Michigan-Ohio State ranked No. 1 Big Ten game by BTN writer, but is MSU game bigger?
Michigan and Michigan State are expected to be two of the Big Ten's best football teams next season, so many of the year's top games likely will include one or the other.
According to Big Ten Network writer Tom Dienhart, that's exceptionally true.
Dienhart ranked his top-20 games that involve Big Ten teams, and nine of the top 10 featured either Michigan or Michigan State.
Michigan hasn't won the Paul Bunyan Trophy against Michigan State in four years. Whether the Wolverines can snap that skid will be one of next season's top storylines.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
Michigan's games against Alabama, Notre Dame and Michigan State also made the top 10. The catch?
Dienhart listed Michigan-Michigan State all the way down at No. 7, which seems exceptionally low for a game that could be the pivotal matchup in deciding who wins the Legends Division.
Factor in Michigan's four-game losing streak to the Spartans -- it has never lost five straight in the series since MSU joined the Big Ten in 1953 -- and the fact the Wolverines were physically outmatched in last year's game, and this year's matchup figures to be particularly intense.
Remember MSU lineman Will Gholston's punch to Taylor Lewan's throat? That's bound to spice things up, especially considering the pair of elite lineman will match up directly against each other on the field.
There has even been offseason drama as well, with Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio cutting off Wolverines receivers coach Jeff Hecklinski during a speech at a recruiting event in Kalamazoo, then later asking "where's the threat?" in regards to Michigan's recruiting prowess.
Of course, most of that is just noise. Perhaps the biggest reason the Michigan-Michigan State game will be one of the year's biggest is it likely will put the winner in the catbird's seat for a divisional crown.
Does that make it bigger than the Ohio State game for Michigan? Hard to say. The Game holds a special place in sports, yearly, and this season will pit Hoke against new Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer.
Hoke, for his part, said this offseason that although he's focused on ending the skid against the Spartans, his chief priority is beating Ohio State.
It's an interesting debate -- and one even fans seem to be split on, which is surprising. Here are some replies I received after tweeting that I was looking more forward to the MSU game:
@mattdepoint: I agree only because I'd love to have Michigan end the horrible losing streak to MSU
@sbnationdetroit: With you. U-M/MSU is my No. 1 Big Ten game by far.
@JonDouglass1: Considering UM hasn't beat MSU in 4 years. Can UM figure out how to beat Dantonio? OSU game's the sexier pick cause of Meyer.
@MaizeBlueNation: With you. U-M/MSU is my No. 1 Big Ten game by far.
@sbell021: still OSU, but MSU bigger this year than a typical year for reasons already stated by others (likely legends title/4 straight/etc) ... OSU gets the nod though bc it's last game of the year, Ohio State's bowl game, first matchup vs Meyer, hoke's first horseshoe trip.
@iAmBrookBanks: MSU game is more important for B1G title implications. OSU is still more important for fans though.
@JonDouglass1: If MSU didn't have the winning streak against UM going, probly different story. UM beat OSU last year...
@truferblue22: this year and only this year that game is more important. We need to end the streak
@jaredmichael928: The Game will always be most important. Welcoming Meyer to the rivalry with an ass kicking tops my priority list. MSU #2, ND #3
@adamdibart: MSU all day...conference alignment makes it so every single season if truly interested in B1G title...no way around that now
And then there was this one from @GreggHenson:
"Alabama."
Yep, it's going to be one of those years for Michigan. Buckle up.
Kyle Meinke covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2588, by email at kylemeinke@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @kmeinke.
Comments
osubetterthanu
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 6:18 p.m.
Clearly OSU-Michigan although I am a little biased being a Buckeye Alum! I do know this- growing up outside the state of Michigan we never knew the UM-MSU was even a big game. Now having lived in Michigan I have a whole new respect for it and look forward to watching it every year. I also know this...with Urban Meyer at the helm both teams with lose to my Buckeyes this year and prediminantly every year there after for the next 10 years! Go Bucks!
aarox
Thu, Jul 19, 2012 : 3:48 a.m.
