FootballSaturday, November 15, 2019
6B

223 North Main Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan

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What to watch for: Michigan State

There are, realistically, two ways in which 
Saturday’s 
rivalry 
showdown 
between 
Michigan (7-2 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) and 
Michigan State (4-5, 2-4) plays out.
The first, and the most likely, follows 
down the path of least resistance. The 
Spartans rank 61st in offensive efficiency, 
according to ESPN.com’s rankings. They 
haven’t won a game since Sept. 28 and come 
into this matchup with the Wolverines 
fresh off blowing a 25-point lead at home to 
Illinois. 
In that respect, the 13.5-point spread 
seems low, a direct nod to the emphasis 
Michigan State and its coach, Mark 
Dantonio, place on this game.
But that emphasis — which, it should be 
noted, has guided the Spartans to victories 
in eight of the previous 12 matchups between 
the sides — cannot be ignored, even in the 
bleakest of times in East Lansing.
Asked Monday what the common thread 
has been in his team’s games against 
Michigan 
State, 
Michigan 
coach 
Jim 
Harbaugh offered a cagey retort.
“Common 
thread 
would 
be 
very 
competitive and intense.”
It’s to be seen whether Saturday will be 

competitive, but high intensity is a foregone 
conclusion. Here’s what to watch for in 
Saturday’s rivalry bout.
Any antics?
Indelible images of Devin Bush scraping 
his cleats across the logo 
at Spartan Stadium last 
year no doubt still linger 
in Michigan State’s mind. 
The then-junior linebacker 
had no problem letting his 
feelings out before the game, 
hours before his defense 
held the Spartans to 94 total 
yards.
There are rivalries in 
which 
mutual 
respect 
breeds a kind of pageantry — 
take the Red River Rivalry, 
for example. This is nothing of the sort. 
Michigan-Michigan State is a slap fight in 
which each side keeps its hands dutifully by 
its sides until they step on the field. Then it 
convulses left, right, up and down for three 
hours.
That kind of attitude often breeds 
altercation, 
sometimes 
premeditated, 
often not. Michigan players and coaches 
hardly indicated a desire for such events to 
transpire. 
“You watch it, you kind of get the feel 

of the rivalry,” said sophomore defensive 
lineman Aidan Hutchinson on Monday. “But 
when you’re actually in it — you’re hitting 
them, you’re talking a little bit — that’s when 
things kind of intensify.”
Trick plays
By now, you, a dutiful 
observer of this game and 
these 
teams, 
probably 
understand 
the 
threat 
Dantonio’s 
trick 
plays 
pose. There’s plenty more 
about this in Aria’s film 
breakdown, but the threat 
behind those off-schedule, 
unusual looks is to derail and 
dethrone the superior team.
Last 
year, 
Michigan 
State’s 
lone 
touchdown 
came off a reverse that ended in a four-
yard pass from receiver Darrell Stewart 
Jr. to quarterback Brian Lewerke. All of a 
sudden, an offense that had shown nothing 
but ineptitude was locked in a 7-7 game in 
the middle of the third quarter. Momentum 
swung. The crowd came to life.
It’s quite clear Dantonio’s tactics have 
kept Harbaugh up at night this week.
“You look at everything a team has done 
in terms of fakes or misdirection. Deceptive 
type of plays,” Harbaugh said. “And what 
they’ve done, and OK, we’ve prepared for 
that, but also what is a possible complement 
to something that they’ve already done that 

they could be working on, they could be 
practicing? Alert for everything.”
It seems unlikely a couple successful trick 
plays will be enough to overcome everything 
else. But perhaps one early in the game to 
re-configure the expectations, or one late in 
a game that unfolds tighter than expected, 
could be the spark the underdog Spartans 
need.
Rushing game
There’s not a ton to glean from Michigan 
State rushing for 275 yards last week against 
Illinois, as the Illini rank 101st in the nation 
in rushing defense. But the roadmap for a 
Spartans’ upset runs through its rushing 
attack.
Running back Elijah Collins offers a 
formidable threat against a Michigan 
defense that will be foaming at the mouth. 
On the flip side, the Wolverines will 
undoubtedly look to establish their running 
game at the outset. In its last four games, 
Michigan has averaged 223.5 rushing 
yards per game. Meanwhile, the Spartans’ 
strength, no matter the skid, remains their 
rush defense, which ranks 16th in the nation.
The only way Michigan State comes out of 
this victorious — nabbing one of the bigger 
upsets in the recent history of this rivalry — 
is mucking up the game, making it ugly and 
then winning through smoke and mirrors. 
Scoff, if you want. The Spartans have only 
built their entire program off their ability 
to do just that.

MILES MACKLIN/Daily
The Michigan football team enters the game against Michigan State as a 13.5-point favorite.

MAX MARCOVITCH
Managing Sports Editor

The Spartans, 4-5 on the season, come to Ann Arbor desperately seeking a win to turn things around

When you’re 
actually in it 
... that’s when 
things intensify.

