Before head coach Mark Dantonio took over the MSU football program in 2006,, the MSU-Michigan rivalry was one sided. The Wolverines had won nine of the last 11 games against MSU, including a five-game winning streak before Dantonio joined the Spartan sidelines.
However, since then Dantonio has rebuilt MSU with beating the hated Wolverines as his No. 1 priority from year-to-year. Dantonio holds a 5-2 record against U-M, including victories in five of the last six against the instate rival.
Here are the game-by-game breakdowns of the rivalry between MSU—U-M since Dantonio took over in 2007.
2007: MSU-24 — No. 14 U-M-28
U-M used two fourth quarter touchdowns to erase a 10-point Spartan lead and steal the victory in Dantonio’s first contest against U-M. The win extended U-M’s win streak over the Spartans to six-games and created the “little brother” comment from U-M running back Mike Hart. Days later Dantonio made his famous quote “pride comes before the fall” in response to Hart.
2008: MSU-35 — U-M-21
MSU finally broke through in 2008, capturing Dantonio’s first of five wins against the Wolverines. Despite falling behind 21-14 in the third quarter, MSU was able to reel off 21 unanswered points to seal the Spartan victory. MSU running back Javon Ringer racked up 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries.
2009: MSU-26 — No. 22 U-M-20
After being held to only two field goals in the first three quarters, U-M was able to score two touchdowns in the final four minutes to tie the game at 20-all and send the game to overtime. An interception by cornerback Chris L. Rucker in the endzone stopped U-M’s overtime offensive opportunity and only a few plays later running back Larry Caper ripped off a 23-yard touchdown run to push MSU to the victory.
2010: No. 17 MSU-34 — No. 18 U-M-17
Both MSU and U-M entered the matchup undefeated in 2010 and with the game being played in Ann Arbor, many thought this would be the year U-M head coach Rich Rodriguez finally broke through against Dantonio. Things looked good early on for U-M, jumping to a 10-7 lead in the second quarter, but it went downhill from there for the Wolverines. MSU scored 27 of the game’s final 34 points to cruise to another double digit victory over U-M.
2 011: No. 23 MSU-28 — No. 11 U-M-14
For a third straight year U-M entered the annual rivalry game undefeated, this time under new head coach Brady Hoke. However, the result remained the same. MSU sported its new Nike Pro Combat Uniforms as wide receiver Keshawn Martin recorded a couple of touchdown receptions to lead MSU to its fourth straight victory over U-M.
2012: MSU-10 — No. 23 U-M-12
Dantonio’s four-game winning streak against U-M finally came to an end in 2012 in another nail-biting finish. Despite MSU keeping U-M out of the endzone, a 38-yard field goal by U-M kicker Brendan Gibbons pushed the Wolverines to the 12-10 victory over MSU.
2013: No. 22 MSU-29 — No. 21 U-M-6
For a second straight year MSU’s defense was able to keep the hated Wolverines out of the endzone en route to an easy 23-point victory. MSU’s defense held U-M to -48 rushing yards on the day and the victory was capped off with a 40-yard touchdown run by running back Jeremy Langford.
