MICHIGAN STATE
Not unlike children in Gaza living under the warped umbrella of Hamas, students attending Michigan State become indoctrinated during their time in East Lansing – indoctrinated to hate the University of Michigan and anyone associated with it with a blind and infinite rage. I watched close friends and former classmates succumb to this phenomenon. At first, I took offense to it, especially from those who had cheered for Michigan at one point in their lives. Granted I was naive, and granted I was (and am) overly sensitive, but some of the things that lifelong friends posted on Facebook (i.e. “scUM”) about the university I attended hurt me.
As the years went on, though, I realized it was just fucking sad. During the Mark Dantonio era I routinely watched Spartan football players take cheap shots, late hits, commit unsportsmanlike conduct penalties with intent to injure, and generally play dirty when they thought the refs wouldn’t catch them. William Gholston’s actions during the 2011 game exemplified the era. Gholston not only punched Taylor Lewan during that game, he also ripped upwards on Denard Robinson’s facemask while Robinson lay prone at the bottom of a pile after the whistle, yanking his head upwards in doing so. Though Gholston's unsportsmanlike actions earned him a one-game suspension, after the fact, they also surely earned him lifetime membership in the Spartan Dawg Club. Hating Michigan literally becomes a Spartan's entire identity, and this is why Appalachian State remains, for most State fans, one of the biggest victories in the history of their football program. Such an externally focused identity prevents introspection, a skill that just might serve the poster child of dysfunctional institutions (and dysfunctional leadership) well.
Last year, following a 29-7 drubbing in the Big House, some Spartans exposed the dark depths such an indoctrination in hatred ultimately amounts to when at least eight MSU football players grouped up on two Michigan players inside the tunnel and assaulted them. Chris Solari, who covered the game for The Detroit Free Press, witnessed the assault and reported several Spartans punching, shoving, and kicking sophomore defensive back JaDen McBurrows, who suffered a potential broken nose in the assault. Video footage silenced many of the Sparty-homers who tried to defend the assault, but not all of them. That wasn’t even the worst of the thuggery, though. In a separate scuffle, Khary Crump swung his helmet violently at Gemon Green while another Spartan helped restrain him. Green sustained a concussion, in addition to facial and upper body bruises. Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News aptly summarized the actions of these Spartans as “profound cowardice.” To his credit, Mel Tucker suspended eight of his players for their role in the attack, calling their behavior “inexcusable.” Prosecutors ultimately charged seven of them with crimes. Khary Crump faced a charge of felonious assault.
That backstory made the 2023 night game at Michigan State a giddy prospect. I wanted blood and I knew Harbaugh wanted it too. MSU was about to get their bare asses paddled in front of their home crowd, and the only question in the weeks leading up to the game was how bad it would be.
Offensive tackle Trevor Keegan, who admitted after the game that the team wasn’t over last year’s tunnel incident, used at least a tube of eye black to cover his face in warpaint, and his image on the field at Spartan Stadium encapsulated my inner zeitgeist. Keegan painted all of the skin around his eyes black, a look that reminded me of the roided-out Steve Lattimer character from the film The Program, with an added touch of scars at the corners of his mouth a la Heath Ledger’s Joker. The look said it all: no prisoners tonight. This one was not just about beating Sparty to further our long-term goals of a Big Ten and National Championship; this one was about payback, revenge, and justice. It was about sending a message and inflicting rock bottom on a program tarnished by scandal, then not acting like classless goons afterward.
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Didn’t sleep, Friday night, so I was waiting for the College Gameday shows to start. I wanted to hear the analysts’ takes on Michigan’s most recent NCAA accusation in regards to sign stealing (read: scouting opponents). That bombshell of a story dropped on Thursday, my busy day at work. I dubbed it white noise – people hated Harbaugh – until an ESPN article dropped Friday morning, followed shortly thereafter by the suspension of a Michigan staffer named Connor Stallions. I’d never heard his name before Friday. In the BOX group chat, Paul expressed worry, and that heightened my own a bit.
Besides that topic, Saturday’s slate featured some interesting games. It started with a Big Ten East showdown, 6-0 Penn State at 6-0 Ohio State. Both ESPN College Gameday and Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff set up shop in Columbus for the affair, providing Buckeye fans the opportunity to salute Urban Meyer and give him a warm homecoming. Also returning was rising NFL star C.J. Stroud, who sat down with the ESPN crew and made the guest picks for College Gameday. Many of the signs in the audience alluded to the Michigan sign-stealing investigation; some were even clever, like “Harbaugh stole my other sign.”