OBB, we of the Maize'n'Blue have more arrogance than the rest of the B1G combined. Go check out the Columbus version of mLive and see for yourself. As much as I don't like TTDS, their fans are by and large reasoned and way more objective and way less obnoxious than us. Same for the boys in Madison and East Lansing. You might want to do some fact checking before displaying your views.
OldBittyBates
Thu, Jul 19, 2012 : 2:34 a.m.
Zip it OSU. You guys got no class, but plenty of arrogance that could reach all the way to China. Urban Meyer is another in a long line of braggerts. Even though this year's game is in OHIO, the horse shoe will prove to be a place of crying and weeping for the hometown fans. Hoke-A-Mania is for real! Go Blue!
Blue Marker
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 8:56 p.m.
Meyer was a great hire but I think you're being a little optimistic. I purpose a back-n-forth like when I was coming up. Bo vs. Woody is what I would like to get back to.
Hume
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 5:38 p.m.
U of M has become little sister in the Big 10. They hold on to the distant past all the time denying their recent record against MSU. The more I hear about cheap shots and dirty play the more it sounds like little sister saying "its not fair!" This is football we are talking about not tennis. A win against the Spartans means much more than a win against Ohio State. The Big 10 has changed and so many Wolverine fans are stuck in the past. I wonder how many of them actually went to U of M?
aarox
Wed, Jul 18, 2012 : 1:18 a.m.
I don't care where or whether my fellow fans went to school with me. I DO care that we are quickly becoming irrelevant in the eyes of the rest of collegiate football. And the more we insist "we are MEEEECHIGAN" the more we lose respect in the eyes of the rest of the world. We talk about our great record, but our record against our brethren is only 54% once MSU left DII and joined the Big Ten. We brag about our record but summarily dismiss that fact that we have been serious losers of late. Real Michigan men admit their failures and are humble in success. Are you a Michigan Man?
Blue Marker
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 8:51 p.m.
Sorry to repeat this but I've come accross this before and I have to say it again. @Hume, just so I have this straight, you can only be a fan of a team if you went to school there? I just want to be sure I have the rules of "fandom" down correctly. Somehow I doubt everyone at Spartan Stadium is alum.
The OSU
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 8:16 p.m.
If the "big game" for a sportwriter is UM/MSU, then they don't understand Big Ten FB. If the "big game" for UM fans is UM/MSU, then they don't understand "rivalry." If the "big game" for the Blue FB team is UM/MSU, then Hoke's FB program is in serious trouble. PS: Tell Hoke et al to stop calling us "Ohio." "Ohio" is the Bobcats from Athens, a MAC school. Blue is simply trying to imitate Woody's refusal to say, "Michigan" and refer to you as "the school up north." That's OUR tradition. Go invent something ORIGINAL. Next thing you know the Blue band will try to write a "script Michigan." However, you would probably need to borrow some Sparty bandsmen to do it and you would probably misspell it anyway.
Hume
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 5:43 p.m.
You know what is annoying about Ohio State fans? They have to refer to their school as THE Ohio State University. I'm sorry but do people in Ohio get confused about which Ohio State University is THE Ohio State University?
AnnArborDon
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 2:49 p.m.
Speaking of being unoriginal, AND of the marching band, it was the MICHIGAN band that invented and first performed the script "Ohio" in 1932 as a polite tribute to the visiting OSU marching band.
MRunner73
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 2 p.m.
The uniform that Jesse Owens wore spelled O H I O. Your marching band still spells script ohio.. Ohio-U is the home of the Bobcats in the MAC. (nice place)
1998pa
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 4:44 a.m.
Wow, how could fans of the "Big 2" be so utterly insecure?
Billy Bob Schwartz
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 1:43 a.m.
