In recent years, the football programs of Michigan State and Michigan have trended in opposite directions, culminating last season when Michigan State won four games and Michigan captured the national championship.
The teams again are headed in opposite directions going into this year’s annual showdown Saturday night in Ann Arbor, but this time Michigan State is trending up while Michigan has regressed.
The Spartans (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) are coming off their best performance of the season, a convincing 32-20 win over Iowa in a game that saw Michigan State rush for more than 200 yards and not punt once against the normally stout Hawkeyes’ defense.
Michigan State also appears to have a quarterback to build around in Aidan Chiles, who has been erratic this year but played well against Iowa, passing for 256 yards and turning the ball over just once.
On the other side, Michigan (4-3, 2-2) scored only one touchdown in a 21-7 loss to then-No. 22 Illinois last week — the Wolverines’ second straight defeat — and hasn’t been able to find an answer at quarterback.
The Wolverines have had three starters this year — Davis Warren, Alex Orji and Jack Tuttle — but none have starred, although Tuttle completed 20 of 32 passes for 208 yards against the Illini.
Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said Monday the team would have a wait-and-see approach in terms of naming a starter for the Michigan State game.
“You have different things that guys are better at, and that you’ll feature for individual people, but we definitely have a process for what we’ll go through and how we’ll go through installing them,” Moore said.
Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith — who, like Moore, will coach in the rivalry game for the first time — said preparation will be especially important this week given Michigan’s uncertainty at quarterback.
“You prepare what you see on tape, and we’ve got tape of all of their players that have played offensively,” Smith said.
Michigan has lopsided wins against Michigan State in the last two years. The Wolverines lead the all-time series 73-38-5.
