EAST LANSING, Mich. — The problem now for Brady Hoke isn’t that Michigan lost again. That’s too easy an out.
The problem now — and for Michigan, for years to come — is the guy on the other side of this rivalry made it patently clear what it means to play football at Michigan State.
POLLS: AP Top 25 | Coaches | PLUS: Lessons for Ohio State | Ole Miss fan in tears
While Hoke stumbled through yet another rambling mess of a postmortem after yet another loss in this rivalry, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio zeroed in on the state of college football in the state of Michigan.
MORE: Week 9 photos | Best performances | No. 1 Mississippi State holds on
“This is imbedded in people,” Dantonio said.
What’s imbedded, you ask? This is:
Before kickoff, Michigan linebacker Joe Bolden planted a stake at midfield, directly in the Spartan head. By the end of Saturday’s 35-11 victory, that was Michigan State, topping off an easy victory with a run-it-up touchdown because of the stake.
And Mike Hart’s “Little Brother” comment from 2007, and Michigan with its superior attitude toward the Ag school from the state capital, and all of those MSU fans who for decades hid in the shadows here, a lonesome and loveable bunch that endured decades of beatdowns and breakdowns to Michigan, of losses and lethargy, of forever being No. 2 in the state.
Finally, in the postgame — and minutes after Hoke explained away another loss with his now go-to mantra of “better execution” and “work harder” and “the little things” — Dantonio let loose with all of that frustration when asked about the pregame incident.
“You can only be diplomatic for so long,” Dantonio said. “Look, it doesn’t come from (Hoke); it comes from the program.”
He paused to compose himself, and reignited, “You do that stuff and it gets shoved … it gets shoved up … it got shoved in the last minute and a half.”
For those in the PG-13 crowd, it's not hard to imagine where it got shoved.
This, everyone, is a microcosm of the now massive gulf between these two programs. On one side we have Michigan under Hoke, swirling in a sea of losing despite heralded recruiting classes — and at the end of the line with yet another coach who couldn’t hack it.
On the other side is Michigan State under Dantonio, a coach whose staff develops players better than anyone in the game; players no one else wanted and players who have turned this program from an afterthought in the Big Ten to the elite in the nation.
Every year when this week rolls around, Dantonio makes a point to get everyone together in the locker room and ask how many were offered scholarships from Michigan. How many of the players that won the Big Ten last year, that won the Rose Bowl last year, that have this program staring directly at the College Football Playoff, were ignored by Michigan?
MORE: Top 25 roundup | Updated Top 25 player rankings | PHOTOS: Cheerleaders
How many weren’t good enough to play for the program that has lost six of seven in this series? How many were scoffed at by the program that is imploding both on the field and within the athletic administration — then gets on the field in this bitter rivalry and the first thing they do is shove a stake in the ground?
“That was disrespectful,” says Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook.
Here’s how Hoke saw it: “I think I was aware that something happened. But I’m not fully aware.”
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Michigan Wolverines under Brady Hoke.
Something happened, we don’t know what happened, and we’re not sure what to make of it. After 29 wins and 18 losses under Hoke, there couldn’t be a better explanation of where this program stands.
Michigan said all the right things heading into the game, gave all due respect to Michigan State, a group that Dantonio likes to call caged lions. Then Michigan spit in the face of the lion — seconds before Dantonio opened the gate.
You think Dantonio is still ticked off about Hart’s Little Brother comment? Wait and see how long this one sticks in his craw.
“No, no; it’s not funny,” Dantonio said after telling Michigan to shove it — I mean, where it got shoved. “We felt like we needed to make a statement.”
So they went and did it. They didn’t talk about it, or reassure each other that it’s just about better execution or preparing better or playing how you practice.
There’s no better indicator of why Michigan State has become the Big Ten’s big dog and why Michigan has drifted into the land of Indiana and Purdue than the two men on the sidelines. One has become one of the top five coaches in the game; the other thinks something happened, but he’s not sure what.
The Michigan program is broken. It’s frail and fractured, an excuse-driven shadow of its former self — one that would have Bo puking over the very thought of it.
A stake at midfield? How about beating Minnesota first, and then come talk to us about attitude. How about a winning record in the Big Ten (instead of losing 7 of your last 9) or a winning record vs. Power 5 schools (2-10 in the last 12 games) before proclaiming you’re Michigan and they’re Michigan State and that’s where it begins and ends in your superiority complex of a program?
How about sucking it up and admitting your team and staff quit midway through the third quarter after yet another pick six thrown by quarterback Devin Gardner was followed on the next series by a run play call on third-and-17?
On the first play after the ensuing punt, Cook hit Tony Lippett with a perfect back shoulder throw that Lippett turned into a 70-yard touchdown. Michigan safety Delano Hill was so turned around and confused, he lost Lippett on the play and never had a chance.
Just like Michigan under Hoke.
Late in the game, as Michigan faced a third-and-goal from the MSU 1 to end an 11-quarter touchdown drought against the Spartans, tailback De’Veon Smith scored on a dive that was later called a dead play by officials.
Hoke and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier ran 15 yards on the field; Hoke pushing up his right hand to signal restart the play clock, and Nussmeier with both arms in the air signaling touchdown.
Discombobulated to the bitter end.
“I don’t think that's fair to say (that Michigan quit),” Hoke said. “These guys played their asses off.”
Then got the rivalry shoved right up it.