We call you ohio because that's what we see on your school's ad during the games. We see a bunch of ninnies jumping up and down spelling "OHIIO" by making sort of letters with their arms and bodies and such. It really impresses me that the school thinks this is what their university is all about and that this is what will make them look good on TV. Actually, it looks more like YMCA to me, but who cares. If you don't want to be called ohio, stop pretending that you ARE ohio. BTW, I would think the bigger complaints would come out of Athens.
Blue Marker
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 12:26 a.m.
The fact that the "Ohio" thing bothers you means it's doing it's job. Go Blue!
aarox
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 1:02 p.m.
We all may be missing the point of the article. Yes UM-OSU is the lazy pick but doesn't reflect reality outside of AA. There is a new Big Two which is likely to become a Big Three or Big Four if the two new coaches do what their partisans think they will do. It's very hard not to take Sparty at Wisky as the biggest game of the year. Given the two incredible games they played last year, their winning their conferences, and MSU's bowl win against a strong UGA team, everyone else is trying to catch up to them at this point. I understand this is not reality inside our circle at AA, but this article was not written by an AA partisan either.
aarox
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 : 11:29 p.m.
thanks pa. I AM a UM fan unlike you but share a lot of folks' disappointment with the arrogance that we occasionally :) show. Its fun to live in AA and pretend the rest of the world is wrong or irrelevant. A lot of us have told our friends in East Lansing to prove it on the field but we are not so good at taking our own medicine. To too many of us, winning on the field proves everything but losing on the field means nothing. Oh well. If you are a Happy Valley pa fan I do feel for what you are going through.
1998pa
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 4:41 a.m.
Thanks for a realistic take, aarox. Calling a spade a spade doesn't make you any less of a Michigan fan. I don't know how MSU-Wisco could live up to last year's game, but we'll see. If I was a Michigan fan, I'd definitely consider MSU the more important game this year. I know some people just feel better about themselves by dismissing the Spartans out of hand and, to be honest, those types of fans offer no value to a discussion. But for the passionate, yet level-headed fans, you already proved you could break OSU's streak last season. If you don't take down MSU this year, that's five straight wins, and it puts a dent Hoke's image as a savior.
Wally the Wolverine
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 4:16 p.m.
Blasphemer! :-)
ChelseaBob
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 12:17 p.m.
The only reason the MSU game is of any interest is that State has a bunch of cheap shot artists and Dantonio is another hypocrite coach who talks about morals and ethics but doesn't bother to practice them. I only hope that the key players and coaches from MSU aren't arrested/suspended/fired before the Michigan game (which the inevitably will be) because that will give little brother something to whine about til next year.
joggin
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 5:53 p.m.
It sounds like you are the one doing most of the whining. And I see the anti reality bubble is in full effect over Chelsea these days. Anybody not from the U of M are thugs and cheap shot artists but if you wear the Maize and Blue you can have a history of flagarant fouls, ejections, suspensions and injuring opponents and end up being called a class guy, a real leader.....like Zach the Hack...
D21
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 10:49 a.m.
The only way for these little brothers to get a smidgen of our respect is for them to beat UM & OSU consistently for the next several decades while playing thug free football (hard to do under Dantonio who has a long history of that). Yes, you are still nothing more than LITTLE BROTHERS!
craigjjs
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 10:01 a.m.
Please, please do not print tweets. You are a good writer and encourage a good give and take right here on the website. Twitter is to writing as children with crayons are to Picasso. I know it is trendy to worship the Twitter, but it is truly the lowest common denominator of communication.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 1:35 a.m.
Kyle...Those are the responses and opinions of the twits. Real B1G fans are the ones who write comments here. I agree with Craig: please, no more tweets from the twits.
Kyle Meinke
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 4:05 p.m.
craigjjs, I agree that Twitter and this site are two different worlds, which is why I typically use tweets only when they contain breaking news, or comments from people I can't otherwise get. But here, I just thought it was interesting to get the fans' take on this issue, and I thought it was particularly interesting that so many fans are looking more forward to MSU than OSU. That's not what I expected. So, I saw some value in printing what the fans had to say.
tim
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 3:59 a.m.
