Spartans Fall Short to Wolverines in Bitter Rivalry Loss
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Michigan State lost to Michigan for the fourth consecutive year in the Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy on Saturday night, 31-20.
The Wolverines were in control of this one virtually the whole way, taking a 10-0 lead before MSU got a first down. Michigan State had its chances offensively later in the game, but the Spartans left its opportunities on the table.
MSU is now 3-5 on the season and a dreadful 0-5 against Big Ten opponents; all five losses have been by double digits. UM improves to 6-2 and 4-1, respectively.
Michigan State's next game is on the road against Minnesota on Nov. 1 (3:30 p.m. ET, BTN).
First Half
MSU got the ball first, and it was not Aidan Chiles' best handful of plays. He nearly threw a bad interception while throwing across his body on second down, and then fumbled it away on third down. A hit from Michigan's Brandyn Hillman jarred it loose, and Jimmy Rolder recovered it just before the ball went out of bounds for the Wolverines.
UM moved the ball a bit with tremendous field position, but Michigan State got a stop on third-and-goal from the 3-yard line. Dominic Zvada hit a 21-yard field goal to give the Wolverines a 3-0 lead.
Both teams punted during their second respective turns with the football.
After MSU punted again, Michigan was able to go down the field with one pass interference flag and a bunch of run plays. UM quarterback Bryce Underwood ran it for a touchdown from 13 yards away. That made it 10-0, Wolverines.
Michigan State finally showed life on drive No. 5. Headlined by a 49-yard run by Makhi Frazier, the Spartans went 75 yards in 10 plays to reach the endzone and get back in the game. Chiles snuck it in from the 1-yard line to get things to 10-7.
Both teams traded some more punts from there, and the score held into halftime.
Second Half
The third quarter started quite controversially. It looked like Malcolm Bell had forced a fumble on UM's Underwood, but the refs called him offsides, negating the play. The replay showed that the call was incorrect, but that type of call is not reviewable.
A few plays later, Michigan running back Justice Haynes ran it in for a score to extend the Wolverines' lead to 17-7.
Even with the controversial calls, it still did not really matter. Michigan was the better team on Saturday.
The two teams punted some more, MSU's offense continuing to do virtually nothing. Haynes got his second touchdown of the third quarter later on.
Still, Michigan State did try to make it interesting during the fourth quarter. The Spartans got back in the endzone one play after a 24-yard catch for Nick Marsh, with Brandon Tullis taking it in. MSU went for two and did not get it; that made it 24-13.
Michigan State's defense forced a big three-and-out, giving the offense the ball back in good field position. MSU faced a fourth-and-3 on UM's 27-yard line, but the conversion failed on a play-action pass.
The Spartans forced a fumble on the ensuing Wolverine possession, but time was running out. MSU again got it into UM territory, but a QB sneak by Chiles got stuffed to give Michigan the ball back again with 4:37 left.
Michigan running back Jordan Marshall broke free for a 56-yard touchdown that made it 31-13 to send the message to Spartan fans that they should hit the exits.
MSU scored a touchdown with only seven seconds left on a 21-yard pass from Alessio Milivojevic to Michael Masunas, but that was far too little, too late.
Notable Performances
QB Aidan Chiles (MSU): 14-for-28, 130 yards | Negative-7 rushing yards, 1 TD, 1 lost fumble
WR Nick Marsh (MSU): 6 catches, 75 yards
RB Justice Haynes (UM): 26 carries, 152 yards, 2 TDs
RB Jordan Marshall (UM): 15 carries, 110 yards, TD
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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