The State Of The Michigan-Michigan State Football Rivalry In 2025

When Michigan and Michigan State met up in Ann Arbor in 2024, both teams were at a crossroads.

Both programs were being led by first-year head coaches — Sherrone Moore for the Wolverines and Jonathan Smith for the Spartans — and both squads were experiencing mid-season struggles, sitting at 4-3 at the time of the matchup.

Michigan State’s expectations entering the season were relatively low compared to Michigan’s. One year removed from a national championship, the Wolverines were expected to at least be competitive in the Big Ten. Michigan peaked at the No. 10 team in the country, but after two straight losses to Washington and Illinois, Michigan faced the Spartans as an unranked team.

The Spartans, on the other hand, hadn’t made a bowl game since 2021 and were struggling to formulate an identity as a program. Still, a big rivalry win can work wonders for program morale.

The 2024 game was a potential turning point for both programs. A loss for either program dumps them down to .500 on the year, adding salt into the already-deep wound of a rivalry defeat. A win, on the other hand, puts the team in a good position to make a bowl game at 5-3, and significantly changes the conversations surrounding the team.

Winning this rivalry game, specifically, is massively important for each program. It’s been proven time and time again, it doesn’t matter how good a coach or team is on the whole, if they lose the battle for the Paul Bunyan trophy consistently, fans will be very unhappy, and the narrative will turn sour.

Ultimately, Michigan came away with the 24-17 win in a game where neither team played particularly well. The Wolverines only threw for 146 yards, but were led by tight end Colston Loveland who brought in six catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns.

Michigan and Michigan State’s seasons diverged from there. Although the Wolverines lost their next two games against top-10 opponents, they finished out the year on a three-game win streak, including wins over then No. 2 Ohio State and then-No. 11 Alabama.

The Spartans, however, collapsed, finishing the year on a 1-3 stretch including a 41-14 loss to Rutgers in their final game of the season, once again missing out on bowl game consideration.

There’s no saying whether things would have been different if the outcome of the game flipped. But since the Wolverines and Spartans squared off as two 4-3 rivals, Michigan is 8-4 and trending upward, while Michigan State is 4-7 and still trying to find its footing.

The 2025 matchup holds similar implications. A loss for Michigan effectively eliminates the Wolverines from playoff contention, a privilege they don’t want to grant anybody, but especially not their bitter in-state rivals. A loss for Michigan State drops the Spartans to 0-5 in the conference and sets up yet another hard road to becoming bowl-eligible. 

For Michigan, a win is the expectation, and pride is the real prize for the Wolverines. But for the Spartans, a win over Michigan could be the catalyst they need to turn their season around. With the Wolverines favored by two touchdowns, it’s not the brutal, neck-and-neck battle between two top-10 rivals that took place in 2021, but it’s an important game for the two programs nonetheless.