Biggest Villains/Heroes in Michigan vs Michigan State history

[SportsFromA2]

Here are six individuals from the past two decades that proved to be more than a thorn in the side of the opposition during the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy:

Michigan villains

Marcus Ray
Defensive back (1995-98)

Charles Woodson gets all the ink when it comes to Michigan's win over Michigan State during the Wolverines' national title season of 1997. And, rightfully so. No one's really sure how he hauled in that famous one-handed interception.

But, statistically, Ray had a better game. The then-junior safety racked up two of Michigan's six interceptions on the day and added six tackles as the Wolverines won 23-7. Ray's first interception was a momentum-changer, as it came shortly after Michigan State converted a fake field goal touchdown pass to go up 7-3.

Ray would add another interception in the fourth quarter, giving him four picks in two years against MSU. As a sophomore in 1995, Ray posted 10 tackles and two interceptions in the Wolverines' 45-29 win.

And just for good measure, the former second-team All-American stirred the pot a bit more this week with some rather salty words for Michigan State fans in a Detroit News article.

"It will snow in July in northern Africa before Michigan State wins a national championship," Ray remarked.


Braylon Edwards
Wide receiver (2001-04)

When Edwards graduated in 2004, perhaps no other Big Ten school rejoiced more than Michigan State. His legacy against the Spartans began as a junior in 2003 when he turned in a sparkling seven-catch, 103-yard, two-touchdown performances in a 27-20 Michigan win.

But he wasn't done. Not even close.

Edwards didn't just rip the hearts out of Spartan fans in 2004. He stomped them, kicked them, chewed them up and spit them back out.

Edwards' 2004 Michigan-Michigan State party began with 6:12 to go in the fourth, when he ripped the ball away from MSU defensive back Jaren Hayes for a 36-yard score that brought the Wolverines within a touchdown.

Three minutes later, Edwards and Hayes met in the end zone again. The result? Exactly the same. Edwards once again abused Hayes on a Chad Henne jump ball, hauling in a 21-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 27, erasing MSU's once 17-point lead and forcing the game into overtime.

In triple overtime, Edwards didn't out-leap Hayes, he burned him on a post. His 24-yard catch and run proved to be the game-winner, as the Wolverine defense held Michigan State on its ensuing possession to hand the Spartans perhaps their biggest gut-punch in Paul Bunyan Trophy history.

In three total games against Michigan State, Edwards tallied 22 catches for 323 yards and five touchdowns.


Mike Hart
Running back (2004-07)

Figured we'd save the biggest villain for last.

If anyone ever earned the right to call a team his "little brother," it was probably Hart against Michigan State.

In four career games against the Spartans, Hart put together rushing totals that would resemble a fine season for plenty of college running backs.

As a freshman in 2004, Hart racked up 224 yards and a touchdown in the Wolverines' 45-37 comeback victory. In 2005, he shook off an injury and rumbled for 218 yards and a score as Michigan won in overtime for the second straight year.

In 2006, he put up 122 yards on the ground as the Wolverines won easily. For his curtain call in 2007, Hart put up 110 yards as Michigan came from behind for the third time in four years.

To top it all off?

"Sometimes, you get your little brother excited when you're playing basketball -- let them get the lead," he said following the 2007 win. "And then you come back."

In four career games against Michigan State, Hart rushed for a total of 674 yards. That's 73 yards more than any Michigan running back gained last season.


Michigan State villains


Eddie Brown
Wide receiver/defensive back (1989-90)

As the T-shirts read: 'No. One vs. No One.'

Michigan was the No. 1 team in the country. Michigan State was unranked, had lost its first conference game of the season and sat at 1-2-1 on the season.

You know where this is going.

A massive underdog in Michigan Stadium, the unheralded Spartans (quarterbacked by current Central Michigan head coach Dan Enos) gave the Wolverines everything they wanted and then some.

Michigan State pulled in front 28-21 after a 9-yard scoring run by Tico Duckett with just 1:59 to play.

Michigan would answer, though, getting a seven-yard touchdown pass from Elvis Grbac to Derrick Alexander with just 6 seconds to play. Rather than go for the tie, then Michigan coach Gary Moeller elected to try the two-point conversion for the win.

Brown had other plans.

Lined up across from eventual Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard, Brown appeared badly beaten on an inside route toward the middle of the end zone. The ball was thrown on the money, but a stumbling Howard was unable to hang on.

Why was the ball dropped?

"I saw six-foot, five (inch) Elvis Grbac back there about to dump it in there for an easy two points and I'm thinking there's no way I can go back to East Lansing if I give up this play," Brown told The Ann Arbor News in 1999. "So I tripped him and I tried to act like I tripped and fell.

"(My teammates) were grabbing me and jumping me and I was like, 'Get me off the field,' because I knew I got away with it." Michigan still had one last chance after a recovered onside kick, but Brown put the capper on his day by intercepting Grbac to end the game and ruin the Wolverines' national championship hopes.


"Spartan Bob"
Spartan Stadium clock operator

Oh what a difference one second makes.

Trailing 24-20 with possession in the 2001 game's final minutes, Michigan State received some help from Michigan after a 4th-down facemask penalty and a 12-men on the field flag gave the Spartans new life near the Wolverine goal line.

What happened next goes down as one of the more talked-about moments in the rivalry's history.

With 17 seconds remaining, MSU faced a 2nd-and-goal from inside the 5-yard-line. Quarterback Jeff Smoker kept the ball on a rollout and ran to the 2-yard line at the 12-second mark.

