As Michigan State charges headlong toward spring ball, and Michigan rounds out the final hires on its new coaching staff, I thought I would spill a bit of ink, and solicit the readership's opinion, on where we see the MSU-Michigan rivalry heading from here.

Perhaps I am too optimistic, but I think a plausible scenario is that the rivalry is headed toward a bit of a detente. Rather than engaging in the cultural Rorschach test of unpacking the events of the past fifteenish years of the rivalry, let's consider where both programs seem to be heading.

Michigan State is led by Jonathan Smith, a 45-year-old lifetime West Coast denizen who has paid the appropriate lip service about the Michigan game being "passionate" and "meaningful" and something requiring 365 days a year preparation, but has done little beyond that. He has a few former Spartans on his staff, but has not made the same palpably awkward attempts to astroturf Mark Dantonio's disdain for the Wolverines that Tucker did.

Similarly, Sherrone Moore takes the reins at Michigan, having spent the bulk of his pre-Michigan career at Louisville, following a playing career at Oklahoma. As far as I can recall, his rivalry commentary has been equally anodyne. The staff at Michigan contains some coaches that MSU fans will recognize, but is comprised largely of outside hires like LaMar Morgan, Kirk Campbell, Steve Casula, and Greg Scruggs. Like Smith, I think Michigan has assembled a solid top-to-bottom staff, but one with a lot of new blood.

With most of the key players on both sides of the rivalry from the highly-fraught 2021 and 2022 seasons moved on, it feels for all the world like a breath of fresh air has been breathed into the stale, noxious environment of the interstate rivalry.

I expect both teams to be closer to the middle of the pack in the conference than either has been used to for the last couple years, but largely focused internally, on rebuilding. For MSU, there is a focus on building from the disastrous denouement of the Mel Tucker era, and for Michigan, embracing a new reality after the end of the Wolverines’ three-year run.

With that being the case, I feel that both teams are in a fairly non-confrontational mindset, focused internally, on their own business, rather than externally. Is it possible that we could enjoy an uneasy detente, punctuated by extremely competitive, hard-fought games?

Time will tell.

One could spend a lot of time diving into the genesis of the rivalry, and cataloging the expansive history of tit-for-tat rivalry actions on both sides, where there are few innocents. However, I am much more interested in looking toward the future, where I feel that new blood in both programs is a good thing for all involved.

What are your thoughts?

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