Despite an in-state rivalry matchup between No. 24 Michigan (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) and Michigan State (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) taking place a week from Saturday, fans of both Big Ten schools were not thrilled with the game’s backdrop.
In previous seasons, the Spartans and Wolverines were featured as a marquee conference tilt that drew eyeballs year after year. A prime example of this is the 2015 meeting. A muffed punt-turned-touchdown in the game’s closing seconds turned an outright loss into an all-time classic Spartans road win.
The last decade-plus, however, has been anything but plentiful for the Spartans. Michigan State has lost four out of its last six meetings against the Wolverines, its last win coming in Oct. 2021. Last year’s game saw the Wolverines earn a 49-0 shutout.
On Monday, the Wolverines and Spartans’ Oct. 26 kickoff was announced at 7:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. It’s safe to say that neither fanbase was pleased, at least according to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).
One user voiced his frustration, essentially saying the rivalry doesn’t mean the same as what it used to.
“Msu Michigan and we putting it on the big ten… crazy times,” Pranav Vaswani wrote.
Another user wasn’t thrilled either, pointing out the consistency in the Spartans’ schedule. Six of Michigan State’s first eight games are in the evening window.
“I don’t care about this one as much because I’m not attending the game, but six out of the first eight games being at night is just wild,” MSURed wrote.
It is unclear whether or not Michigan State’s remaining games are scheduled to begin in the evening hours, but it could be a sign of things to come for a program that remains in rebuild mode.
The Spartans and Wolverines are attempting to bounce back from their respective losses. Both teams are coming off a bye, with Michigan falling to Washington and Oregon knocking off Michigan State in Eugene.
This week, Michigan travels to No. 22 Illinois while the Spartans host Iowa. Saturday’s kickoffs are at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS and 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.