Michigan State player predicts win over Michigan following Week 2 results

There are several games to be played before the Wolverines and Spartans renew their annual rivalry, but one MSU player is already taking about Michigan...

Michigan's Will Johnson celebrates with the Paul Bunyan trophy after beating Michigan State on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

We're only two weeks into the 2024 college football season, and well over a month away from 'Hate Week' between Michigan and Michigan State, but that didn't stop one Spartan from mentioning the annual in-state rivalry game following the Week 2 results for both programs.

After Michigan State's 27-24 win over Maryland on Saturday, MSU redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Ken Talley took to Twitter and predicted a win over Michigan, who fell to Texas in lopsided fashion, 31-12.

1 week at a time but FYI we bringing Paul back💯 #GOGREEN

— KEN “🃏” TALLEY (@KenTalley22) September 8, 2024

"1 week at a time but FYI we bringing Paul back 100 #GoGreen," Talley wrote on Twitter, referencing the Paul Bunyan trophy that Michigan and Michigan State compete for every season. Six weeks and five opponents stand between these two programs before they renew hostilities on Oct. 29 at Michigan Stadium.

This past weekend was of the sort Michigan State hasn't been able to enjoy much recently. It was the first time that the Spartans won a football game the same weekend the Wolverines' lost one in nearly three years. The last such occurrence came on Dec. 30-31, 2021 when Michigan State defeated Pittsburgh (31-21) in the Peach Bowl and Michigan fell to Georgia (34-11) in a College Football Playoff game at the Orange Bowl.

The last time MSU won a regular season game on the same weekend that U-M lost was two and a half seasons ago on Oct. 30, 2021 — when the Spartans defeated the Wolverines themselves, 37-33. Since that day, Michigan has compiled a 34-3 record with three Big Ten championships and a national championship. Michigan State, meanwhile, has gone a paltry 14-17 overall. In the two meetings between the Wolverines and Spartans since MSU's last win in this series, Michigan has outscored Michigan State, 78-9, on its way to two victories.

For the first time in 20 years, this season's meeting between Michigan and Michigan State will feature two first-year head coaches at their respective schools, Sherrone Moore at U-M and Jonathan Smith at MSU. The last time this rivalry was played with two new head coaches was 1995, when Nick Saban's Spartans defeated Lloyd Carr's Wolverines, 28-25. The only other occurrence came in 1929, when Michigan's Harry Kipke and the Wolverines defeated Jim Crowley and the Spartans, 17-0.

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