MSU deserves a beating after all the cheap shots ( neck twisting) from last year. If last years humiliation doesn't make UM furious nothing will. I don't know which is the # 1 game ,but the MSU game is the # 1 payback game.
JustfortheRecord
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 2:14 a.m.
It just goes to show you that outside of the state of Michigan, no one thinks about Michigan State very much. Travelling the country and world, I meet Michigan fans everywhere. And from the Coast of the great lakes all the way to the coast of Cozumel, Mexico, there is never a lack of an annoying Ohio State fan. However, I've only ONCE met a Michigan State fan outside of the state of Michigan.
Wally the Wolverine
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 4:09 p.m.
Lakes have shorelines, oceans have coastlines. Just saying.
JustfortheRecord
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 3:31 p.m.
MSU is playing great these days... I think the game for those who know will be very, very big!
craigjjs
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 10:07 a.m.
I support Michigan and agree that Ohio is the biggest game of the year and probably always will be. Outside of Michigan, however, the greater knowledge of the Michigan/Ohio rivalry is due to a highly-publicized rivalry spanning many years, including the early years when there were far fewer teams; not to mention two truly iconic coaches for many years (Bo and Hayes). I doubt MSU will ever reach that pinnacle, but I don't think the widespread knowledge of Michigan or the MU/Ohio rivalry is an accurate commentary on MSU's current play.
Joe Kidd
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 1:39 a.m.
What will end this discussion, and any more talk of MSU becoming a power is Michigan applying a huge butt whoopin on MSU this year. If MSU wins (horrors) or it is a close game I am going to have to start thinking they may be a force to be reckoned with. IMHO MSU's four game streak is just due to a lull in the Michigan program that all programs go through, though Michigan had maybe the best streak ever for putting top notch teams on the field year after year. You just don't see total dominance in the league anymore. Good grief, Northwestern was for a long time the kicking tee of he Big Ten but now has become a real pest. OSU had to cheat to win big.
Joe Kidd
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 1:25 a.m.
Michigan and OSU is always the big game. Even when either has a bad season. With MSU putting a new QB on the field, is the general consensus that he is so good they will have a great offense?
OldBittyBates
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 10 p.m.
Ahem. There were two teams that beat Michigan last year (and both were from the Big Ten conference). Who were these two giant dynamos? Why ignore Iowa when they manage to beat us so often? Why ignore Purdue when they have done so well in the past four years? The claim that ND has greater class or packs more punch makes no sense to me. The Ohio game may turn out to be a lot like Big Top Bozo even with the chief clown Urban Meher sounding his horn. The Moose Lodge will be coming from an area near Holt, Michigan. They will probably be wearing the normal Green and White (No new fancy uniforms to help them get high as a kite for major football mayhem that is sure to follow in the Big House). The Green and White play dirty (please review last year's game). Their head coach is as reliable to play fair as Bobby the Brain Heenan. Alabama and MSU will be by far the roughest games on the schedule (since neither team has been taught any manners and come directly from the jungle). The schedule overall looks very intimidating to say the least.
MRunner73
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 9:54 p.m.
For me as a fan; the MSU game will be the biggest until we break the losing streak. Sparty will have a very good team again, mainly on defense, even without J. Worthy. With Kirk Cousines and Keith Nichol both gone, the MSU offense is a question mark with an untested QB. This is Michigan's best chance of breaking the losing streak. I am sure the Maize and Blue will "bring it" to the playing field. The 2012 version of the Michigan-Michigan State game ranks as the most important. Hopefully, we'll see yawner type wins over Sparty in the years to come. A big factor; this will be a Divisional game. The winner has the best shot at playing inthe B1G Championship game and Brady Hoke knows it.
Jaxon5
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 9:31 p.m.
MSU is bigger in a sense that there is more to lose in the minds of the UM fans. UM fans expect to beat MSU. UM fans hope to beat OSU. Either way, Go Blue!
aarox
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 12:52 p.m.
and therein lies our problem
Terry Star21
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 7:37 p.m.
