Fourteen years ago, Mike Hart stood 

behind a podium wearing a Block-M 
quarter-zip 
after 
beating 
Michigan 

State 28-24. He smirked; shrugged, then 
laughed. His “little brother” quote, now 
infamous, has become ingrained in the 
rhetoric of the rivalry.

This weekend on Oct. 30, Hart 

will return to East Lansing as the 
running backs coach for the undefeated 
Wolverines. Michigan State also remains 
unbeaten, making this the first time 
since 1964 both teams play each other 
while ranked in the top 10. That year, No. 
4 Michigan beat No. 9 Michigan State, 
17-10. 

Now, the sixth-ranked Wolverines will 

play their toughest game of the season 
against the eighth-ranked Spartans. 

Throughout the year, those watching 
have speculated on how its performance 
against lesser opponents will golf up 
against more noteworthy opponents 
throughout the last five weeks of the 
regular season.

It’s the same story for the Spartans. 

Just like Michigan, neither have played 
against a team currently ranked in the 
top 25, and yet both are among the nine 
remaining undefeated teams, each with 
legitimate College Football Playoff hopes. 

Michigan State comes in with an 

explosive offense, led by running back 
Kenneth Walker III who tops the nation 
in rushing yards per game. It has three 
wide receivers — Jalen Nailor, Tre Mosley 
and Jayden Reed — who average over 15 
yards a catch, each with more than 20 
catches on the season.

For reference, the Wolverines don’t 

have a single player with more than 20 
catches this season. It does, however, 

have two top-50 running backs in 
rushing yards per game. And, as a unit, 
the running backs room out rushed the 
Spartans by more than 300 yards this 
season. 

But the Spartans’ weapons strike at 

a weakness of the Michigan defense 
that first revealed its flaw three weeks 
ago against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers 
totaled eight plays of 20-plus yards against 
Michigan, consisting of more than half 
their yards over the game. Northwestern’s 
one touchdown, meanwhile, came on a 
75-yard touchdown run. 

Michigan State has 38 plays of 20-plus 

yards on the season and nine plays 
of 50-plus yards, good for fifth in the 
nation. 

And then there’s Michigan’s offense, 

much-maligned amongst the fanbase. No, 
freshman J.J. McCarthy will not be the 
quarterback, for better or worse. Junior 
Cade McNamara will game-manage an 

offense that is led by running backs Blake 
Corum and Hassan Haskins and if the 
defense limits big plays, the game will 
be decided by one of those two running 
backs. 

At least, that’s what we think. The past 

two months have merely been a rehearsal 
for Saturday and November, with 
Washington and Wisconsin not being the 
measuring sticks we expected. A game 
against top-10 Michigan State may go 
along the script we expect, or it may not. 
McNamara could make plays and blow 
the game wide open, or he may be taken 
aback by the most hostile environment he 
has ever played in.

Either way, the game will act as an all-

important barometer going forward. It’s 
a test that will measure the capability of 
the entire team and the coach at the helm.

Jim Harbaugh, whose proverbeal seat 

has considerably cooled in this season’s 
first seven weeks, will coach in a pivotal 

game against a rival. Can he dispell the 
narrative of struggling against rivals and 
struggling in big away games? Or by 4 
pm on Saturday, will one more game be 
added as an indictment against him?

“All focus is there,” Harbaugh said 

after the Northwestern game. “When 
you walk through that door I am going to 
answer some questions about this game, 
but it’s on to that game right now.”

Throughout the last eight weeks of 

Michigan’s schedule, more questions 
have been asked than opportunities to 
answer them. The team has an identity, a 
solid foundation. 

On Saturday, we will know if that 

foundation is strong enough to support a 
potential playoff push. 

Or if the “little brother” can knock it 

over like a sand castle.

Managing 
Sports 
Editor 
Kent 

Schwartz can be reached on Twitter at @

KENT SCWARTZ

Managing Sports Editor

S P O R T S W E D N E S D A Y

Family reunion

BECCA MAHON/Daily | EMMA MATI/Daily | Page Design by Sophie Grand

In biggest Michigan-Michigan State game 

in 40 years, we will finally get answers

12 — Wednesday, October 27, 2021

