Desmond Howard Reveals Where UM May Have Edge against MSU

Desmond Howard knows a thing or two about the rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State.

Howard, before he was a Super Bowl MVP, was a receiver and return specialist at Michigan. His career as a Wolverine ranks among the best in history.

In his career, the Wolverines were 2-1 against the Spartans, winning in 1989 and 1991, while losing in 1990.

Now, Howard is an analyst for ESPN and a member of the College GameDay crew. As a pundit on one of the most popular pregame shows, he’ll travel to East Lansing to take part in breaking down a historic matchup between these two schools.

“The rivalry is one of the more heated in-state rivalries in college football,” Howard said. “As a college football analyst, I’ve been able to see some of the great ones across the country like Clemson-South Carolina, Alabama-Auburn, USC-UCLA. And this one ranks up there with all of those. Both teams are undefeated and I don’t know if anyone saw this coming before the season started."

Both Michigan and MSU are 7-0 and ranked in the top 10 nationally, the first time these two teams will meet under these circumstances since 1964.

“It’s really good,” Howard said. “It’s good for the state of Michigan, it’s really good for the Big 10. When I talk to my colleagues, it’s always great for college football, the landscape of college football when you have some of the, I guess you call them, blue bloods, teams that are traditionally some in the best in the game are relevant.”

Howard said neither team’s unbeaten start surprises him more than the other. He’s been impressed by the work of both coaches, mainly MSU’s Mel Tucker. Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald has also caught the eye of the ESPN analyst.

Macdonald’s work is a reason why Howard believes his alma mater may have the edge in the game.

“If you look at the defenses, Michigan probably has the edge defensively,” Howard said.

The Wolverines currently allow 14.3 points per game, ranking second in the country behind only No. 1 Georgia. MSU isn’t half bad itself, ranking tied for 19th with its 18.7 points allowed per game.

Offensively, the Spartans feature a unique blend of talent that hasn’t been seen in the program for a while. The offense averages 34.3 points per game. Michigan counters by averaging 37.7. Both teams are top-30 nationally.

Howard’s colleague, Rece Davis, also spoke with the media ahead of Gameday’s trip to East Lansing.

Davis echoed Howard’s sentiment about the national scope of this game. Both agree it’s good for all of college football when Michigan and Michigan State are both at their best.

“I think there’s a lot of juice on both sides of this rivalry,” Davis said. “And when you combine the national stakes and the Big 10 stakes, it really, really makes for great theater Saturday morning.”

Davis pointed out that both teams are hoping to prove themselves among the nation’s elite. In particular, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is hoping to prove himself after his program had taken a bad turn over the past two seasons.

“I think it’s really important,” Davis said. “Because you write the record against rivals, against top-10 opponents, until recently it’s as an underdog, you know all those things have been the Achilles heel and something that, if Michigan is going to compete at a level it desires to, they’re gonna have to rectify those things.”

Heading into the showdown with MSU, Harbaugh has his chance to set the record straight.

“If you have a top-10 showdown against your in-state rival, maybe not their biggest rival but certainly a big rival, and you lose again to a coach in his second year,” Davis said. “And Michigan State is capable of winning the game and there are higher stakes in the rivalry and direction of the program, but it’s important. And I think to step away from that and suggest that there’s some mitigating factor that would keep it from being important would be disingenuous.”

Should the Wolverines lose, it may be a blow Harbaugh and company may never recover from. In his career, Michigan’s head coach is 3-3 against the Spartans. With his best team since 2016, this matchup feels pivotal.

“I think it’s huge,” Davis said. “I’m not saying has to win or he gets fired or anything silly like that but I do think that, if Michigan has made the changes it believes it has in culture and the ability to compete at the highest level, then this is a game they need to win. This is a type of game they need to win consistently.”

The matchup between the two in-state rivals will kick-off at noon Saturday at Spartan Stadium.