As die-hard Spartans fans gear up for a Wolverine invasion, some fans will apply face paint while others will tailgate with alumni and friends. The gameday rituals vary from person to person.
But nearly every year, traditions remain the same.
As in years past, Spartans this year will stand guard in front of the statue of "The Spartan" while Wolverines will protect the block "M" engraved on the center of the university's diag in an attempt to guard each from an onslaught of paint and vandalism.
T-shirts insulting opposing universities will be sold at both schools while some students in Ann Arbor and East Lansing will pay to take a baseball bat to junked cars painted in their rival's team colors.
And some traditions are just exhausting.
For the 19th year in a row, chapters of the Sigma Nu fraternities at both campuses will show their school spirit by running the distance of Ann Arbor to East Lansing during the dead of night and autumn chill on Thursday.
The fraternity, joined by the MSU chapter of the Alpha Phi sorority, will continue the tradition of literally running the official game ball from one campus to the other.
The approximately 12-hour run is completed by more than 100 students, who take turns running the distance between the two cities, which is longer than 1,100 football fields.
"You're with your friends, running down a dark side street in the middle of the night - any other time in your life, you'd never be able to do it," MSU marketing sophomore Joe George said.
Some say the run helps smooth over the traditional rivalry tensions.
"This event pulls us closer to U-M. Like any rivalry, it's nothing; it's more fun and games," said Nichole Uzelac, an MSU merchandising management and apparel and textile design junior.
In Ann Arbor, fans prepare to bring their spirit to Saturday's game.
"Everybody's getting face paint and tons of Michigan apparel. I've never seen people buy so much stuff for a game," said U-M English junior Lauren Zakalik, who will drive to East Lansing on Saturday to be a part of the age-old rivalry.
But Zakalik said the U-M rivalry with MSU isn't as tense as the one between the Wolverines and The Ohio State University.
"I'm surprised just because our schools are so close to each other," she said. "I think we just always think of ourselves as better, so it's the Ohio State game that usually matters."
U-M English junior Bryan Wilkinson said there is a noticeable difference in rivalry traditions this year because the game is in East Lansing.
"This game will be a huge deal - competition is a lot more psychological for this game," Wilkinson said. "There's more hostility between the fans.
"The fact that this is an in-state rivalry helps to fuel the fire."
Adam Spahr, an MSU cheerleader, said he's excited to be a part of the face-off against U-M for his fourth year. The cheerleading teams don't have a strong rivalry, but both try to out-cheer each other during the notorious game, he said.
"This is probably the most excited we've been for a Michigan-Michigan State game since I've been here.
"During the game, we'll invite the Michigan (cheerleading) team over to the student section and challenge them to stunting contests," the supply chain management senior said.
"When they're on the field or we see them across the way, we always bring our best stuff."
Sarah Frank can be reached at franksa2@msu.edu.
Kirsten Nielsen can be reached at nielse36@msu.edu.
