Rivalry????????
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:21 pm
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."
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."