2B — Wednesday, October 17, 2018
SportsWednesday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
You can’t escape the clichés
B
y now, you’ve probably
heard Jim Harbaugh’s
quote from his Monday
press
conference.
The
Michigan
football
coach was
asked if
he has
given his
players any
directive
on how to
talk about
the sixth-ranked Wolverines’
upcoming game with No. 24
Michigan State.
“I think we could all use
a break from the clichés
that have been plowed so
thoroughly on both sides,”
Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh didn’t mention
any in particular, but there are
dozens to choose from.
One of those clichés has
become Harbaugh’s record
against his rivals, including a
1-2 mark against the Spartans.
Detractors of Harbaugh,
including many Michigan
State fans, love to talk about
that. It has made the common
response — pointing out how
close Michigan’s two losses
under Harbaugh were — just
as cliché.
Wolverine fans, on the
other hand, like to praise their
team’s historical dominance in
the rivalry — Michigan leads
the all-time series, 69-36-5.
Spartan faithful will then
point out that their team is 8-2
in the last 10 matchups. Those
stats have been plowed pretty
thoroughly.
That’s how this rivalry has
always been. The back-and-
forth is part of it, especially
between the fanbases.
Then there are the quotes
that have added fuel to the
fire over the years.
Back in 1978, then-Michigan
State coach Darryl Rogers
called the Wolverines and
their fans “arrogant asses.”
Perhaps that sentiment still
lingers today? I’ll leave that up
to the readers.
The most
recent
resurgence of
these sound
bites came in
2007, when the
Wolverines
came back from
a 10-point,
fourth-quarter
deficit to win
in East Lansing
during Michigan State coach
Mark Dantonio’s first season.
After the game, Michigan
running back Mike Hart had
a quote that is constantly
regurgitated.
“I was just laughing. I
thought it was funny,” Hart
said. “(The Spartans) got
excited, it’s good. Sometimes
you get your little brother
excited when
you’re playing
basketball and
let him get the
lead. Then you
just come back
and take it
back.”
Since then,
“little brother”
chants are
frequent when
the Wolverines
beat the Spartans — in
football or basketball. On
the flip side, Michigan State
running back L.J. Scott called
Michigan “our little sister,”
this summer. That idea came
from chants the Spartans have
used over the past few years. I
guess it’s supposed to be more
demeaning.
But Hart’s quote also
spurred an
inspired
response from
Dantonio.
“I find a lot of
the things (the
Wolverines)
do amusing,”
Dantonio said
two days after
the game. “They
need to check
themselves
sometimes. Let’s just
remember, pride comes before
the fall. ... They want to mock
us, I’m telling them, it’s not
over. They want to print that
crap all over their locker
room, it’s not over and it’ll
never be over here. It’s just
starting. ... I’m very proud
of our football team, and
I’m very proud of the way
our football
team handled
themselves
after the game
as well. You
don’t have to
disrespect
people. If they
want to make a
mockery of it, so
be it. Their time
will come.”
In light of
how things have gone recently,
Dantonio was right. The
Spartans won the next four
games in the series, beginning
the eight-out-of-10 run they
have going presently.
But more than the results
on the field, Dantonio was
right in that this will never be
over.
The line in the sand is
drawn incredibly clearly
between Michigan and
Michigan State. I grew up in
Michigan, and it is incredibly
rare to find someone who
roots for both teams. If you
do, they either have children
at both institutions or aren’t
big sports fans.
I remember in elementary
school, kids would chant
“Michigan, State!” The young
Michigan fans would put their
thumbs up when they said
“Michigan” and their thumbs
down when they said “State.”
The Spartan children would
do the opposite. Maybe that’s
just a quirky, small-town West
Michigan thing, but the point
is that the deep-seated fandom
of either team is synonymous
with a deep-seated disdain for
the other.
Log on to social media this
week, or any other for that
matter, and you’ll see how true
that is. Heck, both campuses
have been vandalized in the
last few days, and I sure
haven’t seen any calls for
kids to be prosecuted. That’s
because it’s just how this
rivalry goes, and it has been
forever.
When Harbaugh called for
a break from the clichés, he
was likely talking specifically
about his team, attempting
to quiet the noise within
his program and focus the
Wolverines for the hard-
fought game ahead.
But this will never be over.
There will always be another
game next year. That means
the clichés will never end,
either.
It’s all part of the fun.
Persak can be reached
at mdpers@umich.edu, on
Twitter @Mike_Persak or
on Venmo @Mike-Persak.
