Following a disappointing loss to Rutgers in which Michigan State blew an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter to eventually lose 27-24, the Spartans look to turn the page to rivalry week.
The 7-0 and No. 2-ranked Michigan Wolverines head to East Lansing for a Saturday night showdown in Spartan Stadium. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and will be broadcast on NBC.
On Monday, Michigan State interim head coach Harlon Barnett discussed the rivalry matchup in detail, talked about how his team can bounce back after a crushing defeat in which the Spartans looked poised to win this past weekend and much more.
"Looking forward to this week's game (versus Michigan)," Barnett said. "As we all know, it's a big game and our guys are locked in, already looking forward to it, and should be a great week."
Of course, Michigan is the No. 2 team in the country for a reason. The Wolverines are undefeated and rank No. 1 in the country in points per game allowed (6.67) and second in the country in total defense (233.1 yards allowed per game). Offensively, Michigan ranks in the top-five of the Big Ten in yards per game (413.7), rushing yards per game (182), passing yards per game (231.7) and points per game (39.4).
On paper, this looks like an extremely difficult matchup for Michigan State, but those things haven't always mattered in this series, historically.
Perhaps the rivalry matchup will rejuvenate the Spartans, but first and foremost, Michigan State has to fix its own issues before it can worry about beating one of the very best teams in the country.
"Well, you always are just trying to get better no matter what," Barnett said when asked if the matchup with Michigan could help MSU get out of its current slump. "Rivalry game or not, definitely you can bring some more focus to it, though, and we talked about having great attention to detail, but as far as if it's Michigan or not Michigan or what have you, we just need to start playing better and now it's about finishing. So, that's our next step. We gotta finish, and we're looking forward to doing that this weekend."
When asked specifically what Michigan does well, Barnett praised the "discipline" and "balance" that the Wolverines have.
"They're very disciplined in what they do — offense, defense, and special teams," Barnett said about Michigan. "They play hard, and they have a good passing game, as well as running game. They've got a good balance, and they just do a good job. They do a good of coaching those guys up and putting them in position to make plays. They're a good football team."
Barnett later added that everybody at Michigan is "in sync at understanding their assignments," and he complimented UM's defense.
Of course, the way that the Spartans lost to the Scarlet Knights last weekend is not easy to forget. As mentioned, Michigan State was up by three scores in the final quarter of play, but due to special teams blunders, questionable coaching decisions, an offense that no longer could move the chains and a defense that couldn't get off the field when it mattered, Rutgers took advantage and made an improbable comeback, while MSU faltered.
Barnett did not mince words about how he and the team felt after a victory slipped away from the Spartans. But all Michigan State can look to do now is move forward, and the team understands what it is at stake this coming Saturday with the Paul Bunyan Trophy and in-state bragging rights on the line.
Barnett is remaining positive and making sure his guys have that same mindset.
"I'm not gonna lie, Saturday was a gut punch, that was a gut punch," Barnett said about the loss to Rutgers. "But, as a man, as a leader, you have to step up in those situations and try to just get an understanding of what it's all about, the big picture, and then relay it to the young men. I told them, 'Hey man, in life, adversity is going to hit, and that's when you find out who a person really is, in the midst of adversity.' And so, I'm no different. So, I have to step up and be the person I say that I am, and present that to them, so they can have an example to possibly look to."
The Spartans leaned into the "24 -hour rule" to think about what happened against the Scarlet Knights, but when the team hit the practice field on Monday, Michigan State was ready to go into "attack mode" and focus on Michigan.
"They know what it is, they know what it's about and the importance of this game to us here at Michigan State," Barnett said about the players' mindset this week.
Speaking of the special teams mistakes versus the Scarlet Knights (in which Michigan State saw a botched fumble go for a touchdown for Rutgers and later failed to recover a pooch kick, while oddly lined up in an on-side kick formation), Barnett addressed these blunders on Monday. There were also special teams issues in the loss versus Iowa earlier this season, as the Spartans allowed a late punt return touchdown, and the interim head coach is once again preaching "attention to details" to get these errors fixed.
