Rivalry????????

[WolverineSteve]

Guess who's sitting pretty

It's MSU, but can it deliver vs. Michigan?
September 27, 2005







BY SHANNON SHELTON
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER



When is a rivalry not a rivalry?


In John L. Smith's mind, when one team wins almost 70% of the time.


That's how often Michigan has beaten Michigan State since the two teams first met in 1898. Just go with the past 20 years, and U-M still has won 70% -- 14 out of 20.


"It's a big game, without a doubt," Smith said Monday. "But we haven't made it a rivalry yet. We have to go to the field and do it. We haven't done it out there. At least since I've been here we haven't done it.


"You get your tail kicked all the time, it's not much of a rivalry, is it?"


Smith has faced Michigan twice as MSU's coach, and he's 0-2. But the Spartans have the opportunity Saturday to transform the series into a true rivalry, using his definition of the word.


They're 4-0 for the first time since 1999. They're ranked No. 11 in the nation, and they're favored to beat the Wolverines at Spartan Stadium.


Michigan and Michigan State have played each other 97 times. Michigan has won 64, Michigan State 28, and five ended in ties.


U-M has won the last three. An MSU victory would give Smith and the Spartans a huge boost.


"It would help," Smith said. "We could take a major step in the right direction."


But here's the flip side: If the Spartans lose, they once again would be cast as the state's inferior Big Ten football team -- even if they ultimately ended up with the better Big Ten or overall record.


Only in the 1950s and '60s has Michigan State held the advantage in this series. The Spartans have been smarting from frequent losses since.


If Smith didn't initially understand the intensity of the conflict, he does now.


"Not having anything to hang your hat on and getting your tail kicked for a couple of years, yeah, you appreciate it more, I guess," Smith said.


That's especially true after last season's 45-37 loss in three overtimes in Ann Arbor.


"You feel bad for your guys when you know how hard they played," Smith said. "And you want to put your arm around all of them and hug them and say, 'Hey, we're gonna improve. We're gonna get better.' "


And they have gotten better this season. Now MSU QB Drew Stanton, who was injured in last season's game, wants to go one better.


"We need to prove we can compete with anyone in the Big Ten," Stanton said. "We feel that way, we've been saying that for a while, but it's kind of gone by the wayside a little bit with the media because (they say), 'Oh, they're going to fall back to their old ways.' I think this is the game for us to show that we're every bit as good as we think we are."

[Terry in Crapchester]

To be honest, without having researched it, I would've thought Michigan - Michigan State was more lopsided than that, even.

[Cicero]

Lloyd Carr doesnt lose big games. UM fan has nothing to worry about.

[buckeye_in_sc]

^^^^^

is that sarcasm?

How about

01 tOSU
02 tOSU
04 Rose Bowl to USC
04 tOSU
05 Rose Bowl to Michigan????


were those not big games? not picking on Michigan fan here just askin????

[Sky]

Well said and what are you talking about Cicero?

Even this year your team has had some big games.

Was last week not a big game?

Was ND not a big game?

Your guys apparently didn't think so but I would guess the rest of CFB nation thinks so.

Wisconsin doesn't play OSU this year so UM wase their big hurdle. And likewise, if you wanted to win the Big10 title, you knew you had to win because they may run their schedule.

And with ND, Weis was off to a great start and well, it is UM vs ND. Enough said.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Good points, Sky. But Crown Cicero is an FSU fan (unless we're talking basketball, in which case he's a Duke fan).

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

That's fine. You concentrate on scouring the internet for articles on the greatness of Michigan's past and I'll focus on how badly we're going to destroy Blue on Saturday.

[Shoalzie]

Lloyd Carr doesnt lose big games. UM fan has nothing to worry about.

Regardless of them being big or small games, they lose 2 or 3 games a year. That's still too much for my taste. Once they lose the first game, 1 loss season sucks as much as a 4 loss year. I don't care what consolation bowl they play in...it's the title game or bust.

As for the rivalry thing, Michigan-Michigan State is a great rivalry in all sports. They the Challenge Cup competition every year. In football, I think Michigan's biggest rival is Ohio State only for the fact the games mean more. Michigan State's biggest football rival is Michigan no matter what. It would make the rivalry more interesting if State was more on Michigan's level but I'd much rather be on the winning end than losing end more times than not.