6 of the best villains (or heroes) from the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry
Michigan and Michigan State will lock horns for the 104th time Saturday (noon, ESPN) when the No. 11 Wolverines (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) visit the No. 23 Spartans (4-1, 1-0).
And whether you're a Michigan fan that considers this the second-most important game on the schedule, or a Michigan State backer that's always looking for a way to silence Ann Arbor, this game is rarely uninteresting.
It's severed friendships, imploded message boards, lit up radio call-in shows and produced an awful lot of villains (or heroes, depending on which side you root for).
Here are six individuals from the past two decades that proved to be more than a thorn in the side of the opposition during the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy:
Marcus Ray
Defensive back (1995-98)
Charles Woodson gets all the ink when it comes to Michigan's win over Michigan State during the Wolverines' national title season of 1997. And, rightfully so. No one's really sure how he hauled in that famous one-handed interception.
Michigan safety Marcus Ray, celebrating after the Wolverines' national title-clinching win in the 1998 Rose Bowl.
AP file photo
Ray would add another interception in the fourth quarter, giving him four picks in two years against MSU. As a sophomore in 1996, Ray posted 10 tackles and two interceptions in the Wolverines' 45-29 win.
And just for good measure, the former second-team All-American stirred the pot a bit more this week with some rather salty words for Michigan State fans in a Detroit News article.
"It will snow in July in northern Africa before Michigan State wins a national championship," Ray remarked.
Braylon Edwards
Wide receiver (2001-04)
When Edwards graduated in 2004, perhaps no other Big Ten school rejoiced more than Michigan State. His legacy against the Spartans began as a junior in 2003 when he turned in a sparkling seven-catch, 103-yard, two-touchdown performances in a 27-20 Michigan win.
Braylon Edwards (1) makes one of his three touchdown receptions during the Wolverines' 45-37 triple-overtime victory in 2004.
File photo
Edwards didn't just rip the hearts out of Spartan fans in 2004. He stomped them, kicked them, chewed them up and spit them back out.
Edwards' 2004 Michigan-Michigan State party began with 6:12 to go in the fourth, when he ripped the ball away from MSU defensive back Jaren Hayes for a 36-yard score that brought the Wolverines within a touchdown.
Three minutes later, Edwards and Hayes met in the end zone again. The result? Exactly the same. Edwards once again abused Hayes on a Chad Henne jump ball, hauling in a 21-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 27, erasing MSU's once 17-point lead and forcing the game into overtime.
In triple overtime, Edwards didn't out-leap Hayes, he burned him on a post. His 24-yard catch and run proved to be the game-winner, as the Wolverine defense held Michigan State on its ensuing possession to hand the Spartans perhaps their biggest gut-punch in Paul Bunyan Trophy history.
In three total games against Michigan State, Edwards tallied 22 catches for 323 yards and five touchdowns.
Mike Hart
Running back (2004-07)
Figured we'd save the biggest villain for last.
If anyone ever earned the right to call a team his "little brother," it was probably Hart against Michigan State.
Mike Hart picks up some of his 674 career yards against Michigan State.
File photo
As a freshman in 2004, Hart racked up 224 yards and a touchdown in the Wolverines' 45-37 comeback victory. In 2005, he shook off an injury and rumbled for 218 yards and a score as Michigan won in overtime for the second straight year.
In 2006, he put up 122 yards on the ground as the Wolverines won easily. For his curtain call in 2007, Hart put up 110 yards as Michigan came from behind for the third time in four years.
To top it all off?
"Sometimes, you get your little brother excited when you're playing basketball -- let them get the lead," he said following the 2007 win. "And then you come back."
In four career games against Michigan State, Hart rushed for a total of 674 yards. That's 73 yards more than any Michigan running back gained last season.
Eddie Brown
Wide receiver/defensive back (1989-90)
As the T-shirts read: 'No. One vs. No One.'
Michigan was the No. 1 team in the country. Michigan State was unranked, had lost its first conference game of the season and sat at 1-2-1 on the season.
Desmond Howard can't haul in a two-point conversion pass in 1990, one of the most controversial plays of the series. Michigan fans thought the Spartans' Eddie Brown, right, interfered on the play.
File photo
A massive underdog in Michigan Stadium, the unheralded Spartans (quarterbacked by current Central Michigan head coach Dan Enos) gave the Wolverines everything they wanted and then some.
Michigan State pulled in front 28-21 after a 9-yard scoring run by Tico Duckett with just 1:59 to play.
Michigan would answer, though, getting a seven-yard touchdown pass from Elvis Grbac to Derrick Alexander with just 6 seconds to play. Rather than go for the tie, then Michigan coach Gary Moeller elected to try the two-point conversion for the win.
Brown had other plans.
