If you're a Michigan State football fan, there's one game circled on the schedule every season that you pour your heart and soul into and if it doesn't end in a win, you're likely devastated until the two schools meet up during basketball season.
We all know that one game is during Hate Week.
The Michigan game has a lot riding on it every year and that's not going to change any time soon. The Spartans and Wolverines don't much like each other and even though the two schools have been trending in opposite directions since 2021, Michigan State always feels like it has a chance thanks to the Mark Dantonio (and technically Mel Tucker) era.
The Spartans haven't beaten Michigan since 2021 when they went 11-2 and won the Peach Bowl, but Jonathan Smith's first matchup with the Wolverines nearly ended in a win.
Fans are just requesting that the second-year head coach take the rivalry much more seriously because it's one of the most heated in college football.
And Bill Bender of Sporting News agrees. He ranked the top 25 hottest rivalries heading into the 2025 season and Michigan State vs. Michigan made the cut. Despite it being one-sided for the past three seasons, the Spartans' annual battle with the Wolverines slid into the top 25.
Michigan vs. Michigan State came in at No. 15 on the list.
The only other Big Ten rivalry game that made the list ahead of the Spartans was the clear and obvious choice of Michigan vs. Ohio State which checked in at No. 1.
Michigan vs, Michigan State was ahead of USC vs. UCLA (19), Washington vs. Washington State (20), Wisconsin vs. Minnesota (21), Iowa vs. Iowa State (22), Oregon vs. Oregon State (24), and Iowa vs. Minnesota (25).
Jonathan Smith has now coached in two of the 25 hottest rivalries in the country.
Now it's time he wins one at his new school.