The Big Tens biggest game(s). That's a no brainer; anyone Michigan plays in - that's just a fact of life. Michigan's biggest Big Ten Game ? It's the next one they play, that simple. It's difficult to believe the msu game is any bigger than any other one - I mean when sparty has only one 30.7 % of the contests, hard to take them serious. The only thing the last four years mean is; the loudmouth spartys can count to four, all day long. Seriously, even at their best we still get the better bowl, a BCS win and end higher in the final polls. MgoBlueForTiM....msu looking smaller in rear view mirror.
aarox
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 12:51 p.m.
joggin is correct. also, UM refused to play at MSU for many years prior to MSU joining the Big Ten. So most of these wins were homers.
joggin
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 7:45 p.m.
And since MSU has been in the Big 10. U of M has won 54.8% of the games.
Terry Star21
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 7:39 p.m.
"won 30.7 %" (I hate auto spell check)..
Faygo
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 7:15 p.m.
Love the dismissive attitude towards MSU. Keep it up - keep telling yourselves the game doesn't matter. And keep getting beaten as a result. Zero for 4 since bigmouth Mike Hart's comment. He will get a warm welcome when he comes into Spartan Stadium this fall as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan. Nice NFL career, Mike.
1998pa
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 4:29 a.m.
Blue Marker, that's factually incorrect. Dantonio's comments about Hart's stature came as a direct response when asked about what Hart said.
Blue Marker
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 7:01 p.m.
Hart's comments were before his last game, in Sparty's house. They were in response to what Coach D had said earlier about Hart's short stature. Mike Hart never lost to Sparty in his Wolverine career. And any day you want to put the all Michigan-NFL team vs. the all Sparty-NFL team I say bring it on!
Halter
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 5:52 p.m.
Locally, the MSU game is big...nationally, nobody cares about MSU... OSU/UM will always be the big rivalry game in the midwest....
SEC Fan
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 1:59 p.m.
not having grown up around here, I agree. Even in SEC land we knew about (and dare I say, loved to watch) the OSU/UM game. I'd equate it to being similar to the Army/Navy rivalry. The entire nation might tune in for that game, but only a select few wants to see Army/Air Force. But in the Armed Forces, that is also a "big" game. not that the MSU/UM game isn't a "big" one, it's just not on a national level. Very few rivalries are.
joggin
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 12:24 p.m.
Wow...attendance has nothing to do with it? I must have imagined all those posts about the BIH HOUSE or how irrelevant MSU is because of it's little 76,000 seat stadium, yada yada, But I forgot that Ann Arbor is the capital of having it both ways.....If MSU ever drew 36,000 fans for a home game vs OSU these posts would be screaming with derision but ATTENDANCE DOESN'T MATTER. By the way Ann Arbor is 30 miles from Ohio and 60 from Lansing
Joe Kidd
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 1:30 a.m.
Attendance has nothing to do with it. With MSU 50 miles away loaded with students who went to high school or are related to UM students, you are always going to see a lot more MSU students at Michigan stadium and vice versa. The students suck up all the student tickets not being used by class mates for their friends at UM/MSU. That does not happen with osu.
joggin
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 7:55 p.m.
Always the big rivalry game?? Attendance at the big house....1961OSU-80,000, MSU-103,200, 1963 OSU 36,000, MSU101,500, 1965 OSU77,700, MSU103,200, 1067 OSU 64,100, MSU 103,200.....
garrisondyer
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 5:16 p.m.
"Remember MSU lineman Will Gholston's punch to Taylor Lewan's throat?" More than that, remember when Gholston got called for a late hit (it was only sort of late, I'll give him that) that should have been called an intentional facemask? It was probably the worst facemask penalty I've ever seen committed. And Dantonio was on the field screaming at the refs about how he got called for it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM18sAZRnIU And MSU fans will undoubtedly bring up how Gholston was being "pinned to the ground" on this play (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMqbRgOGq24) before the punch to the throat incident, but seriously.... Gholston's, and Dantonio's, conduct got way out of line in this game. I personally wouldn't be proud if Michigan won a game after they had played like MSU did in this game.
garrisondyer
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 1:54 a.m.
