Category: Football

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Michigan vs Michigan State Football — Looking Back – 1964

Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins Highlighting Key Rivalry Games

The fourth installment of this year’s series taking a look back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us back to 1964. The Vietnam War hadn’t started in earnest yet, and only months before, The Beatles had appeared on the Ed Sullivan show. It was still early in the 1960s, but change was definitely in the air.

But that change wasn’t present at Spartan Stadium when the Michigan Wolverines faced their in-state rivals from Michigan State in 1964. The ’64 Michigan team remains one of the most underrated teams in the school’s illustrious football history. Michigan won the Big Ten championship and the Rose Bowl, where the Wolverines trounced an overmatched Oregon State team. Only a failed two-point conversion against Purdue prevented the Wolverines from earning a perfect season, and possibly winning the national championship.

In fact, one unique aspect of the 1964 season was that Michigan enjoyed a perfect record on the road, while losing to Purdue at home. But even in grand seasons, victory isn’t easy to come by on the road, particularly against Michigan State. When Larry Lukasik kicked a 26-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Spartans extended their lead to 10-3, and it was getting late early for the Wolverines. With the game on the line, Michigan marched 73 yards, capped off by a 5-yard scoring pass from Bob Timberlake to fullback Dick Sygar to cut the deficit to one point. Michigan’s subsequent attempt to take the lead was foiled when Mel Anthony was stopped short of the goal line, leaving the score 10-9, Michigan State.

But the Michigan defense came up with a big stop, forcing a Michigan State punt that UM returned to the Spartans’ 41-yard line. On the fourth play of the drive, Sygar took a pitch and threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to John Henderson for the lead. Timberlake then connected with Steve Smith for the two-point conversion. Michigan then stopped MSU on four plays, and held on for a 17-10 victory.

Unfortunately, there isn’t any video of this game readily available, so we’ll have to settle for the attached box score, with thanks to the Bentley Library.

1964_UM_MSU_StatsDownload
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Michigan vs Michigan State Football — Looking Back – 2006

Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins Highlighting Key Rivalry Games

The third installment of this year’s series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us to 2006. The previous year had been a disappointment for the Wolverines, and some changes were made. Ron English was introduced as the new defensive coordinator, and he promptly had the Wolverines’ defensive players running sprints on the golf course just south of Michigan Stadium. Another difference was the fact that running back Mike Hart was finally healthy.

But the biggest difference might have been Michigan’s hunger. After two relatively lackluster seasons, the Wolverines were hearing it, from fans, alumni,and the national media. That hunger was on display throughout 2006, as the Wolverines seemed to give just that extra little bit of effort on almost every play, giving Michigan supporters the results they crave.

That fierce determination was evident early against Michigan State, as the Wolverines marched downfield with attitude. Hart shoved would-be tacklers out of his way and quarterback Chad Henne found receivers with ease, connecting with Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham for a pair of first-half touchdowns that led Michigan to a 17-0 halftime lead. That dominance continued in the second half as the Wolverines roared to a 31-7 lead, effectively ending the game before the start of the fourth quarter.

One thing the 2006 game illustrated is a trait that seems unique to this rivalry. The team that plays old school, fundamentally sound, basic, hard-hitting football usually comes out on top. Spread offenses, whether coached by John L. Williams or Rich Rodriguez, seldom work in this rivalry. More often than not, the team that runs the ball, particularly using some derivative of the pro-set or I-formation offense, usually wins the game.

The victory kept Michigan on the road to a classic, season-ending showdown in Columbus, but that’s a story for another day.

Thanks to youtube poster WolverineHistorian and ESPN for the attached highlight video. As always, we own nothing, and this video and blog post are provided strictly for the enjoyment of our readers.

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By the Numbers: Game 8 @ Michigan State

LAST WEEK RECAP

Michigan handled their business by avoiding the classic trap game coming out of the bye week.  The Wolverines dominated statistically en route to a 33-7 victory.

NEXT UP: vs. Michigan State: 21st, 13.6

PREGAME SP+: U-M by 3.5, Michigan Win Probability 58%
There was a mild flare up online when the line for this game settled at Michigan (-4.5).  For yet another week, the Vegas spread is very close to the SP+ projection.  Through 7 games in 2021, Bill Connelly’s model is 5-2 against the opening spread in Michigan games.

