Dear Crabby, Will the Spartans or the Wolverines Win This Saturday?

Dear Crabby,

It’s that time of the year again – time for the Michigan-Michigan State football game! Which school do you think will win? And who are you rooting for?

Thanks!
Bucky Brutus

Dear Bucky Brutus,

Hmmm. I have family and friends who attended both the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, so I don’t really have more of an allegiance to one over the other. Although, I do enjoy watching and listening to all the trash-talking that goes on between the fans. Especially those fans who never went to either school! That being said, I will definitely be watching the game on Saturday from my trusty La-Z-Boy.

Dear Crabby sits infront of his laptop
Dear Crabby Gives Advice

What I think is most exciting about this game is both teams are undefeated. The last time No. 6 U-M and No. 7 MSU were undefeated at the same time and played each other was in 2010. In case you’re keeping track, the Spartans won that game. Thanks to the pandemic last year, college football season fell rather flat. In fact, I barely remember it at all, but apparently, Michigan State won that game by three points. Are you picking up on a theme here? That had to be a great feeling for MSU’s new head coach Mel Tucker. Poor old Jim Harbaugh may have played for the Wolverines back in the day, but a lot of his fellow alumni ain’t so happy with his record against the Spartans. He’s been the head coach at Michigan for six years and in that time, he’s led the victors to three wins (2016, 2018, and 2019) and three losses. Now, I know there are some U-M fans who say beating that school in Ohio means more than beating MSU, but I get the feeling Jimmy wants to win both. I guess it’s a good thing all those oddsmakers have Michigan as the 4-point favorite to take the Paul Bunyan trophy home.

No matter the outcome, it’s guaranteed to be a good game. In the last 20 meetings, the winner has been decided 14 times by two touchdowns or less, nine times by a touchdown or less, and three times by three points or fewer. And you never know what will happen in the waning moments of the game. Just ask Harbaugh about the first time he coached against the Spartans – in Ann Arbor, no less. It was 2015 and the Wolverines were favored by 6 1/2 points to win. With 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Michigan was ahead 23–21. All they had to do was let the clock run out and bust out their victory dance. Unfortunately, their punter Blake O’Neill fumbled the ball, tried to recover but he was hit by MSU Safety Grayson Miller and the ball flew into the air and into the arms of redshirt Freshman Jalen Watts-Jackson, who returned the ball to the endzone as time expired to give Michigan State the win, 27–23. Even Watts-Jackson’s folks thought MSU didn’t have a snowball’s chance and had already left the stadium. That’s the type of game I want to see on Saturday – one that goes down to the wire and is worthy of two undefeated teams.

Hopefully, Harbaugh remembers to wear his lucky khakis this Saturday because I get the feeling that ‘Tuck comin.’

Go Blue! and Go Green!
Dear Crabby

About Dear Crabby

Stuck in a rut? Need some biased advice from a crabby old baby-boomer? Read regularly by thousands and loved by some, Dear Crabby answers questions weekly to life's challenges. Send him a note at editor@rochestermedia.com.

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