With the clock continuing to run, Smoker got up and gathered the Spartans at the line to attempt a clock-stopping spike. Five, four, three, two, one, (slight pause) -- spike.

After being allowed the spike following a seemingly long final second, Smoker rolled to his right, threw left and found a wide open T.J. Duckett in the end zone for the game-winner as time expired.

Michigan's high BCS ranking was ruined, and Wolverine fans everywhere cried massive foul on Spartan Stadium clock operator Bob Stehlin, known as "Spartan Bob."

The controversy eventually led the Big Ten to change its clock operating policy, calling for an independent clock operator a year later.

As for Spartan Bob? He maintained his innocence this week in the Lansing State Journal, explaining that he watched Smoker put down the spike before stopping the clock with one second to play.

"I didn't cheat," he said.

Stehlin got the grief, but the real on-field thorns in Michigan's side that day were penalty flags (the Wolverines had seven for 76 yards) and Duckett (who rushed for 211 yards).


Mark Dantonio
MSU head coach (2007-present)

He's only in his fifth season at Michigan State, but Dantonio is already one of the most successful Spartan coaches when it comes to dealing with Michigan.

After hearing Hart refer to his program as "little brother" in 2007, Dantonio has made plenty of Wolverine supporters eat those words.

He scored the program's first Michigan Stadium victory in 18 years during a 35-21 win over the Wolverines in 2008. In 2009, Dantonio's defense held Rich Rodriguez's spread-option offense to just 251 total yards before holding off a late Michigan rally with a 26-20 overtime victory.

And last season, just three weeks after suffering a heart attack, Dantonio was in the Michigan State coaches' booth as his Spartans dominated Michigan for a second straight win in Ann Arbor, and third straight overall in the series.

If Dantonio and company can score a win Saturday, it'll be the first time since 1959-62 that Michigan State has topped Michigan four straight times.

"Maybe some day the little brother believes he can compete with the big brother," Dantonio said after last season's win. "I have great respect for Michigan, outstanding respect for Coach Rodriguez and the job that they do. We felt like when we came here as a staff we were going to be a player in the state here."

http://www.annarbor.com/sports/um-fo...state-history/

[boxedlunch]

I knew Spartan Bob had to be on here.

After the game, I can completely forgotten about the clock issue, because it was a non-issue to me. There was time on the clock, stop the play. LeSuer's stupid penalty and too many men on the field were the issues for me, the clock wasn't (and still isn't).

However, reading article and seeing him say that he was watching the quarterback spike the ball to see when to stop it, is really interesting to me. Hey Bob, you're supposed to watch the officials.

[FastFreddie]

I find it interesting that both of the cheaters in this series, admit to cheating. (Eddie Brown and Spartan Bob)

[boxedlunch]

As for clock issues, the play at the end of the first half in the Michigan/Northwestern game pointed out an issue. The replay official went back and looked at how much time was left when the ball fell incomplete. That's NOT the correct way of doing it (or it shouldn't be, I don't know the rules). The length of the play needs to be measured, NOT where the clock is at the end of it. If they didn't stop the clock in time, it's as incorrect as if they didn't start the clock on time (which they didn't on the play). The play ran about 5.5 seconds with 6 seconds on the clock. By my calculations there should have been 0-1 seconds left for the last play, but they put up 2 seconds which tells me they did it incorrectly. Obviously not an issue because either one left time for one play, but it may be an issue one day. That they put 2 seconds up tells me they did it wrong.

[wallyfairway]

my previous favorite is all the continued whining about the 1-second, and as boxedlunch pointed out there were many other UM issues that left the door open in that game.
oh and Eddie Brown was just joking with the press....Des tripped on a marshmellow, which shouldn't have been thrown on the field by those damned UM hooligans.

my new favorite is whatever happens tomorrow that leads to whining.....and you know it is bound to happen

[flemgoblue]

my previous favorite is all the continued whining about the 1-second, and as boxedlunch pointed out there were many other UM issues that left the door open in that game.
oh and Eddie Brown was just joking with the press....Des tripped on a marshmellow, which shouldn't have been thrown on the field by those damned UM hooligans.

my new favorite is whatever happens tomorrow that leads to whining.....and you know it is bound to happen

really? there hasn't been much whining the past 10 years really IMO.

[boxedlunch]

my previous favorite is all the continued whining about the 1-second, and as boxedlunch pointed out there were many other UM issues that left the door open in that game.
oh and Eddie Brown was just joking with the press....Des tripped on a marshmellow, which shouldn't have been thrown on the field by those damned UM hooligans.

my new favorite is whatever happens tomorrow that leads to whining.....and you know it is bound to happen

The Spartan Bob thing has NEVER bothered me, until today. The official's gaff that was worse was the obvious hold on the last play that prevented the pressure on the quarterback.

Today, I read the quote by Spartan Bob "defending" himself and he admits to running the game clock incompetently. Guys running the game clock are not supposed to start and stop the clock on their own, they are supposed to follow the official's signals. That he admits to stopping the clock when he saw the spike, not the officials waving their arms tells me he ran the clock as a homer.

[auburntigerdude]

How did Bo Schembechler not make this list????? .

[flemgoblue]

why would he?

[auburntigerdude]

why would he?

17-4 against Michigan State, he really stuffed Michigan State into "little brother" hell. Bear was 19-6 vs. us, and we hate him with a passion unto this day.

[flemgoblue]

honestly i dont remember him doing anything inflammatory for this rivalry though. he acknowledged it and just went to work.