EVAN AARON/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh thinks the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry could use a break from cliches, but that might not be possible with the two teams.
MIKE
PERSAK
“Then you just
come back
and take it
back.”
“Let’s just
remember,
pride comes
before the fall.”
Michigan makes statement in win over Wisconsin
Coming into Saturday’s game
against No. 15 Wisconsin, there
was one prevailing question: How
far has the Michigan football team
come since its week one loss to
Notre Dame?
Well, there’s your answer. Loud
and clear.
The 12-ranked Wolverines (6-1
overall, 3-0 Big Ten) were largely
dominant on both sides of the ball
Saturday, pummeling their way to
a 38-13 win.
“A lot of people have a lot of
questions about who we are as a
team, our offensive line, our run
game, we don’t show up in big
games,” said junior running back
Karan Higdon. “I think we laid
that to rest today.”
Behind a bruising offensive line,
Michigan rushed for 320 yards, 81
of which came on a quarterback
keeper from junior Shea Patterson
on the Wolverines’ second drive
of the game. Higdon scored two
plays later, grabbing a 7-0 lead with
13:55 left in the second quarter.
Michigan’s trio of quarterbacks
—
Patterson,
freshman
Joe
Milton and redshirt freshman
Dylan
McCaffery
—
totaled
156
rushing
yards
and
two
rushing touchdowns, exploiting
linebackers
they
saw
over-
pursuing. It was a strategy worked
into the gameplan ahead of time.
“If
the
team
is
playing
undisciplined, we’re going to use
that to our advantage. The edges
were squeezing in too hard on the
inside zone,” said junior safety
Josh Metellus. “So Shea felt like he
had a chance to pull it, and he did.
They kept being undisciplined, so
Shea just kept taking advantage of
that.”
It can be easy to forget, after the
blowout that would later ensue,
that the game was tied in the
second quarter.
It took just four plays for
Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1) to respond to
Patterson’s electric run, answering
with seeming ease. The Badgers
ran three times with Taylor, then
handed the ball to wide receiver
A.J. Taylor on a reverse, who
scored from 33 yards to even the
game at seven.
Jonathan Taylor — the nation’s
leading
per-game
rusher
at
nearly 180 yards — was limited
in
repetitions
moreso
than
effectiveness. He finished with 101
yards (just 22 in the second half)
on 17 carries, averaging 5.9 yards
per carry, near his season average
of 6.7.
For a moment, it looked like
the Wolverines might just glide
alongside Patterson and Higdon to
a breezy win.
Early, they squandered many of
those chances — hardly reflective
in the final scoreline.
Redshirt
sophomore
kicker
Quinn Nordin missed two field
goals in the first half. Patterson
took multiple ill-advised sacks that
either took Michigan out of field
goal range or killed the momentum
of a drive. Michigan attempted
a questionable gadget play with
Milton in an ultimately scoreless
drive. After an interception by
junior safety in the middle of
the second quarter, Michigan’s
offense stalled.
In doing so, the Wolverines let
the Badgers hang around for a bit
— heading to halftime only up 13-7
— but they never trailed the game.
Despite repeatedly knocking on
the door, the Wolverines couldn’t
quite bust the game open.
Until the second half, when that
door came flying off.
Bailed out by two drive-saving
penalties, including a roughing-
the-snapper
call
on
a
punt,
Patterson
scored
on
another
quarterback keeper to open the
half, this time from seven yards
out.
Michigan’s control on the game
never waned form there. Playing
from behind, Wisconsin’s offense
struggled to move the ball in
chunks. Badgers quarterback Alex
Hornibrook looked skittish in the
pocket all night, never establishing
any sort of rhythm.
Hornibrook finished the day
7-for-20 for 100 passing yards and
with quite a few more bruises.
And on the flip side, Michigan’s
offensive line displayed just how
far it has come as a unit since Notre
Dame on Sept. 1. The Wolverines
were physically dominant for a
large potion of the game, aiding
an impressive performance; the
Wisconsin run defense came into
the game averaging 130 rushing
yards per game.
“Each player, you could point
to that — (Jon) Runyan, (Ben)
Bredeson, Cesar (Ruiz), Michael
Onwenu, Juwann Bushell-Beatty
— they’re all playing their best
football,” said Michigan coach Jim
Harbaugh. “They’re playing really
well together.”
Added Higdon: “There’s no
further question that we’ve got the
best offensive line in the country.”
