Michigan Wolverines freshman running back Blake Corum is coached by someone plenty familiar with the upcoming rivalry tilt with the Michigan State Spartans.
Running backs coach Mike Hart famously coined the term "Little Brother," a phrase that has stuck 14 years later, following Michigan's 28-24 win in East Lansing in 2007. It was the term that launched a million arrows in the in-state rivalry and fueled the Spartans for a decade-plus after it was said.
So far, it has not come up much in the lead-up to this weekend's game.
“No, he hasn’t said much," Corum told the media on Monday afternoon. "I’ve seen his past with Michigan State but right now he hasn’t said much. We’re just locking in on film and getting ready.”
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Corum has gotten a taste of the rivalry already on the losing end of last year's 27-24 decision in Ann Arbor. The importance of getting the job done is not lost on him.
“It’s huge obviously with (two schools) in the state of Michigan. Whoever wins gets the right to boast or whatever you want to do the rest of the year. It’s a huge game and it means a lot.”
Both Corum and junior running back Hassan Haskins will look to match and surpass Michigan State's running game, led by Heisman candidate Kenneth Walker III, the nation's second-leading rusher through seven games. Corum and Haskins are Pro Football Focus' first and fifth-highest graded running backs in college football.
That juxtaposition will add some fuel to how the Michigan backs prepare this week.
“As a competitor, you always want to beat whoever you’re playing, offense and defense," he said. "I don’t really watch film on their offense, but I’ve heard his name and people have talked about him. I know what he’s done. So obviously, yeah.
“Everything means a lot to me. This is a big game. We’re both 7-0. There’s tension there. It means a lot. Like (senior linebacker Josh Ross) said previously, I’m ready to go.”
What will the recipe for success be in Ann Arbor this week? Corum says his team will not be looking to reinvent the wheel this week in practice.
“We continue to do what we do," he said. "We’ve been playing and preparing really hard. Let’s see if we can take up a notch. Let’s see if we can prepare a little more, watch a little more film. That will get the job done.
"The tension has been up all year. No matter who the team was, we’ve been ready to go from day one. We prepare like it’s any other game. Being an in-state rivalry, the tension will be up a little bit. We’ll prepare the same and even a little more. At the end of the day, it’s just another ballgame and we have to go out and do our assignments.”
This is still a young team with contributors that have yet to make the trek to Spartan Stadium. Corum said the older players will help paint a picture of what it is like to go into "The Woodshed" this weekend.
“There’s been some talk of what the bus ride is like and what it means to them," he said. "For the guys that haven’t played the game, the older guys will tell them what it’s like and what it means. That’s that.”
Regardless of the "nameless, faceless" strategy, the Wolverines take into each week, there is no denying this one means more with Big Ten East supremacy on the line. Corum knows it has the chance to springboard the Wolverines into the stretch run.
“It would mean a lot to me with everything that we’ve done so far this season. Going into Michigan State and beating them in their stadium would mean a lot. It would take our season to another level.”
Saturday's game between the sixth-ranked Wolverines and eighth-ranked Spartans – the highest-ranked showdown in the series since 1964 – will kick off at 12 p.m. ET and be broadcast nationally via FOX.
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