4B — Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

I

t was hard to walk into 
Schembechler Hall on 
Monday 
afternoon 
without 
becoming 
suffocated 
by the 
hoards 
of media 
members 
and 
television 
cameras 
lining the room. This week, the 
vibe was noticeably different.
Michigan coach Jim 
Harbaugh walked in and took 
the podium. His answers 
were terse. His tone was 
monotonous. There were 
no injury updates ahead of 
Michigan State. There was no 
discussion of the gameplan, 
retrospectively nor predictive. 
Sophomore fullback Ben 
Mason may or may not be 
injured. Junior defensive 
lineman Rashan Gary may or 
may not play. 
Welcome to rivalry week, in 
all its absurdity.
“I think we could all use 
a break from the cliches 
that have been plowed so 
thoroughly on both sides,” 
Harbaugh says.
Certainly that includes 
last year’s 
demoralizing 
upset loss to 
the Spartans 
in the pouring 
rain. No doubt 
he’d like to 
avoid discussing 
his 1-5 record 
against 
Michigan 
State and 
Ohio State — a 
figure firmly stamped into 
this program’s present ethos. 
No need for a reminder that 
Michigan hasn’t beaten a 
ranked opponent on the road 
since 2006. Perhaps those 
“cliches” include Mike Hart’s 

infamous “little brother” 
comment 10 years ago. There’s 
no point in harping on the fact 
that the Wolverines are 2-7 in 
this matchup since that quip. 
No one’s 
getting a break 
from those 
“cliches.” Not 
before Saturday 
at noon. And 
probably not 
after.
This is 
a big game 
pragmatically; 
No. 6 Michigan, 
coming off a 
blistering 38-13 win over then-
No. 15 Wisconsin, needs to 
keep the foot on the gas pedal. 
A loss Saturday would derail 
the wind suddenly at the sails 
of this program, not to mention 
hope of a College Football 

Playoff appearance.
This is a big game 
rhetorically; the program is 
at a tipping point this season 
under Harbaugh. A win in East 
Lansing would 
do wonders for 
the narrative 
around the state 
of the program.
This is a big 
game. Period.
“Yes,” 
Harbaugh said, 
when asked 
if there’s any 
heightened 
emotion this 
week. “In-state rival. Big Ten 
opponent. It always has (been 
a big game), always is, always 
will be.”
As Harbaugh departed into 
meetings, media members 
rushed to greet the players 

made available. There, perched 
ever-so-slightly above the 
blockade of people, stood 
fifth-year senior Lawrence 
Marshall.
Reporters 
find dozens of 
different ways 
to ask the same 
thing. Marshall 
finds dozens of 
different ways 
to provide the 
same answer.
In what ways 
is this week any 
different for you 
heading into 
Michigan State? Or no?
“A lot of my friends went to 
Michigan State, so it’s a lot of 
tension there. But other than 
that, this is a big game for us.”
Is there some playful trash-
talking?

“Of course there is.”
A lot of players have said this 
game’s personal for them. Why 
is there that chatter?
“This is a rivalry game, so 
every rivalry 
game is going to 
be personal.”
Missing Paul 
Bunyan? 
“Yes. Of 
course.”
The reporters 
search for the 
soundbite. The 
player tip-toes 
around it as best 
he can. So on, 
and so forth.
The practice is far from 
surprising, of course. It’s 
even understandable. This 
type of visceral distaste — 
the kind that is so plainly 
evident between Michigan 

and Michigan State players, 
coaches and fans — is precisely 
what makes college football 
unique. The winner next 
Saturday will stake a serious 
claim for the Big Ten East 
division, sure. But it will also 
hold bragging rights for a year. 
There’s a reason this week 
feels different than any other. 
It is different.
I wander over to linebacker 
Josh Ross’s media scrum, 
hoping for something to 
fall into my lap beyond the 
boilerplate back-and-forth I’ve 
grown frustrated by. 
That hope dissipates quickly. 
How much does this game 
mean to you?
“This rival is a big deal to me 
and I’m ready to go.”
It’s friendly here. Are you 
feeling any different? Emotions, 
excitement, how are you feeling?
“I feel like it’s natural, going 
into a game like this, to be super 
excited.”
Are you feeling any more 
excited going into this game?
“I wouldn’t say I’m more 
excited or anxious. I know how 
I feel about this game, and I 
know the passion I have for this 
game, and going into a game 
against an in-state rival, can’t 
beat it.”
I walk away, and look over 
at the group 
surrounding Tru 
Wilson. I walk 
leisurely toward 
that area. Just as 
I arrive, without 
an ounce of 
context on my 
end, a reporter 
asks Wilson a 
question.
Why did you 
get pet snakes if 
you’re scared of them?
Welcome to rivalry week. In 
all its absurdity.

