Michigan State’s win over Michigan did more than just put a number in the standings. It gave the Spartans a chance to make a point, and one of their coaches wasted no time doing exactly that.
Quarterbacks coach John McNulty took a playful swipe at Michigan after the game, posting a photo of himself with offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan celebrating with the Paul Bunyan Trophy alongside his quarterbacks. His caption landed with a clear message: “At least we all understand that it’s actually an important rivalry,” McNulty posted.
The post came after a week in which Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham drew attention for downplaying the matchup and calling it Michigan State’s Super Bowl. That comment rubbed people the wrong way early in the week, including some in his own fan base, and Whittingham didn’t help matters after the game when he referenced the fact that there are no more trophy games, at least in his view, for the Wolverines. He also said his focus now is getting his team ready for the final three games.
Michigan State, though, treated the rivalry like it mattered. Pat Fitzgerald said after the game how much the win meant to him, the school, and the alumni base, and the Spartans’ coaching staff backed that up all week.
Fitzgerald spent the buildup preaching the rivalry and brought in different Michigan State legends to speak to the team each day, with Tom Izzo closing things out on Friday. That message clearly stuck.
For Michigan State, the timing made the celebration even sweeter. The Spartans had an extra week to prepare, and Fitzgerald also got some recruiting done during the break. Then came the result on the field, and with it, a reminder that the program understands the rivalry in a way Michigan’s head coach, by his own admission, does not.
Whittingham said he was interested in learning more about it, which only fueled the perception that the Spartans were the ones who got it. Now, after a long stretch in which the rivalry had lost some of its bite because of Michigan State’s struggles, the win and the reaction around it have brought the edge back.
The last Michigan State victory in the series came in 2021, and this one clearly meant something to the people wearing green. With the trophy in hand and the jabs flying, the Spartans have the bragging rights again.
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Michigan State managed it even without some key defensive pieces, which made the performance feel even more complete from the Spartans side. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald praised the groups resilience afterward, and the bigger question now is whether this can become more than one satisfying afternoon in a rivalry that has too often leaned the other way. [Read more 🡒]