Lined up across from eventual Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard, Brown appeared badly beaten on an inside route toward the middle of the end zone. The ball was thrown on the money, but a stumbling Howard was unable to hang on.
Why was the ball dropped?
"I saw six-foot, five (inch) Elvis Grbac back there about to dump it in there for an easy two points and I'm thinking there's no way I can go back to East Lansing if I give up this play," Brown told The Ann Arbor News in 1999. "So I tripped him and I tried to act like I tripped and fell.
"(My teammates) were grabbing me and jumping me and I was like, 'Get me off the field,' because I knew I got away with it." Michigan still had one last chance after a recovered onside kick, but Brown put the capper on his day by intercepting Grbac to end the game and ruin the Wolverines' national championship hopes.
"Spartan Bob"
Spartan Stadium clock operator
Oh what a difference one second makes.
Trailing 24-20 with possession in the 2001 game's final minutes, Michigan State received some help from Michigan after a 4th-down facemask penalty and a 12-men on the field flag gave the Spartans new life near the Wolverine goal line.
What happened next goes down as one of the more talked-about moments in the rivalry's history.
With 17 seconds remaining, MSU faced a 2nd-and-goal from inside the 5-yard-line. Quarterback Jeff Smoker kept the ball on a rollout and ran to the 2-yard line at the 12-second mark.
With the clock continuing to run, Smoker got up and gathered the Spartans at the line to attempt a clock-stopping spike. Five, four, three, two, one, (slight pause) -- spike.
After being allowed the spike following a seemingly long final second, Smoker rolled to his right, threw left and found a wide open T.J. Duckett in the end zone for the game-winner as time expired.
Michigan's high BCS ranking was ruined, and Wolverine fans everywhere cried massive foul on Spartan Stadium clock operator Bob Stehlin, known as "Spartan Bob."
The controversy eventually led the Big Ten to change its clock operating policy, calling for an independent clock operator a year later.
As for Spartan Bob? He maintained his innocence this week in the Lansing State Journal, explaining that he watched Smoker put down the spike before stopping the clock with one second to play.
"I didn't cheat," he said.
Stehlin got the grief, but the real on-field thorns in Michigan's side that day were penalty flags (the Wolverines had seven for 76 yards) and Duckett (who rushed for 211 yards).
Mark Dantonio
MSU head coach (2007-present)
He's only in his fifth season at Michigan State, but Dantonio is already one of the most successful Spartan coaches when it comes to dealing with Michigan.
Mark Dantonio has won three straight against Michigan. If MSU wins Saturday, it'll be their first four-game winning streak since 1959-62.
AP photo
He scored the program's first Michigan Stadium victory in 18 years during a 35-21 win over the Wolverines in 2008. In 2009, Dantonio's defense held Rich Rodriguez's spread-option offense to just 251 total yards before holding off a late Michigan rally with a 26-20 overtime victory.
And last season, just three weeks after suffering a heart attack, Dantonio was in the Michigan State coaches' booth as his Spartans dominated Michigan for a second straight win in Ann Arbor, and third straight overall in the series.
If Dantonio and company can score a win Saturday, it'll be the first time since 1959-62 that Michigan State has topped Michigan four straight times.
"Maybe some day the little brother believes he can compete with the big brother," Dantonio said after last season's win. "I have great respect for Michigan, outstanding respect for Coach Rodriguez and the job that they do. We felt like when we came here as a staff we were going to be a player in the state here."
Have your own Michigan-Michigan State rivalry villains? Surely you do. Feel free to share them in the comments section.
Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2514, by email at nickbaumgardner@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @nickbaumgardner.
Comments
treetowncartel
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 4:17 a.m.
Sorry, that 49-3 whooping in 2002 beats all of these things. That was a team whooping a team, and there is no "I" in team.
DB
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 12:37 a.m.
Man, I remember those Mike Hart years like it was yesterday. You wanna talk about someone owning the Spartans... Mr. Hart did just that. The move he put on the freshman LB Jones at the line of scrimmage was just nasty (2007). And just when Spartans' fans and players thought they had caught a break after Braylon (Edwards) had gone off to the NFL, they had a guy by the name of Super Mario (Manningham) to deal with. Boy did we have some playmaking recievers. That's why I think Junior Hemingway will have a monster game against MSU sat. We don't have a Mike Hart anywhere on this team, but as a unit, Smith, Toussaint, Shaw, and of course Robinson, can be very affective. Especially if they get a big run out of the diamond formation on its first usage. LETS GET IT! GO BLUE!!!
treetowncartel
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 4:17 a.m.
Wen have Roundtree fool, what else do you need.
bigblue
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 9:40 p.m.
The Marcus Ray "villain" section said MICHIGAN won the 1995 game, I thought they lost that one.....maybe i'm wrong. GO BLUE BEAT "little brother".