"It's all about, like I said before to the guys, great attention to detail," Barnett said when asked how to fix the mistakes ... I told our guys this, shout out to my father, rest his soul, but he used to have a bunch of sayings. And one he used to say all the time, I remember from (when) I was a little guy, but he used to say, 'When the crowd starts hollering and the lights get hot, that's when I want to know if you can do it or not.'
"And so crunch time, when the game is on the line, can you perform or do what you're supposed to do? Attention to detail, discipline, do your job. You don't have to do anything extra. Doing your job is making a play. And so when our guys get to that point — the offense, defense, and special teams — that's when we're going to be playing to the best of our potential. Late in games, trying to finish them out ... just being discipline."
Of course, one former Michigan State head coach (and current associate head coach) who had a lot of success against Michigan is Mark Dantonio. In 13 games against Michigan, Dantiono won eight while he was at the helm for the Spartans, including four in a row from 2008 through 2011.Of course, Barnett was on a lot of those staffs during Dantonio's 13-year tenure at MSU as well.
Although times have certainly changed, if anybody is a good resource to have on staff when it comes to how to potentially beat Michigan, it's Dantonio. However, Barnett did not want to publicly discuss Dantonio's "secret formula" that led to those wins in the past.
"Because he has a secret formula to success, I can't share, so I'll just say it that way, if that's OK," Barnett said when asked about what Dantonio can add this week.
Barnett said the rivalry is personal to him, stemming back to his days as a player for Michigan State in the 1980s. Barnett, an Ohio native, was taught about the rivalry and its history by his head coach at the time, George Perles. As mentioned, Barnett was also part of several staffs under Dantonio, in which Michigan State had a resurgence in the series against the Wolverines.
He noted that some players don't quite understand the full magnitude of the rivalry until they play in the game. However, Barnett certainly does, and he has strong feelings about it.
"It's the best rivalry in football, in my opinion," Barnett said about Michigan versus Michigan State."
No matter which team wins or which team loses, Barnett thinks the rivalry is fun for all football fans in the state of Michigan because it gives people a sense of pride.
"I think it's great for the state of Michigan, I really do," Barnett explained about the rivalry. "Because in this state, you grow up one way or the other (as a Michigan or Michigan State fan). So, whenever I go out recruiting in the state, I say, 'Who (did) you grow up rooting for?' Because they're gonna tell you one or the other. You're gonna get one or the other, and you kind of know where they stand, (where) most guys stand."
When asked about one memory that stands out to Barnett in the series versus Michigan, he simply said, "minus-48 yards rushing," referencing the Spartans' dominant performance in a 29-6 win over the Wolverines in 2013.
As far as 2023 is cncerned, Michigan State opted to make a change at the quarterback position ahead of the game versus Rutgers last Saturday. Redshirt freshman Katin Houser stepped in for redshirt junior Noah Kim, and had a solid but unspectacular day in rainy conditions.
Things won't get any easier for Houser in his second college start with Michigan coming to town, but Barnett feels the young quarterback is ready for the challenge.
"He's a college football player," Barnett said about Houser. "He understands what he was signing up for when he signed the scholarship, and this is one of the reasons why he chose to come to Michigan State, is to play in games like this. He came from a big-time high school program out there in California at (St. John) Bosco. I mean, not that Bosco is playing this type of game, but he's used to big-time atmospheres and, and high expectations. So, (we're) expecting him to have a great game."
In better news for Michigan State fans, Barnett did note that as of Monday, he has not had another player come to him and tell him their plans to opt out of the 2023 season. Last week, running back Jordon Simmons decided to enter the transfer portal. Michigan State had 10 players listed as "OUT" on its availability report ahead of the Rutgers game last weekend, but according to Barnett, those players are all dealign with legitimate injuries.
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