 
notice 
anything 

different about 
the atmosphere 
at Schembechler 
Hall. 

“There’s 

always 
an 

intensity in this 
building,” Fisch 
said Wednesday. 
“There’s 
a 

determination 
to 
win 
every 

game and play as 
hard as we possibly can. I haven’t 
seen much of a difference because 
of the fact that that would kind of 
go against our whole philosophy.”

Defensive 
line 
coach 
Greg 

Mattison 
experienced 
the 

program’s 
former 
philosophy 

about rivalry weeks under Brady 
Hoke. 
Countdown 
clocks 
to 

rivalry games adorned the walls of 
Schembechler Hall, and there was 

little question as to which games 
(Notre Dame, Michigan State and 
Ohio State) were more important 
than the others.

But with the arrival of the new 

staff, Mattison has changed, too. 
He believes the importance of 
rivalry games is inherent in their 
nature.

“I 
think 

when you’re at 
Michigan 
you 

understand 
exactly … we’ve 
always 
talked 

about this, and 
they understand 
it already, that 
when you’re at 
Michigan, 
the 

expectations 
are very, very 

high,” Mattison said Wednesday. 
“Whoever you’re playing, that’s 
a big game because you have to 
play up to what’s expected as a 
Michigan football player, so I think 
they look at each game that way.”

Mattison’s unit will be charged 

with 
rattling 
Michigan 
State 

quarterback Connor Cook, who has 
defeated the Wolverines in each of 
the past two seasons. Harbaugh 

said on multiple occasions this 
week that Cook’s record as a 
starter (29-3) stands out to him. 
The fifth-year senior has thrown 12 
touchdowns and two interceptions 
so far this season.

Michigan’s 
own 
fifth-year 

senior quarterback will also face 
an increased challenge this week. 
Jake Rudock has steadied after 
his three-interception showing 
at Utah, but defeating Michigan 
State could require a performance 
of another level. The Wolverines’ 
recent dominance has left the 
pressure off Michigan’s passing 
offense late in games.

Rudock, his coaches say, is 

hard to faze. The Spartans will do 
their best to change that, but their 
success is no guarantee. 

Harbaugh 
has 
remained 

steadfast 
in 
his 
belief 
that 

Saturday’s game is just another 
one, a statement that could help 
his players after years of getting 
hyped up for the game before 
falling. But if the Wolverines win, 
the hype will continue to grow. 

And 
when 
Michigan 
plays 

Minnesota in two weeks, that, too, 
will be just another game. At least 
in Harbaugh’s eyes.

FootballSaturday, October 17, 2015
6

Michigan St. 
at Michigan

Matchup: 
Michigan 
State 6-0; 
Michigan 5-1

When: 
Saturday 
3:30 P.M.

Where: 
Michigan 
Stadium

TV/Radio: 
ESPN

‘M’ keeps even keel in rivalry

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will coach in the Michigan-Michigan State game for the first time on Saturday.

“The game is 

big enough. Fair, 
honest, healthy 
competition.”

