Kickoff Time Announced for Annual Michigan State-Michigan Rivalry Game
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The 116th meeting on the football field between Michigan State and Michigan on Oct. 21 will feature a first in the series' history.
On Monday, the Big Ten Conference announced that this year's annual matchup between the Spartans and Wolverines will kick off at 7:30 p.m., making it the first ever night game played at Spartan Stadium between the two rivals. NBC will carry the broadcast, while the game will also be available to be streamed on Peacock.
🚨SCHEDULE UPDATE🚨
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) October 9, 2023
Our game on October 21st will be at 7:30pm ET on @nbc.#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/YwKydeaRK6
The only prior MSU-Michigan game to kick off at night came in 2017 in Ann Arbor, which resulted in a 14-10 victory for the Spartans.
Night games are becoming more prevalent in the Big Ten after the conference signed a new television deal which incorporated CBS and NBC into the rotation of broadcast partners. The Big Ten's primary partner remains FOX, which has cornered the market on noon kickoff's with its top game of the week being featured on 'Big Noon Kickoff'. For years, CBS's top game of the week has kicked off at 3:30 p.m., and will continue to do so in the years ahead with the Big Ten. NBC, however, gets first pick on the night cap each week.
Late kickoffs have become the norm for Michigan State football this season. The Spartans' game against Michigan will be their third which kicks off after 7 p.m., and the fourth to kick off after 5 p.m. Michigan State has two more post-7:30 p.m. kickoffs already scheduled this season — Nov. 11 at Ohio State and Nov. 24 vs. Penn State at Ford Field in Detroit.
The Wolverines have played two night games this season, at home against Bowling Green on Sept. 16 and at Minnesota on Sept. 30.
Michigan State defeated Michigan, 37-33, in the last meeting between the two rivals in East Lansing in 2021. The Spartans were led by star tailback Kenneth Walker III in that game, who scored five rushing touchdowns while racking up 197 yards on 23 carries against the Wolverines.
Michigan reclaimed the Paul Bunyan Trophy with a 29-7 victory over MSU last season in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines and Spartans have split the last eight meetings since Jim Harbaugh was hired by U-M in 2015. Prior to Harbaugh's arrival, Michigan State had won six of the previous seven meetings.
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