The Michigan-Michigan State rivalry might not jump to mind when you think of college football’s greatest rivalries, but it’s certainly one of the most intense. With no love lost between the teams – or fan bases – the annual matchup is a game that’s circled on each team’s calendar. Regardless of records, there’s a lot of excitement across the state leading up to the game. Occasionally it’s a big game nationally, as it was in 2021 when both teams came into the game undefeated and ranked in the top
ten, but it’s always a big deal locally – and to each team.
This year, however, there was a palpable lack of buzz leading up to the game. With one team’s fan base nervously watching its team struggle week-to-week and fretting over the development of its young quarterback and the other having all but given up on its coach and its season, there just wasn’t the buildup that there is in most years.
For most of the first half of Saturday night’s game, the action on the field lived up to the lack of hype.
Michigan jumped out to an early lead, but you got the impression that head coach Sherrone Moore felt he had the better team and was determined to do just enough to come out on top. Determined to take as few chances as possible and get out of town with a victory. Indeed, after Michigan took a 10-0 first quarter lead, the Wolverines didn’t take their foot off the gas as much as they shifted into neutral, accumulating just 33 yards of offense in the entire second quarter.
Michigan State had other ideas, however. After being held without a first down on their first four drives, the Spartans put together a 74-yard touchdown drive that cut Michigan’s lead to a field goal. The drive was jump-started by a 49-yard run by Makhi Frazier (who finished the game with 112 yards on just 14 carries) and capped by a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Aidan Chiles.
Michigan State may have gone into the halftime locker room trailing, but it also did so with momentum on its side – and a newfound sense of confidence. Would the Spartans ride that momentum to a big second half? Would they pull off yet another upset in this series as a big underdog?
Not this night.
Michigan received the second-half kickoff and with a passing game that hadn’t really gotten on track, turned to its most explosive player – and watched him take over the game.
After missing a game and a half with an abdominal injury, junior tailback Justice Haynes returned to action – and returned to form. The Alabama transfer was the driving force behind Michigan’s half-opening, seven-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that extended the Wolverines’ lead to 17-7. Haynes began the drive with runs of 20 and 28 yards and ended it with a five-yard touchdown run. In all, Haynes accounted for 64 of the 71 yards.
After forcing Michigan State into a pair of quick punts, Michigan turned to Haynes again. And again, Haynes delivered, carrying the load in another long touchdown drive, this one also capped by a Haynes touchdown run, this time from 13 yards.
It was part of a game plan that saw Moore and the Wolverines all but eschew the passing game. Over the game’s final 30 minutes, Michigan attempted just two passes while rushing 26 times for 191 yards.
Moore said that the Wolverines’ run-heavy strategy wasn’t something the coaches had decided on before the game. “Going into the game, we want to be balanced,” Moore said. “But as we got into the game and our defense began to mow them down, we just felt like we had to milk the clock and get the win.”
It helps, of course, when you have running backs like Haynes (153 rushing yards) and Jordan Marshall (110 rushing yards) to carry the load. “We’ve got a good running back tandem back there,” Moore said. “They play physical. They wear you down.”
That was certainly the case against Michigan State. Michigan finished the game with 276 yards on the ground, with 191 coming in the decisive second half.
If Haynes was the star on offense, Jimmy Rolder was the star on defense. Coming off a strong performance a week earlier against Washington, the senior linebacker played even better against Michigan State. Rolder finished the game with ten tackles, two tackles-for-loss, one sack, one fumble recovery and two big pass breakups (PBUs). Even these statistics, as gaudy as they are, don’t fully illustrate the impact Rolder had on the game. Rolder didn’t just make plays, he made big plays in big moments. His PBUs were especially impactful, with one coming on an extra point attempt and the other on a fourth down.
You’d be hard-pressed to come up with a better performance by a linebacker in recent memory.
Somewhat buried on the depth chart his first three years in Ann Arbor, Rolder has shined with more playing time this season. Asked about his decision not to transfer when his path to playing time was blocked, Rolder responded, “I stayed because I love Michigan. And I always believed in myself and knew that I could play here.”
Michigan’s coaches are glad he stayed. Rolder has not only become one of Michigan’s better defensive players, but his fingerprints were all over Saturday’s victory.
With the win, Michigan extends its winning streak over its in-state rivals to four games – the longest streak either team has had in nearly 20 years. And while the outcome may have been a little too close for comfort for Michigan, a win is a win. Especially one against your in-state rival.
“We talked about how important this game was,” Moore said. “It means everything for us to have won this game … and keep Paul (Bunyan) home.”