Michigan Offense (18th) vs. Michigan State Defense (12th) 

When Michigan has the ball, this game will feel like the prototypical U-M vs MSU rivalry game.  The Wolverines are going to run the ball inside and out, and the Spartans are well aware of this.  For large portions of the contest I am sure this will be a gritty battle in the trenches.  I have very little doubt that Josh Gattis will basically say “here we come, try to stop us” as a base strategy.  Despite all that, the game may largely be decided on the handful of plays that Michigan State sells out to stop the Wolverine running game, and Josh Gattis dials up his counterattack.  Cade McNamara must be efficient and seize those opportunities for big chunk plays down the field.  

Michigan Defense (9th) vs. Michigan State Offense (53rd)

Michigan State’s offense has proven to be explosive in 2021.  Kenneth Walker has been electric running the ball.  Payton Thorne connects consistently with Jayden Reed and Jaylen Nailor on the outside.  Those two WRs have combined for 11 touchdown receptions through 7 games.  However, both Nebraska and Indiana were able to effectively bottle up this Spartan offense.  Michigan State managed to gain just 254 total yards in Week 4 versus the Cornhuskers.  The Hoosiers’ defense fared even better, holding MSU to only 241 total yards just before the Spartans took their week off.  The challenge for Mike MacDonald will be keeping all of the Spartan playmakers inside and in front of his defenders.  If the Wolverines’ DBs don’t get beat over the top, and can avoid giving away conversions via penalty, I trust Michigan’s edge defenders to keep Walker contained inside.

PREDICTION:  The 2021 battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy is the most anticipated chapter of the game in my lifetime.  Both teams are undefeated heading into the game for the first time since 1999, when UMGoBlue.com first appeared on dial up internet.  In many ways, these teams are very similar.  As is usually the case, Saturday’s victor will be decided by which players step up in key moments and can deliver big time plays.  All things considered, I believe Michigan will wear down the Spartans and take control of this game in the 2nd half.  Prepare yourself for an emotional rollercoaster as Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines are trading haymakers (figuratively of course) with Mel Tucker’s Spartans.
Michigan 31 Michigan State 21 (same as preseason)

MICHIGAN RESUME UPDATE (10/24/21), 7-0

  • SP+ Overall: 7th (↑1), 19.6
  • SP+ Offense: 22nd 18th (↓4), 34.9
  • SP+ Defense: 8th (↑1), 15.9
  • SP+ Special Teams: 3rd (↓1), 0.6

AP Poll: 6th (same), 1,270

Coaches’ Poll: 6th (same), 1,313

CFP Rank: N/A

U-M Resume after Game 7
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Michigan vs Michigan State Football — Looking Back – 1981

Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins Highlighting Key Rivalry Games

The second installment in this year’s series looking back at the Michigan-Michigan State football rivalry takes us to 1981. Early in the third quarter, Morten Anderson had given Michigan State a four-point lead, and Michigan subsequently coughed up the football for the third time. As the sun started to dip toward the upper reaches of Spartan Stadium, things weren’t looking good for the Wolverines.

Then, with Michigan State driving, Jerry Burgei stepped up to save the day. Don’t bother trying a google search; you won’t find much. Burgei was a little-known defensive back during his time in Ann Arbor, but on Oct. 10, 1981, he made the most of his opportunity, intercepting a Brian Clark pass at the Michigan 17-yard line to thwart a Spartan drive. With that, Michigan finally got its ground game going consistently, as Butch Woolfolk started to grind up 10-15 yards a carry, and Lawrence Ricks eventually punched the ball over the goal line to give Michigan the lead for good. Aware that Anderson was a kicking weapon for MSU, Michigan elected to go for two points, with wide receiver Anthony Carter taking a handoff and tossing an easy scoring pass to quarterback Steve Smith, who was completely alone in the end zone.

In all, Burgei’s interception ignited a 22-point Michigan rally, as the Wolverines topped the Spartans, 38-20. The win was Michigan’s third consecutive victory in the rivalry, and the Wolverines eventually finished 9-3, punctuated by a 33-14 win over UCLA under the artificial sky of the Astrodome in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl.

Thanks to youtube poster WolverineHistorian for the footage of the game. As always, we own nothing, and this video and blog post are presented strictly for the enjoyment of readers.