I'm a little leary of Bell, too... Gholston's definitely a force to be reckoned with. It's just that, as of now, my lasting impression of him is that of a complete thug.
Joe Kidd
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 1:33 a.m.
For me, Gholston is the only MSU player I really fear in the upcoming game. He is a tremendous defensive player. I really thought and was hoping, he would go NFL.
garrisondyer
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 1:02 a.m.
To whomever voted me down, you're also free to express your opinion. I'm open to different interpretations, though of course I'm not expecting to change my mind. Until you explain to me any legitimate reason to disagree with what I wrote above, I'll continue to assume I've correctly assessed the performances of the MSU coach and one of the MSU linemen, and that you're just a MSU fan who doesn't like hearing it. I'm open to discussion, though.
Tru2Blu76
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 4:57 p.m.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Michigan hold a 20-game lead vs MSU? OTH: the Michigan vs Ohio series is close to being 50-50. Carr & Rodriguez combined to toss out Michigan's 7 or more game lead vs. Ohio, so now Hoke has to restore balance in the Football Universe or - we'll all die. So Coach Hoke has his priorities right: beat Ohio, and take care of Sparty along the way just to keep Dantonio's program in its proper place. ;-)
SEC Fan
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 1:54 p.m.
@aarox. which explains why um so vehemently opposed MSU entering the Big10.
aarox
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 12:44 p.m.
Since MSU joined the Big Ten Conference in 1949 , UM has a 54-46% edge in the series. Hardly dominating. Prior to that MSU was essentially a DII school. And oh by the way, UM refused to play games at MSU so UM had home field against a non-Big Ten team prior to then.
Macabre Sunset
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 4:56 p.m.
Last year, Kyle wrote that Notre Dame was the most important game. He didn't get it then; he doesn't get it now. A season isn't remotely successful unless it ends with a victory over Ohio State.
Joe Kidd
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 1:34 a.m.
Uh uh. A season is successful when "Win the Big Ten, go to the Rose Bowl." -Bo Schembechler.
ThoseWhoStayUofM
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 4:42 p.m.
Anybody who says Michigan -vs- Michigan State is a more important game than Michigan -vs- Ohio State clearly has never gone to the University of Michigan. In my physics lab, we didn't fired lasers at Spartan logos did we? No! We fired lasers at Ohio State logos. Enough said! lol
snoopdog
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 1:48 a.m.
Hum, 350 million people in the USA and less than 1/100th of one percent have gone to Michigan. Most of ( 99.99%) could not care less about MI -vs-OSU, they are yesterdays newspaper and we all know what happens to yesterdays newspaper. MSU and Wisconsin are the new powerhouses in the Big Ten and will be for years. Good Day
D21
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 4:20 p.m.
These little brothers are nothing more than an afterthought or the Ohio State "B" team
snoopdog
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 1:41 a.m.
Thinking with one's heart rather than their brain can cause one to put their foot in their mouth ! Good Day
D21
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 4:19 p.m.
Nope, it is more of a big brother vs little brother scenario which we will win easily this season despite some heinous flagrancy on the part of the little brothers like Gholston.
D21
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 10:42 a.m.
Good day little brother!
snoopdog
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 1:37 a.m.
For you to call MSU "little brother" at this point really makes you look rather "silly" to say the least. Take a whooping for 4 years in row, and still on your high "rocking horse", good luck , you will need it . Look forward to whooping the "wolverinettes" for 5 in a row ! Good Day
Scott
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 3:55 p.m.
