Michigan Football: Not Looking Past The Spartans

Michigan will have an advantage at just about every position when the Wolverines travel to East Lansing Saturday to play at Michigan State, but they aren’t taking the Spartans for granted.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh was part of a 1984 team that lost 19-7 after he broke his arm in the first half. It was MSU’s third win since 1969 at the time.

“I think it’s always been a tremendous rivalry for both schools, two great institutions, for our state and for our communities,” Harbaugh said Tuesday. “I feel it was that way when I was a player. I feel it’s that way now as a coach. I would anticipate it will be that way in the future.”

He’s as emotionally invested now as he was back when he played, he added.

“For all involved, yeah, it was, is and will be a happening,” Harbaugh said.

Potentially as much for the Michigan defense as anyone. The Wolverines are No. 1 nationally in scoring defense (10.0 points per game) and total defense (207 yards per game). There’s plenty of work to be done before they celebrate, however.

"You just have to really give them a pat on the back right now, but it's not time to take a victory lap,” Harbaugh said.

NOTES

• Fifth-year senior Chris Wormley will be one who has a significant advantage Saturday against MSU’s tackles.

"He's just always been a rock-solid guy that you liked being around, somebody that you try to emulate his qualities. He's a thinker and he makes good decisions,” Harbaugh said.

• Fifth-year senior left tackle Ben Braden was a hockey player growing up and never really understood the rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State. He said former Michigan linemen Taylor Lewan, Michael Schofield and Elliott Mealer enlightened him on its importance.

"There have always been bitter arguments over the years," Braden said, "and it's just kind of always been a game that everyone has a chip on their shoulder, more so than normal it seems like,” he understated.

Senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis has always felt its importance. It came to a head this summer.

“I saw where a Michigan State player had a tweet that said ‘100 days until we're locked in their stadium' and stuff like that,” Lewis said. "Let's just have the game on the field.”

But he insisted MSU was just another team in Michigan’s path to a title. U-M has dominated each of its Big Ten opponents through four games.

“Go undefeated … that's the plan," Lewis said. "That's the ultimate goal. To go undefeated.

“There is no mercy. Once you give up mercy, you give up momentum; then you don’t know what will happen at that point. You always have to have momentum on your side. You’ve got to have that intensity about you.”

Which shouldn’t be a problem after last year’s fluke loss in Ann Arbor, a 27-23 MSU win after a dropped punt snap was returned for touchdown.