Marcovitch can be reached 

on Twitter at @Max_Marcovitch 

or at maxmarco@umich.edu.

MAX 

MARCOVITCH

EVAN AARON/Daily
Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Lawrence Marshall (#93) was asked about the importance of the Michigan State game at Monday’s media availability.

‘M’ notches two wins 

After the huddled Michigan 
field hockey offense broke apart, 
freshman forward Tina D’Anjolell 
jogged over to take the corner. The 
rest of the offense spread around 
the top of the arc — one player on 
the near side, three at the top and 
one on the far side. All throughout 
the game the Wolverines would 
pass the ball to the top of the circle 
on corners, but not this time.
D’Anjolell gave the ball to 
senior forward Emma Way at the 
near side, catching the Ball State 
defense off guard. Taking the open 
shot, Way slapped a shot low and 
hard to the far post, bouncing off 
the top of the goalkeeper’s foot and 
into the goal.
Way’s goal was the fifth of six 
in Michigan’s Sunday afternoon 
6-0 route over an outmatched 
Cardinals team. The resounding 
victory, 
coupled 
with 
Friday 
night’s 
conference 
win 
over 
rival Michigan State, brings the 
Wolverines’ record to 11-5 (6-1 Big 
Ten).
The match on Friday, though, 
didn’t come as easily as the win did 
Sunday. The struggling Spartans 
(4-12, 0-7) managed to hold 
Michigan to only one goal late in 
the second half — even when the 
Wolverines dominated the game 
— leading to a close 1-0 victory over 
Michigan State.
“I thought we played really well, 
just the Michigan State goalkeeper 
was phenomenal in that match, 
which kept them in the game,” said 
Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz. 
“But I thought our structure was 
good, our midfield play was good, I 
thought we had really outstanding 
shots on goal, and when you have a 
strong goalie sometimes that’s the 
way it goes.”
The Wolverines managed eight 
shots on goal compared to zero for 
the Spartans. Michigan also edged 
Michigan State in penalty corners 
by six to four.
Carrying their control over the 
game into Sunday, the Wolverines 
outclassed the visiting Ball State 
team in every way. Michigan had 
20 shots on goal, the Cardinals 
had one. The Wolverines had 14 
penalty corners, Ball State had one. 

The Cardinals had one moment in 
the 70-minute game where they 
flirted with the possibility of a goal, 
but it was quickly expelled by a 
capable Michigan defense. It was 
clear that the difference between 
the two games, though, was the 
Wolverine’s ability to finish. 
“It’s always a goal to finish and 
I think the last couple of games we 
had we had a couple of issues with 
it,” said freshman forward Maya 
Gompers. “That’s something we’ve 
been working a lot in practice on. 
Obviously we did a lot better with 
that today and we had a lot of 
shots off — which is another one of 
our goals — so I think we did that 
pretty well today.”
Gompers, an Ann Arbor native, 
got her first career goal Sunday off 
a rebound from a penalty corner — 
a theme for Michigan. Three of the 
Wolverines’ six goals came from 
penalty corners, and most of their 
chances did, too.
“This 
year 
we’re 
doing 
something different, we’re kind 
of calling the corners based on 
what we see with their defense 
coming out,” said senior forward 
Emma Way. “Today we had a lot 
of new players coming in, so kind 
of figuring out where each of them 
were to go was crucial today, but 
we just have a plethora of options — 
we just choose one and go with it.”
Way scored her 15th and 16th 
goal Sunday, too, even as Michigan 
played every single player available 
— giving players like Gompers 
the opportunity to score her first 
career goal. Opportunities like 
that don’t come very often, but 
when they do, there is always a 
celebration by everyone involved 
with the team.
“I think being able to get 
everybody into the game, get some 
experience,” said Pankratz. “It’s 
always good to get the younger 
kids some more game experience 
so they can get sharp and be able to 
help us into the tournament. That 
was the best part. It was a nice 
team win.”
And as the Wolverines look 
forward to their next challenge — a 
game against Ohio State — and even 
further toward the tournament 
season, games like Sunday’s will 
not come often, sweetening the 
memories. 

