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Michigan football vs. MSU kickoff time pushed to after Week 9
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- Michigan football vs. MSU kickoff time pushed to after Week 9
It used to be unthinkable that Michigan and Michigan State would kick off at night. The heated rivalry was just too much to bear at such an hour. Yet, each of the last four games between the Wolverines and Spartans has taken place at 7:30 p.m. ET.
However, both teams are struggling. Nov. 7 offers a strong slate of ranked-on-ranked matchups or intriguing games. And each program is underperforming expectations for its first-year coaches. In light of those facts, could the networks still choose the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy for a prime-time window?
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The decision still isn't in, unfortunately, and the rivalry game in Ann Arbor must wait for a time and TV channel to be announced until after Week 9.
Michigan has won the last four games -- all at night -- but lost the last time it played the Spartans outside of prime time. That occurred in 2021 when it was a ranked Fox "Big Noon Saturday" game. On that day, MSU came back in the second half to win, although the Wolverines went to the College Football Playoff.
The last time Michigan and MSU had new coaches (Sherrone Moore and Jonathan Smith) at the same time was 2024, when the maize and blue won, 24-17. Mel Tucker won his first two games against the Wolverines as the Spartans' coach (2020 and 2021), and Jim Harbaugh lost his first game against MSU as the leader of the Wolverines (2015).
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After Mark Dantonio had great success against Michigan, the maize and blue have taken back the rivalry and made it lopsided once more, having won seven of the past 10, with a 75-38-5 record overall. Michigan is 9-10 since Dantonio took over in 2007, dating back to Lloyd Carr's last year overseeing the Wolverines.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football vs. MSU kickoff time pushed to after Week 9