Nick Baumgardner
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 10:32 p.m.
You're right, blue. That should read 1996. Typo on my part.
Dean edwards
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 9:36 p.m.
msu u of m two great programs i am a go blue true and true its time. U of M to beat up on little brother again it will be hard hitting tough game everything a instaste should be but its time to put little brother to bed for a little nappypoo and if they dont win then michigan will have to wait until hokes got his cards in the game .playing someone eleses hand can be tough state has been good the last three years they need to win some of these games to keep it a fun and interesting U of M cant win them all or it would be lame one sided win after win after win after win after win like we have done for so many years . to the piont of when they do win a game its not some miracle or clock or bad call just good football GO BLUE BABY
braggslaw
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 8:35 p.m.
Has to be Eddie Brown
Mick
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 6:17 a.m.
I blame it on Charlie Brown, I mean why not?
RudeJude
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 7:07 p.m.
Speaking as a Michigan fan, it's time to let both the 1990 and 2001 games go. In regards to 2001, the ball was spiked within the last second. It was close (probably within one- or two-tenths-of-a-second), but there was no cheating, no extended final second. The reality is Michigan's D didn't come through on the final play and Smoker through a great pass under pressure. Give credit where credit is due, and it's not to the timekeeper. Watch it again and count down with the clock. The final second = one second- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoFZIBY-IVU" rel='nofollow'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoFZIBY-IVU</a> In regards to the 1990 game, while I do believe in good penalties (see Michigan's late, very intentional, pass interference penalty in this season's ND game that staved off a touchdown, at least for another play), Eddie Brown without question (as he admitted) took one in a very sneaky and coniving way, but it was a penalty worth taking nonetheless. It was the refs fault for not calling it for what it was. It was just a missed call at the most pivotal point in the game. But it still stings every time I watch it. The refs administer the rules, so blame them when they mess up. And if a team doesn't like to lose a game on a late controversial call, then they should have scored a few more touchdowns earlier on so as not to put it in the ref's hands, any coach would tell you that. An unfavorable opinion I'm guessing, but an honest one. Here's hoping tomorrow's game doesn't come down to a controversial call. Go Blue
non2574
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 5:47 p.m.
@RudeJude - Well there you go now! Are you the only one allowed to offer a opinion? Talking about your teams past and history are part of what makes us FANS.
RudeJude
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 9:01 p.m.
Non2574, Well there you go, even more reason that us Michigan fans need to let this one go. Like I said, the last play wasn't an easy touchdown. Smoker did an excellent job to get that ball off the way he did under pressure. Though it stings when your team comes up on the shortend of calls like these, this is what makes a rivalry a rivalry. If it was completely one-sided, it'd lose its steam.
non2574
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 8:38 p.m.
What you fail to realize is that clock stops on the Ref signal and not at the clock operator discretion.
heartbreakM
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 6:05 p.m.
As much as I think Spartan Bob was not a good time keeper that day, Michigan was its own worst enemy that day. Too many dropped passes, too many missed tackles, and too many stupid penalties. I think Michigan sacked the MSU QB about 12 times that game, and if you have that stat, you should not lose the game. I do remember that Navarre had a good first half and a horrible second half as MSU adjusted. And Michigan still had a chance to stop that play even though it may not have been run with legitimate time on the clock. Nobody gave them that TD for free. Michigan didn't get it done, MSU did. Simple as that. But good call on Eddie Brown!! Even at that game, though, I think Derrick Alexander dropped something like 7 passes. Can't do that and win.
RudeJude
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 7:16 p.m.
Couldn't agree with you more, heartbreak. The reality is if a controversial call is the difference in the game, then the losing team allowed it to be the difference by not performing effectively beforehand. I hope Michigan performs well enough on Saturday not to allow the game to be decided by the refs.
Tru2Blu76
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 6:04 p.m.
Lets at least try for a little composure here. In the case of the Long Second, it wasn't the clock the beat Michigan, it was their mistakes and penalties. Take Brady Hoke's word for it: He was the one who put too many Wolverines on the field and caused one of the pivotal penalties. On the other hand: Lets not forget the Coach Dantonio has three of his wins against Michigan which are essentially worthless. Beating the worst teams in Michigan history - THE WORST - is hardly a bragging point. So what else has Dantonio done? Not much: he already has one loss this season and even a win against a more credible Michigan squad (and coach) won't do more than put MSU equal to Michigan on the charts. That will be temporary - for this season only. He has also (repeatedly) been using players after they've been convicted of various crimes. How many "convicts" does the Michigan squad have in their midst right now? (Answer: 0) The Sparty Party is over - it's inevitable that Ascendant Michigan will mean another round of obscurity for MSU football. Welcome back, Little Brother. Some Spartan fans try the "Michigan's record against us only applies to the past" ploy. Well, since MSU joined the Big Ten, they've had a few good runs but they've all been during periods when Michigan was down. Michigan has 21 or 22 Big Ten Championships in that "since Sparty Arrived" period. MSU: has only six or seven Big Ten Championships in that same Modern Era. Even so: I firmly believe that the state of Michigan deserves to have two great universities and that those two should be Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. It's just that independent judges keep making MSU look second rate. The latest list of the Top 400 Universities in the World shows Michigan at 18th and MSU at: 96th. It's a great rivalry, try to keep up, Sparty. ;-)
kcwolvrine
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 5:41 p.m.
