EAST LANSING, Mich. — The bad blood between rivals Michigan and Michigan State spilled onto the field hours before kickoff Saturday.
Michigan linebacker Devin Bush was seen on video kicking and scuffing the Spartan logo at midfield shortly after both teams exchanged words on the field early during their warm-up for the noon ET kickoff. Bush spent several seconds trying to kick up the grass around the 50-yard line logo.
Michigan team spokesman David Ablauf said Michigan State players clotheslined a Wolverines player who was on the field stretching. Another Spartan, Ablauf said, ripped the headphones off cornerback Lavert Hill. He said Michigan State’s staff did not inform Michigan players that the Spartans were entering the stadium and about to do their usual walk from end zone to end zone.
Michigan State traditionally marches from one end of the field together in a straight, shoulder-to-shoulder line when they enter the stadium nearly two hours before their home games. Ablauf said the Spartans arrived 10 minutes late for their ritual so some Wolverines players were already on the field stretching. Those players clashed briefly with some of the Spartans in some pregame posturing.
The in-state rivals have a history of similar antics. Before the 2014 meeting in East Lansing, Michigan linebacker Joe Bolden drove a tent stake into the turf. Michigan State’s players saw and took exception.
The most well-known incident came after Michigan’s 2007 victory when running back Mike Hart referred to the rival Spartans as their “little brother.” Mark Dantonio, in his first year as head coach at that time, made a vow that “pride comes before the fall.” The Spartans have won eight of the past 10 meetings between the teams.
Dantonio said earlier this week that the matchup has been sportsmanlike and respectful in the past couple of years since Jim Harbaugh took over as Michigan coach. Harbaugh was asked Monday if he told his players to avoid adding fuel to the rivalry with pregame trash talk. He said he thought the cliché back-and-forth between the teams had been “plowed” thoroughly and that all sides could use a break from it.
Source:ESPN
