Despite Michigan's blue past, Carson, a Detroit native, was optimistic.  

"I think (Trump's chances of winning Michigan) are pretty good," Carson said. "There's a lot of people here with common sense, and they're able to look at the big picture and recognize that we're really making a decision not between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, but about two different visions of what America is."

Carson expanded on this theme.

"This election is not about Democrats and Republicans, this is about the political ruling class and their minions in the media and the people," Carson said. "As more people realize that, I think you're going to see them abandoning the party loyalty and start thinking about their children and America."

Carson also visited Grand Rapids and Livonia.

Ben Carson is on campus. @thesnews pic.twitter.com/kSm18r8T4A

— Marie Weidmayer (@mweidmayer) October 29, 2016

Volunteers for the Michigan Democratic Coordinated Campaign canvassed the rivalry game tailgates early in the day, encouraging both MSU and U-M students to sign up for text updates to see which school could show the campaign the most support.

“This friendly competition is always good, but the reason why we have both of them is because we all know as a people, as a wonderful campaign, we are stronger together,” campus organizer for the Michigan Democratic Coordinated Campaign  Aaron Stephens said.

Participants worked in pairs, handing out fliers to tailgaters and encouraging them to sign up by texting “BEATMSU” or “BEATUM” to a phone number.

“The campaign really knew that one of the best ways to engage with students is through SMS text messages, because that’s a way that a lot of students are communicating this election cycle,” campus organizer Ronald Owens III said.

Coordinated Campaign fellow Rachel Zichon said the competition provides a great opportunity for outreach.

“I think it’s a great incentive, I mean obviously we all care so much about our teams, it’s one of the most passionate environments we can have and even though we’re divided by team, I hope that we can all be connected under (the) Democratic Party,” Zichon said.

Despite the competition provided by the scenario, a Coordinated Campaign official said the results will not be released.

“We’re really just focused on making sure that every student does have this SMS opt-in code, so that they can make sure that they have all the information they need when they go to the polls on Nov. 8,” Owens said.