Incredibly, Penn State went 1 for 16 on third downs in the game, with their only conversion coming late in garbage time. Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar obviously contributed to that stat, underwhelming in his first appearance on a big stage; he completed only 18 of 42 passes for 191 yards. Fellow first-year starter Kyle McCord was better, but not stellar, going 22 of 35 for 286 yards. The Buckeyes QB had the advantage of throwing to Marvin Harrison Jr., who caught 11 of those balls – half of McCord’s completions – for 162 yards and a touchdown. Harrison Jr. was the clear MVP of the game, in my estimation.
Tennessee traveled to Bama next. Ex-Michigan QB Joe Milton looked spectacular early, leading the Vols to a 20-7 lead at half, but the Crimson Tide stormed back in the second half, winning 34-20. Cigar smoke wafted across the field at Bryant-Denny. At the same time P.J. Fleck and the Minnesota Gophers battled it out with the offensively challenged Hawkeyes for the bronze pig, also known as the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy. The Gophers celebrated after Iowa’s go-ahead punt return touchdown got negated by the officials, who ruled the Iowa return man had signaled fair catch, a controversial call that left Kinnick Stadium stunned, apoplectic, and pigless.
Then, at 6:30 CT, Michigan took the field at a hostile Spartan Stadium. The Spartan Dawgs wore their all-black uniforms. Michigan came out in their road white jerseys with navy pants. The weather was chilly enough for Jim Harbaugh to break out the puffer jacket. Absent from the Michigan State sideline was Mel Tucker, who Michigan State fired in September for his involvement in a sexual harassment scandal. Filling his shoes (and headset) was interim head coach and generally upstanding guy Harlon Barnett, who played safety for George Perles at Michigan State from 1986-1989, earning All-American honors during his senior season.
Was there any question that Michigan wanted the ball first? JJ McCarthy, like Trevor Keegan, had used a little extra eye black for the night game, smearing it across his cheeks. Wearing #9, Michigan’s stoic leader took the field at his own 16-yard line after Semaj Morgan foolishly fielded the opening kickoff. JJ snapped the ball and threw a seven-yard completion to Blake Corum, then did the same on the next play for 10 yards. Methodically McCarthy marched his Wolverines down field in this fashion, completing 5 of 6 passing attempts on the drive, one that went 76 yards and lasted six minutes plus. On the 12th play of the drive, he handed the ball to Mr. Automatic. Corum promptly punched it in for his thirteenth touchdown of the season, and James Turner booted the extra point to put the road team up 7-0 early.
After the Michigan defense forced a turnover on downs, McCarthy continued to sharpen his weapons. He went 4 for 4 on the ensuing drive, his fourth completion going to Roman Wilson for a 25-yard touchdown. Wilson's touchdown gave him ten on the year through only eight games, proof the Hawaiian deserved the coveted number one jersey. After allowing a whole 26 yards on MSU's opening drive, Michigan's defense tightened during State's second drive; the drive lasted only three plays and netted the Spartans -5 yards. Punter Ryan Eckley entered the game for the first time and booted it 49 yards, setting up a 1st and 10 for Michigan at their own 34-yard line. From there, McCarthy cooked up another scoring drive, leaning heavily on AJ Barner and Colston Loveland, twin weapons at tight end. A beautiful 22-yard touchdown pass to Loveland beat solid coverage by MSU and gave JJ his second touchdown of the half. His third touchdown of the season, Loveland boldly struck the Paul Bunyan pose in the endzone. Their team in a three-score hole, Spartan Stadium went silent.
Michigan State finally forced a punt on Michigan’s next possession, but McCarthy picked up where he left off on his fifth possession. After scrambling for 22 yards on the ground, setting up a 1st and 10 from the Michigan State 22-yard line, McCarthy once again found Loveland for a 22-yard touchdown strike, this time on a seam over the middle. That gave JJ three touchdown passes in the first half, two of those coming on beautiful deliveries to Loveland; he looked as sharp as he had all season. Up 28-0, at that point, Michigan refused to let up. After the defense forced yet another punt, McCarthy orchestrated an efficient two-minute drill that saw Michigan march 76 yards in only a minute and a half. A completion to Donovan Edwards on 1st and goal from the 10 pushed the ball to the Michigan State 4-yard line. JJ snapped the ball on 2nd and goal with 8 seconds remaining in the half and connected with AJ Barner for what appeared to be McCarthy's fourth touchdown pass of the half, one that would have given Michigan a cutthroat 35-zilch halftime lead. Alas, officials wiped out Barner's touchdown when they called Donovan Edwards for a phantom false start call. The false start call required a ten-second run off on the game clock; in effect, it gifted Michigan State a mercy ending to the half. Merry Christmas, Sparty. It was still Michigan’s largest halftime lead in the rivalry since 1947.
Perhaps looking for a moral victory, if nothing else, State looked to get back on track when they got the ball to start the second half. Redshirt freshman quarterback Kaitin Houser and the Spartan offense showed signs of life, even moving into Michigan territory, but any hopes still lingering in Spartan Stadium evaporated when Houser threw an interception on 4th and 7. Mike Sainristil picked Houser off and took it 72 yards to the house, scoring his second touchdown of the season. Following the pick-six, Michigan (once again) led 35-0. MSU went three and out, subsequently, then McCarthy threw his career-high fourth touchdown of the night midway through the third quarter, this time finding Barner for an 11-yard score. This time the touchdown stood for Barner, who deserved it. The transfer from Indiana posted career highs with 8 receptions for 99 yards in the blowout. With his team comfortably up 42-0, this was the final time McCarthy saw the field. He finished the night 21 of 27 for 287 passing yards and 4 touchdowns.
Even in garbage time, however, Michigan accelerated. In a fitting moment, Ja’Den McBurrows, one victim of last year’s tunnel assault, recorded his first career interception in the fourth quarter, picking off MSU backup QB Sam Leavitt on a deflection. On the sideline, McBurrows' teammates swarmed him. "I know how he felt," Mike Sainristil said of McBurrows' pick, "I felt it too." Harbaugh needed few words to describe that moment. "What an amazing thing," he commented wryly. McBurrows also recorded three tackles in the game, including one tackle for a loss.
Then, up 42-0 in the dying seconds of the game, Harbaugh and/or Moore chose not to kneel out the clock. They didn't call for any passes, but they didn't call for any kneel-downs either. Instead, they allowed third string quarterback Alex Orji, a sophomore from Sachse, Texas, to run at will. In total, on the final drive of the game, Orji ran 5 times for 27 yards. With 8 seconds left, he snapped the ball, followed his blockers, and broke arm tackles en route to the endzone for a hard-fought score. Orji's first touchdown of the season made it 48-0 Wolverines. Harbaugh stopped short of pulling a Woody Hayes, sending out the kicking unit. James Turner’s sixth extra point of the night made it 49-0, which proved the final.
It was a night to forget for Michigan State’s fanbase. Michigan shut out Michigan State in their own stadium, under the lights, and that wasn’t the worst of it for Sparty. The 49-0 rout was the worst home loss in history for the Spartans, and the largest margin of defeat to their in-state rivals since 1947, when the Wolverines defeated the Spartans 55-0.
To make matters worse, national news outlets picked up on a side-story that made Michigan State look even more foolish post-game. In the BOX group chat, Paul had alluded to this, forwarding a screenshot of the Spartan Stadium videoboard taken just prior to kickoff. Curiously, the video board showed an image of Adolf Hitler, of all people. The operators of the scoreboard had apparently shown an image of the fascist as part of a pregame pop culture quiz, or something, but the reason hardly mattered. The fact that it happened at all underscored the ineptitude of the university. A university spokesman issued an apology for the Hitler imagery during the second half of the game, a moment that must have felt a lot like rock bottom. At a time when the university needed to lay low and let things blow over, they had found the stupidest way to draw attention to themselves. But not all was lost for the Spartan faithful: at least they had a sign-stealing accusation to hang their hat on for the rest of the season; they could root for Tony Pettiti and the NCAA!
"Leave no doubt," Harbaugh had urged his team before the battle in East Lansing. Hanging half a hundred in your rival's backyard leaves little doubt, indeed. When asked if his Spartans had reached their lowest point of the season, Harlon Barnett conceded "it might be," adding, "I thought it was last week." Losers of five straight, Michigan State traveled to Minnesota next, while #2 Michigan, winners of 20 consecutive conference games dating back to 2021, looked forward to a bye week before hosting Purdue on November 4.
Pac 12 After Dark delivered yet again; it didn't hurt that I was riding the high of our 49-0 curbstomping while watching. Without starting quarterback Cameron Rising, #14 Utah went into USC and defeated the #18 Trojans, 34-32, handing Lincoln Riley’s squad an early second defeat that jeopardized the Trojans' title hopes. Then even later in Seattle, the 1-5 Sun Devils of Arizona State put undefeated Washington on upset alert, one nobody had predicted when Saturday's games started. In a shocker of a halftime score, the Sun Devils led 7-3 over the Huskies. ASU handcuffed Michael Penix Jr. all game, forcing him into two interceptions and tarnishing his Heisman resume, but their offensive output – a single touchdown in the first half – proved too little. Washington scored 12 unanswered in the 4th quarter to escape with a 15-7 victory, keeping the dream alive in Seattle for another week at least.
I ended the night country dancing with Paul Cauthen: "It's a quarter to three, you know what I need/ It's a quarter to four, do we have anymore?"
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