ESPN’s Desmond Howard may be confident in his beloved Michigan Wolverines as they face the Michigan State Spartans this weekend, but that doesn’t mean he’s taking the game lightly.
Appearing on Get Up today, Howard admitted that he’s “always worried” because of the weird history that the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry game has. He said that between the Spartans’ recent form and some of the crazy finishes the game has had, he thinks Michigan needs to approach the game like they’re facing a team vying for a national championship.
“Weird things happen in this game, so you’re always worried,” Howard said, via 247Sports. “I spoke to some Michigan fans, and they said this is always one of those crazy games. You don’t look at the record, you don’t look at the past games as far as what the team has done earlier this season. Look at Michigan State. Michigan State was on a four-game losing skid until week ago, and they beat Wisconsin in overtime.
“You don’t even look at that film, because you know the team that you’re gonna get in Ann Arbor on Saturday night is not gonna be the Michigan State team that lost those four games in a row. You’re gonna get their best shot, this is their national championship. And you have to approach it, as a Michigan Wolverine, the same exact way.”
History is certainly on Desmond Howard’s side here. The Spartans have won 10 of the last 14 meetings against the Wolverines, including five of the last seven in Ann Arbor.
The most noteworthy of those losses was the infamous 2015 game, where a botched snap on a late-game punt resulted in Michigan State winning the game on a fumble recovered for a touchdown.
Beating the Spartans tomorrow won’t erase the bad memories of that game, but if doing so is the building block to a Big Ten title – or a national title – it’ll certainly help.