I'd like to see OSU drop off the schedule. Have zero respect for OSU after sweater vest. it's like playing cards with a cheater. If you lose do you really lose? State has owned us for years. it's time for some smack down. Go Blue
SEC Fan
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 6:56 p.m.
sounds typical um talk. "if we lose, it's cause they were mean and cheated. waaaaaaaaaa...I want my binky!"
Billy Bob Schwartz
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 1:21 a.m.
If Michigan is the wolves, is MSU the Trojans or the Athenians, or maybe the visigoths?
Billy Bob Schwartz
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 1:20 a.m.
Snoop...Who the heck are the wolves?
snoopdog
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 : 1:31 a.m.
Yes it is, the green and white will smack the wolves for 5 in a row ! Good Day
ThoseWhoStayUofM
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 4:46 p.m.
I consider 6 personal fouls in a game (and those are just the ones they got caught doing) cheating. Dantonio knew that Denard's greatest weakness is his confidence and if you can rattle him, he is manageable, so that's what he did... by any means necessary. Michigan State has a complete disregard for character and how the game is supposed to be played. There is no honor in East Lansing.
heartbreakM
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 3:52 p.m.
UM-OSU is last game which puts that game as bigger than others just because of its finality. Not to mention long time rivalry, and its usual effect on the B10 championship. Right now, UM-MSU is spicy because of the 4 game losing streak, because of Dantonio's attitude toward Michigan, etc, but that UM-OSU will always be the biggest game as long as both teams field good teams.
jeff blue
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 3:24 p.m.
Hi All, Obviously, MICHIGAN - OSU is the larger national rivalry year in and year out. But for real intensity and for people that live in this State, MICHGAN - MSU is clearly the much bigger game. OSU was a crummy team last tear -- winning only three B10 games (they were lucky to win 3, remember Wisconsin?). They won't be much better in 2012.
braggslaw
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 2:36 p.m.
MSU is a bigger game when you factor in all the implications. OSU is a bigger game nationally and for casual fans.
Craig Lounsbury
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 5:15 p.m.
agreed
Craig Lounsbury
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 2:28 p.m.
As much as i hate to admit it I will say MSU until we can "right that ship" and beat them consistently. We need to take care of our own back yard first.
Kevin Shabinski
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 3:44 p.m.
spoken like a true UM homer Thosewhospay.
Craig Lounsbury
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 5:14 p.m.
and Michigan has never lost to Ohio state when the game is played 3 days prior to a waxing half moon. you can't ignore 4 straight MSU wins under Mark Dantonio. We are also 0-1 under the "Michigan man" who replaced the "West Virginia man". We will right the ship when we win at least 3 in a row.
ThoseWhoStayUofM
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 4:39 p.m.
We have righted the ship. Michigan has beaten Michigan State 6 out of the last 7 times they have played them without a head coach from West Virginia. Comparatively, Michigan has only beaten Ohio State 2 out of the last 6 times they have played them without a head coach from West Virginia.
stunhsif
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 2:15 p.m.
Who is Tom Dienhart, never heard of him ? And to call the MI -vs- Ohio State the number 1 Big Ten game is just ridiculous, it is 2012, not 2002 ! Go Green Go White
AySquared
Mon, Jul 16, 2012 : 12:37 p.m.
Go Green Go White? What are you doing in Ann Arbor??
redceder1
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 10:38 p.m.
Yep, Last year MSU-Wisconsin was the biggest game in the country Mr. '06.
ThoseWhoStayUofM
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 4:34 p.m.
The Michigan -vs- Ohio State game was the biggest game in the country in 2006. We currently play in the Big 2 Little 10.... I don't see where you're going with this.
ellipsec01
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 2:15 p.m.
Ahh ... no. OSU #1, ND #2, MSU #3. I can see Nebraska moving into #3 at some point.
ThoseWhoStayUofM
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 : 4:33 p.m.
Now that Michigan State is, not just a conference rival, but a division rival, they are more important than ND. I understand this was a facetious attempt to belittle Sparty (which was pretty funny) but let's not be cruel... Nebraska?!?!? lol