With 9:55 left in the game,
Wisconsin clinging to the faintest
hope of life, Lavert Hill put an
exclamation point on a destructive
win, snatching a Hornibrook
pass attempt with one hand and
running 21 yards for a touchdown.
“Every game is a statement
victory,” said junior linebacker
Josh Uche. “It’s win or go home
from here on out, until the
end of the season — until the
championship games.”
What was that statement made
today?
“That Michigan is here, here
to stay,” Metellus said. “From
week one we fell short, but we
bounced back, we can fight
through adversity, this is a real
team, a real program that’s going
to keep aggressive throughout the
season.”
From the rushing attack to
Patterson to the defense and in
between, the Wolverines stamped
their convincing win — and
asserted themselves firmly in the
thick of the Big Ten title race.
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor
To ‘M’, Saturday’s
game means more
Jim Harbaugh took the podium
Monday for the start of his fourth
Michigan State week as coach of
the Michigan football team.
His
ties
to
this
rivalry
are
obvious.
He went 2-1 against the Spartans as
a player, and the Wolverines’ one
loss with Harbaugh as the starting
quarterback came in 1984, when
Harbaugh broke his arm diving for
a loose ball in the third quarter.
Since he returned to Ann
Arbor in 2015, Harbaugh has led
Michigan to a 1-2 record versus
Michigan State, including that
fumbled punt in his first season.
This record is part of one of
Harbaugh’s greatest criticisms as
a coach — his 1-5 mark against the
Spartans and Ohio State.
In
summary,
Harbaugh
is
extremely
familiar
with
this
rivalry, which likely helped shape
his answer when he was asked if
there is any extra emotion entering
Saturday’s game in East Lansing.
“Yes,” Harbaugh said. “In-state
rival, Big Ten opponent. It always
has, is and always will be (extra
emotional).”
The rest of Harbaugh’s team
shares the feeling, and for good
reason. Junior running back Tru
Wilson grew up in Michigan. Like
anybody else who shares that bond,
Wilson has been privy to the roots
of this game his whole life.
“It’s in-state,” Wilson said.
“We’ve got a lot of guys on our team
that are from the state and have
been living this rivalry — going to
the game, watching the game —
they’ve lived it just as much as I
have, and we’ll be ready for it.”
Lawrence Marshall has a unique
perspective. He too played high
school football in Michigan, and, as
a fifth-year senior defensive tackle,
has been a part of the actual game
as long as anybody on the roster.
He has friends on the other team
who, in light of the Spartans’ success
under coach Mark Dantonio, have
taken the opportunity to dig at
Marshall and the Wolverines.
“I remember when I was getting
recruited, that was the year they
won the Rose Bowl, my friends
texted me, like, smelling roses,
things like that,” Marshall said. “So
it’s a lot of tension.”
Donovan Peoples-Jones feels
that bond to the rivalry as much
as anybody. Five players from the
sophomore wide receiver’s high
school — Detroit Cass Technical —
will be on the field Saturday.
To count the number of players
Peoples-Jones
played
against
would take a long time. To him,
though, the motivation doesn’t
come from growing up watching
games or the relationships he has
with those on the opposing sideline.
“I remember losing to them last
year,” Peoples-Jones said. “The
vibes that that brought our team,
you know, it just wasn’t good. I
think that’s all the motivation that
we need for this week.”
Nick
Eubanks
isn’t
from
Michigan, he’s from Florida. But it
doesn’t take long to get integrated
into the Michigan State game.
The redshirt sophomore tight
end gave perhaps the most colorful
response of anybody about the
Spartans.
“We hate those guys just as
much (as the fans do),” Eubanks
said. “We’re gonna see what they’re
all about on Saturday.”
All of this is to say that this game
means different things to different
people.
No matter how you cut it,
though, Saturday’s matchup is
more than just the sixth- and
24th-ranked teams playing for
conference position.
It’s an opportunity for the
Wolverines to move a step closer
to their postseason goals, yes.
But it’s also an opportunity for
Wilson, Marshall and Peoples-
Jones to grab bragging rights over
their friends for the next year. It’s
an opportunity for Harbaugh to
silence critics and make the extra
emotions of the game positive
ones.
It’s a chance for players and
coaches to establish themselves as
legends in a rivalry that means so
much to so many people.
FOOTBALL
MIKE PERSAK
Managing Sports Editor
EVAN AARON/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh believes each of Michigan’s offensive linemen are “playing their best football.”