FIELD HOCKEY

KENT SCHWARTZ
For the Daily

Ambry Thomas feels ‘hate’ for Michigan State

The old adage about in-state 
rivalries says the implications 
of a loss extend far beyond a 
single game. Sometimes, the 
worst part of defeat is hearing 
about it until the next contest is 
played.
Ambry 
Thomas 
is 
quite 
familiar with that concept.
The sophomore corner was 
on the losing end of last year’s 
matchup between the Michigan 
football team and Michigan 
State. As an in-state product, 
Thomas was reminded of the 
upset with each visit back home. 
“Every time I go to Detroit,” 
Thomas said. “Every time. So 
often.”
Thomas knows “a lot” of 
Spartans from Martin Luther 
King High School, where he 
established his long-standing 
friendship with Michigan State 
linebacker Tyriq Thompson. 
That has made him especially 
eager for this Saturday’s battle 
between 
the 
sixth-ranked 
Wolverines and 24th-ranked 
Spartans. 
“This week, I’ve been getting 
a lot of messages,” Thomas 
said. 
“Tyriq 
Thompson, 
he 
sent me a video. 
I just liked it. 
(I) let him know 
we’re 
coming, 
though.
“It was just a 
recent exchange 
in a saga of trash 
talk between the 
two. 
Recently, 
Thomas 
found 
a picture of him stiff-arming 
Thompson and decided it would 
make for good wall decoration. 
When Thompson saw it, he 
reminded 
his 
friend, 
“I’m 
coming for you this year.”
While rivalry fuels their 
relationship now, the two were 
nearly 
college 
teammates. 
Thomas 
was 
recruited 
by 
Michigan State and admits that 
many thought he’d eventually 
take his talents to East Lansing. 

His friendships with current 
players 
like 
Thompson, 
in 
fact, made turning down the 
Spartans “tough.”
But now that Thomas is at 
Michigan — a decision he says 
he’s happy with — he doesn’t 
consider 
what 
could 
have 
been. 
Though 
he 
grew 
up 
without a strong 
allegiance 
to 
either 
side, 
Thomas 
has 
certainly 
developed 
feelings 
about 
the 
rivalry 
while 
playing 
for the Wolverines. 
“I don’t really think about 
that 
school 
(any) 
more,” 
Thomas said. “I just think about 
beating them.
“Right now, I’m feeling the 
hate in my heart. I just want 
to get after them. We got 
disrespected last year.”
Thomas figures to have a 
larger impact this time around, 
however. He saw his first snap at 
wide receiver against Western 

Michigan on Sept. 8, officially 
expanding 
his 
role 
beyond 
backup 
corner 
and 
kickoff 
returns — duties to which he 
was limited last season. 
It was an opportunity that 
Thomas had longed to receive.
“Right 
after 
Notre 
Dame 
game, 
(coach 
Jim 
Harbaugh) 
told me in the 
front of the team 
like, 
‘Ambry, 
how do you feel 
about 
playing 
offense?’” 
Thomas said. “I 
got real excited. 
I was like, ‘Yeah, 
put me in there.’ ”
Though his stats are limited 
— two catches for five yards 
and one catch for 11 — he has 
become a useful wrinkle in 
Harbaugh’s offense. As one 
of the team’s fastest players, 
Thomas is used frequently 
as 
a 
jet-sweep 
threat. 
Sometimes, 
he 
causes 
just 
enough hesitation in opposing 
defenses to open opportunities 
elsewhere.

Six games in, Thomas feels 
like offense is coming more 
naturally to him.
“Probably just seeing the 
game speed and all of that — 
I’m acclimated to it,” Thomas 
said. “Just getting the ball, I 
can really just 
play instead of 
doing what the 
coaches tell me 
like, ‘run here, 
run there.’ I’ve 
opened up my 
vision more.
“It’s 
a 
lot 
(playing 
all 
three sides of 
the ball), but 
I’m 
tough. 
I 
came here for the challenge. 
I’m just ready for work.”
That’s the kind of confidence 
Thomas carries into Saturday’s 
matchup. He has experienced 
the disappointment of losing 
to Michigan State — and the 
year of grief that comes with it. 
Now, Thomas is trying to make 
sure that doesn’t happen again.
“It’s just a high-emotional 
game for me,” Thomas said. 
“And I’m ready.”

Welcome to rivalry week, in all its absurdity

EVAN AARON/Daily
Sophomore cornerback Ambry Thomas said he feels ‘hate’ for Michigan State ahead of Saturday’s game.

MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor

“I think we 
could all use a 
break from the 
cliches.”

“A lot of my 
friends went 
to Michigan 
State.”

“I wouldn’t 
say I’m more 
excited or 
anxious.”

“Every time I 
go to Detroit. 
Every time. So 
often.”

“It’s just a high-
emotional game 
for me. And I’m 
ready.”

The sophomore cornerback has a close friendship with a Spartan linebacker

