It’s rivalry week for Michigan State football, as it prepares to take on Michigan under the lights in Ann Arbor for the 117th meeting of the historic rivalry. The Paul Bunyan Trophy is on the line.

Earlier this week, MSU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Lindgren, offensive lineman Tanner Miller and running back Nate Carter reflected on MSU’s 32-20 win over Iowa and discussed the team’s preparation for the rivalry game against the Wolverines.

Lindgren was impressed with the offense’s performance against the Hawkeyes after the bye week, as improvement was stressed in practice during the extra week for the Spartans.

“It was good to see it was the focus of the bye week — it was nice to take a deep breath after six games and go back and look at some of the things we wanted to clean up and fix," Lindgren said. "It’s a tribute to the players. I think they kind of saw some areas that we need to improve on, technique-wise, and what we can do as coaches is to put our players in the best chance to succeed."

Lindgren came to East Lansing this past offseason with head coach Jonathan Smith after six years as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oregon State. While, like Smith, Lindgren is new to the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry, he is looking forward to being a part of the tradition.

“I’m just excited to be a part of it," Lindgren said about the rivalry matchup. "I’ve watched from the West Coast and I’ve seen a ton of these games and the passion behind it. There are a lot of former players and guys on our staff that have been a part of it. To listen to the way that they talk about it, and the importance to them, it’s pretty cool to get a chance to be a part of a big-time rivalry like this."