Michigan vs. Michigan State: Wolverines and Spartans' top 5 rivalry bouts of past 20 years

Remember the days when Michigan State briefly owned the rivalry series with Michigan?

They weren’t that long ago.

Former MSU coach Mark Dantonio capitalized on former UM RB Mike Hart’s “little brother” comment in 2007, winning 8 of 10 before things eventually went back to normal. UM has won 3 of the past 5 meetings. Prior to Dantonio, the Wolverines rarely ever lost back-to-back rivalry games.

The Wolverines were a top-15 team during all of those wins, with exception to 2005 when they upset No. 11 MSU, 34-31, in overtime. Since 2000, the Wolverines and Spartans have met as ranked teams 6 times. They haven’t both been top-10 at the same time since 1964, so this year’s duel has extra significance.

There will be more time to dive into the history books, but for now, let’s review the best handful of UM-MSU matchups over the past 20 years.

Trouble with the snap 2015

Michigan punter Blake O’Neill went through hell after this game, dealing with the ugly side of sports fandom. He was subject to ridiculous amounts of harassment and even had his life threatened by morons on Twitter. There was no way humanly possible to not feel bad for the guy. Yes, he made a critical mistake, that’s how the game goes sometimes. But nobody should be skewered and berated in the manner O’Neill was back in 2015.

O’Neill’s slippery handles came moments before one of the wildest finishes in the history of sports. Not just UM-MSU or college football, but sports in general. Michigan simply had to successfully punt the ball away before escaping with a 23-20 victory. But the Spartans had other ideas, and Jalen Watts-Jackson became a folk hero in East Lansing after scooping up the fumbled punt and housing it for the game-winner.

That 27-23 win was a moment in time for the Spartans, who’ve had several close calls with the Wolverines. One for the books, that 2015 match-up reigns supreme as an all-time epic battle.

3x the fun in 2004

Ranked No. 12, the Wolverines were heavy favorites entering rivalry week in 2004. That team was loaded. There was no way that the Spartans were going to have enough firepower to run with the Wolverines, right?

Wrong.

It wasn’t Penn State-Illinois this year, but it was an overtime thriller that needed 3 extra frames to settle.

Mike Hart, now the running backs coach at UM, ran wild over the Spartans, toting the ball 33 times for 224 yards and a touchdown. Braylon Edwards caught 11 passes for 189 yards and 3 touchdowns. To date, Hart and Edwards’ performances are among the greatest single-game efforts by anyone who’s ever worn a winged helmet.

At one time, MSU held a 27-10 lead late in the game, Then Michigan turned on the jets, erasing that deficit and forcing overtime en route to a 45-37 win.

Run it back in 2005

They had so much fun the prior season, Michigan and Michigan State decided to play extra football in 2005. Michigan won 34-31 in overtime. At the time, Michigan State was No. 11 in the nation. Losing to the Wolverines basically derailed the rest of the Spartans’ season. Entering rivalry week, they were 4-0 … then they finished 5-6 on the year.

Michigan wasn’t a world beater in 2005 but it did have 3 wins over ranked teams and was relatively competitive during a 25-21 regular-season finale vs. Ohio State.

Kicker Garrett Rivas could have won it for Michigan in regulation, but he missed a 35-yard field goal attempt. Redemption came in overtime, when he split the uprights to give the Wolverines a 34-31 victory.

Hart returned from an injury and, yet again, dismantled the Spartans with 200-plus rushing yards. You can bet that he’s telling stories about his legendary showings in the rivalry, in an attempt to motivate players and stress the importance of beating MSU.

Reality check in 2019

Speaking of beating MSU, which was the norm for decades, the Wolverines basically smacked MSU 2 years ago with a 44-10 win in Ann Arbor. It was like revisiting the past when Michigan was the clear favorite every year. Two years ago, the Spartans were winding down their Golden Era under Dantonio and Michigan was getting back into the swing of things, in terms of beating the Spartans, who had won 4 of the previous 6 meetings.

Big win for Jim Harbaugh. Big win for the Wolverines. It felt like 2002 for a second, didn’t it?

Owning the rivalry, starting in 2002

Michigan has all kinds of streaks against MSU. However, winning 6 in a row from 2002-2007 was quite the run for the Wolverines, who won 8 in a row in the 1970s. Only difference between that run and the one in the 70s, was the fact that the games were competitive. During the 8-game streak in the groovy 70s, Michigan routinely beat the hell out of the Spartans.

Trouncing MSU 49-3 in Ann Arbor was the equivalent to a boxer towering over their opponent after delivering a brutal KO. It’s not a game that MSU fans like to remember, but it was certainly one of Michigan’s finer moments during the past 20 years of the series.