The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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42 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW the Wolverines on a rally from a 10-point defi- cit midway through the fourth quarter at Spar- tan Stadium. Michigan came all the way back to win, 28-24, one of the two wins the Wolverines have managed in nine tries versus Dantonio. The present MSU coach is one of just seven of 24 head coaches in the 120-year history of Michigan State football to record at least two victories against the Wolverines. This one stirred the already smoldering dis- like Dantonio — a former Tressel assistant — harbored for all things maize and blue. "Chad Henne could hardly lift his arm above his shoulder," Falk recalled. "He threw those two long touchdown passes, and we ended up winning there." The animus isn't always at the surface, at least prior to the game, Falk pointed out. Folks at MSU have treated him very well on several occasions, including prior to that same contest. The mammoth Paul Bunyan Trophy, given annually to the winner of the game, remained in Michigan's possession after a 2006 victory over MSU. But Falk thought his own head might be on the chopping block leading up to the '07 contest. "We had the Paul Bunyan Trophy in the back of the truck," Falk said. "We went to pull him out, and the load had shifted. Paul Bun- yan's ax had broken in half. "We went over to the woodworking shop at Michigan State, and the guy looked at me and said, 'What's up?' I had, 'Sir, Paul Bunyan's ax broke. Can you help me with his ax?' "He laughed and said, 'Sure.' Two guys stopped what they were doing, and they both helped us with the glue and putting the ax back on Paul Bunyan. They really treated us nice." The Challenge Ahead Since 2007, the treatment hasn't been so nice. The Spartans have won seven out of eight, including all four in East Lansing. Dan- tonio flipped the script from Schembechler's early years, and now Michigan has Harbaugh in place to combat that scourge. It won't be an easy task, Thornbladh cau- tioned. "Dantonio is excellent," Thornbladh said. "No matter how you add it up, he is a tremen- dous coach. He has an enviable record. He has a tough, hard-nosed program. The kids play with passion, and they execute. It's not easy to win there. "It will be difficult. It's like what they told Bo: you'll never win here." Harbaugh was one play away in his first year, although that stunner played out on the home turf. Still, he now carries a Michigan State memory as a coach that will no doubt drive him through every succeeding encounter. "Last year, it was a pretty darned good game," Jansen said. "It's going to be that way for the foreseeable future." The teams Jansen played on went 4-1 against the Spartans. That feels normal to him, and to those Michigan fans used to seeing the Wolverines go 31-9 against MSU from 1969- 2007. For the better part of the decade to follow, Jansen conceded, Michigan wasn't Michigan. "Michigan has gone through some challeng- ing times," he said. "That's part of any program at some point. Michigan State has been in that position. Ohio has been in that position. Iowa, Wisconsin … you look at those programs, and you know it hasn't happened to Michigan a whole lot. "It's frustrating. Any time you lose to a team more than once in a row, or any time you lose to a team at all … it's tough to take. Especially a rivalry game like that. "I've got neighbors who like to make sure I know who won that game. It all builds into what this game means to everybody." This year, Jansen assured, the game will be mammoth. "It's huge," he said. "Take a look at this year's schedule. The first five games are at home. The first four games, we've got Hawai'i, we've got Colorado, a couple more games, and then we play Wisconsin at home, which will be a big game. "We only have four road games, and one of those is Michigan State. It ends up being right in the middle of the schedule. If you can get to that game undefeated, or with one loss, and you win that game, now all of a sudden you look toward the end of the season. "You've got three or four games left, and you start thinking about how special your season can be. Because of where it is on the schedule, because of the emotion that's involved in that game, because of the momentum you can take out of that game, it's a huge springboard for any Michigan team at that point in the season." Anticipation Of The Game If MSU is a springboard, traveling to Co- lumbus represents the landing the Wolver- ines must stick. Since Schembechler came to Michigan, winning or tying at Ohio State has almost always meant a Big Ten championship. It did on eight such occasions, the only exception coming in 1996, when the Wolver- ines beat the Buckeyes, 13-9, but finished 5-3 in the Big Ten due to earlier stumbles. That game, though, proved a launching pad for quarterback Brian Griese and the undefeated 1997 Wolverines. Since 2000, a win of any kind over the Buckeyes has become scarce. The Wolver- ines won home games in 2003 (35-21) and 2011 (40-34), but came up empty in the other dozen. They came close at Columbus in 2002 (los- ing 14-9), 2006 (42-39), 2012 (26-21) and Charles Woodson's legendary one-handed interception — one of a school record-tying six for the Wolverines in the game — helped pave the way for a memorable Michigan win on the road at Spartan Stadium in 1997. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN