Michigan State Football: Who is really the “little brother”?

Michigan State football is gearing up for a big game against Michigan this weekend, but who is truly the “little brother”?

In a debate that has raged on for about a decade now, ever since Mike Hart’s infamous post-game interview, fans from across the state of Michigan have been fighting back and forth over the term “little brother” which has been used to describe Michigan State football.

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On Twitter, you’ll see Michigan fans refer to MSU as “little brother” and some Spartan fans will retort with “little sister” or “Walmart Wolverine”. While this is all friendly banter and it ramps up during rivalry, or hate, week, the question begs to be answered: who really is “little brother” these days?

Let’s flash all the way back to the beginning of each program. Michigan was one of the first to have a college football team and that’s why the Wolverines are the “winningest program of all time” as the fans would constantly like to remind you.

Since the start of this rivalry, Michigan is 69-35-5 which is clearly as lopsided as rivalries come — unless you look at the recent Michigan-Ohio State rivalry (woof).

In the Mark Dantonio era, the series has favored Michigan State quite heavily. In fact, the Spartans are 7-3 against the Wolverines in the past decade. Such a small sample size, but unless little brother much more talented than big brother and no longer takes a back seat to his sibling, then the “little brother” insult doesn’t belong to the Spartans.

But hey, if Michigan fans want to continue to use the “little brother” insult since it’s the only thing they can really say in this rivalry’s recent history, just let them. Know that they’re using it because they can’t say much else.

Just remind them that sometimes little brother is better than big brother. Heck, their beloved head coach Jim Harbaugh is the younger brother of John Harbaugh and fans would argue he’s the better of the two.

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Don’t let the term “little brother” ruin your week because, well, it doesn’t apply to Michigan State anymore. That was thrown out the window after multiple Big Ten titles, a Rose Bowl, five 10-win seasons, a Cotton Bowl win, College Football Playoff appearance and seven wins over Michigan in 10 appearances. Just laugh it off as Michigan football hasn’t been relevant in over a decade.