As a Michigan fan I would have put Plaxico in the top 3 as he killed us. There was nothing the DBs could do that day. As far as Spartan Bob - Oh well. They did change the rules. The one that killed me was the tripping (which was obvious) because there was evidence that the ball was still caught! Every loves the underdog!
Bogie
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 5:16 p.m.
You know what's funny about Burton 163's comments? Michigan just went through a NCAA investigation (remember "practicegate?"). Michigan is already in the cheater's hall of shame! The thing is, no one cared, because they stunk! LOL!
burton163
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 12:26 a.m.
It amounted to less than 20 minutes of supervised warm-ups...hardly a serious infraction let alone one that gave UM any kind of on-field advantage. Besides, anything that happened on RR's watch should be considered to have been an abberation. Pencil neck geek Bill Martin made one of the biggest blunders in UM history by bungling the hiring process that resulted in that redneck's hiring. Never shoulda happened. But it did, so we'll deal with the humiliation and move on. Give Hoke & Co. a year or two and we'll see where both teams stand.
scott
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 8:15 p.m.
went through an NCAA audit and found nothing but a crappy compliance department, if you want to throw around the major violations tag check out Georgia Tech's violations that were secondary and get back to me....
zeeba
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 4:03 p.m.
Oh, what a crock. When are you Skunks going to face up to the fact there was nothing amiss with the timekeeping in 2001? There have been mulitple independent reviews that looked at the end of the game in a frame-by-frame analysis that all concluded Smoker spiked the ball in time. At the very least, acknowledge the fact the next time you try to drag through the mud an innocent university employee who was only doing his job and did so fairly. The real villian is Frank Beckmann, who (as the video clearly shows) rushed his countdown at the end of the game, making it appear time had expried when it hadn't. (Go Google it and watch - I dare you - he's clearly way ahead of the clock as he counts down the final seconds). That, and the temper tantrum he threw immediately afterward on national TV, is what gave rise to this whole thing - put the blame where it belongs. Why is it that U-M fans can't simply accept that they got beat? Every time, it's some kind of excuse - the clock was off, a penalty was missed, the hillbilly coach didn't know what he was doing. What's their excuse going to be Saturday night?
LITTLE MIKEY
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 11:33 p.m.
"...drag through the mud an innocent university employee who was only doing his job and did so fairly." This DIRECTLY before dragging Frank Beckman's name through the mud. You Spartan Spartan! (Just to let you know, that's a play on the super clever Walmart Wolverine, which I do honestly find pretty funny, good alliteration). Why did this obvious State fan get 18 votes? Oh, and State fans NEVER make excuses. Every person who likes that school attended it, also!
The1Cool
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 6:43 p.m.
You know it's easy, for some reason, for state fans to accept losing. I find it hard to believe it would be accepted by any fanbase especially considering this "fair victory" led to rule changes regarding the clock-keeper.
zeeba
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 5:12 p.m.
See? More excuses. Just like I said.
David Briegel
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 4:58 p.m.
Too bad for you Brown wasn't around to tackle Braylon. Clearly he had to trip/tackle Desmond.
Patty Bradley
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 3:49 p.m.
Please stop talking about "Spartan Bob." I was there. It was a regular second. And the wolverine fans were regular poor losers.
zeeba
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 7:14 p.m.
I don't suppose it occured to you that the NCAA made that change in response to the hysterical whining from Beckman and other U-M fans, just so sore losers would have one less thing to complain about when their teams got beat? I didn't think so.
The1Cool
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 6:40 p.m.
Where you there when the NCAA ruled that clock-keepers can no longer be a representative of the home team. Pretty convenient that the rule changed happened right after msu "won" this game.
burton163
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 3:48 p.m.
Funny how two out of three Spartan "victories" mentioned above were the result of outright cheating, while all three Michigan "villains" were just players that had outstanding athletic performances resulting in legitimate victories for the Wolverines. And don't even try to claim that the time clock operator didn't cheat...I've heard that lame attempt from spartan fans enough already...just watch the tape and try to make that argument with a straight face. Nobody's buying it. Play fair or join OSU in the cheaters hall of shame.
zeeba
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 4:06 p.m.
Yes, watch the tape, please. You obviously haven't.