Michigan State Football: Why I’m rooting for MSU to beat Michigan

A certain Detroit sportswriter swung and miss with an article based on why he was rooting for Michigan to beat Michigan State football in Week 8.

Detroit Free Press writer Carlos Monarrez wrote an article recently on ‘Why I’m rooting for Michigan to beat MSU and you should too.’ Now seemed like the perfect time to do a response to that article.

People who understand the rivalry know why a Michigan State fan could never cheer for Michigan to beat the Spartans or for anyone to root for the Wolverines. The Wolverines represent everything that Spartan fans deem wrong with college football. The hype, the arrogance and the entitlement.

All of these things are open for interpretation by fans, however, when commentator Joel Klatt says to Colin Cowherd how he feels Michigan should be No. 2 in the country then the brakes on this hype train need to be pumped at least. Yes, Michigan is a good team with a great defense, but beating a shaky No. 15 Wisconsin team does not equal a world-beater.

Why should you root for Michigan State this Saturday? They represent the underdog. The person who has had to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. For me, growing up a Michigan State fan I remember the blowouts, the taunting, and disappointment that many games meant. However, going into each game I thought it could be the one, where they finally measure up.

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Mike Hart’s legendary comments stated in many respects how MSU fans felt like losing to Michigan felt like. I understand Monarrez’s point, however, it is a deaf eared article about the rivalry. As head coach Mark Dantonio famously said, It’ll never be over. He was correct it’ll never be over because the satisfaction that every Spartan fan gets from every win is exhilarating.

Does Michigan have a good chance to go to the College Football Playoff? I doubt it. They have to beat Penn State and Ohio State to do so. Michigan has proven it cannot handle running quarterbacks. MSU quarterback Brian Lewerke proved this in the 2017 matchup. Michigan has to prove itself worthy of the hype. It has not been able to do that in the last decade.

Why are Michigan fans nervous? Because they have watched Michigan start a season and go 6-0, or 5-0, or 6-1 and then hit the buzz saw that is MSU and the wheels fall off the rest of the way. National pundits love to hype Michigan and in some respects, it is as if they want Michigan to win more than the Wolverine fan base. It is important to point out that Michigan is a good team this year and has many great players. Can they win Saturday? Absolutely.

Will they win? I don’t think so. I could be wrong. However, last Saturday in Happy Valley MSU proved something to themselves, which has been sorely missing this year. They needed confidence and they found it with the gift from Penn State. It’s the reason why I believe the Spartans will win Saturday.

What do I base this on? A hunch, but also on the eye test and watching the 2006 New York Giants. They lost to New England 38-35 in Week 17, but they went on to win the Super Bowl over the Patriots. Whether they admit it or not the loss provided them with the confidence to be able to beat New England.

The same thing that happened last week in Happy Valley. Sure, MSU tried to lose the game and  James Franklin made more suspect play calls. For a team on the ropes with no hope that game was a rebirth. Michigan State toppled another top-10 team with talent at every position much like the vaunted Wolverines have.

Therefore, it begs the question why couldn’t MSU do it again? The confidence may only be in the Spartan locker room, but come Saturday it may be on display. We shall see.