MICHIGAN'S MOST STUPID "ALL-TIME WIN"

It all had to start somewhere, didn't it? This massive list of football victories claimed by the University of Michigan must have had a grand and royal beginning, right? Probably a classic down-to-the-wire win over arch-non-rival Notre Dame, or a season-capping triumph over Ohio State. Or maybe a historic match-up against Cornell, or Harvard, or some of the other original "Beasts of the East".

Not quite that classy, as it turns out. UM began their mind-numbing victory march against an opponent that no longer exists.

The vanquished foe was not really a "college team".

And the game they played was not really even "football".

1879 vs Racine - Event Date - May 30, 1879

Racine College was an Episcopal preparatory school in Wisconsin, founded in 1852. Most boys enrolled at Racine College were grammar school students preparing for the Bachelor of Arts course. The collegiate department at Racine closed in 1887. The grammar school and a military school continued to operate until it closed in 1933.

So there, right? Michigan sure put those boys in there place, eh? Oh, did we mention the final score of this historic win?

Michigan defeated Racine, 1-0.

This game alone tells you more about the UM mindset than you ever wanted to know. They are willing to claim that Racine was a college team playing college football. They want you to believe that you can get a score of 1-0 playing football. And they want you to believe that they are "leaders and best".

According to accounts of the event, it was not "football" as we know it.

"We play according to modified Rugby rules, which we will be able to send you, in printed form in about a week."

-Excerpt from letter sent by Racine

"The Rugby game, then unknown to us, was to be played. The challenge was accepted, but no interest seemed to be taken in the game until late in the spring of the year, when elevens practiced evenings on the campus."

-Recollection by member of Michigan Rugby team

The Chicago Daily Tribune called it "the first rugby-football game to be played west of the Alleghenies." The Chronicle (a weekly newspaper at the University of Michigan) called it "the finest game of Rugby foot-ball every played this side of the Alleghenies."

-Wikipedia

So this classic victory started it all, way back before UM actually had a team. If that makes sense. (Which it doesn't.)

Michigan went on to play one more "game" that season, against Toronto. That clash ended in a 0-0 tie. No "extra innings" were played that day, just the normal two-inning game of rugby-football.

This makes 21 football victories claimed by Michigan

that are absolute bunk by any standard.

These 21 "wins" are total fabrications by Don Canham, former Athletic Director at UM. They are as fake as a four-dollar bill.

Our series examining the bogus baloney spun by Michigan about their "football history" will turn towards the classification of larger blocks of games that could be discounted based on general circumstances rather than specifics of the opponent. Do stay tuned!

Five "Wins" Claimed Against a Modern Banquet Facility

Five More Bogus Wins Claimed by UM

Five More Phoney-Baloney "Games Won" by Michigan

Games Against Surgeons, Soldiers, and Cricket-Players

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FIVE MORE BOGUS "WINS" BY UM FOOTBALL - CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY COUNT THESE?

It's always cool when a college or university sets up a "mentoring program", in which students at the institution of higher learning can interact with and teach younger people the things they need to know at the next level and the things they have learned in school. It's a great way for the educational system to advance society.

At Michigan, in the late 1800s, they had such a system in the athletic department, and it was used to teach younger folks about a modified rugby game that was gaining popularity. These were the transition years between traditional rugby as played in England, and the modern college football game we know today. The UM team would get together with kids and show them how to play the new-fangled sport.

Nothing wrong with that, eh? Seems cool enough. Older kids getting together with younger kids, sharing their knowledge for the benefit of all.

But at UM, they count the exhibition practices with the high school kids as regulation college football victories!

WE KID YOU NOT. Apparently Don Canham showed up 50 years ago and decided to re-interpret those events, adding them up as part of the so-called "All-Time Wins Record" in college football. In case you haven't heard about or seen evidence of these BOGUS GAMES, we list  them below:

1891 vs ANN ARBOR HIGH SCHOOL:  Event Date - October 10, 1891

Ann Arbor High School eventually became Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. The first recorded football league title for Ann Arbor Pioneer was in 1950, six decades after they "lost in football" to Michigan.

1896 vs GRAND RAPIDS HIGH SCHOOL - Event Date - October 10, 1896

There are no significant details available from this game.

Look at these other events, also counted by Michigan as regulation college football "victories":

1885 vs WINDSOR RUGBY TEAM - Event Date - November 7, 1885

On November 7, 1885, Michigan officially began its season with an 8–2 victory over the Windsor team from the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU). The game was played in Windsor, Ontario, under Canadian rules.

1885 vs WINDSOR RUGBY TEAM - Event Date - November 14, 1885

The game was played under American rules, putting the Canadians at a disadvantage. The Windsor team had sent a telegram canceling the game, but the president of the Michigan Rugby Association traveled to Windsor on the morning of the game, and "a team was picked up, somewhat inferior to the team which met our boys last week."

1885 vs PENINSULAR CRICKET CLUB - Event Date - November 26, 1885

The Peninsular Cricket Club began as a cricket club but it had evolved into the city's leading all-purpose athletic club, featuring baseball, tennis, and bicycling. In 1887, it would become part of the new Detroit Athletic Club.

You can see that Wolverine Historians are throwing everything they can into pumping up this so-called "All-Time Wins Record".

Who among us believes that these "events"

are worthy of rank as COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMES?

If we subtract these five "wins" from the inflated total, along with the five "wins" over the Detroit Athletic Club, UM loses 10 games from their list, decreasing their "all-time lead" down to 25 games. We will continue to show you some of the more ridiculous game-claims this weekend.




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THIS DATE IN chUMp HISTORY: MARCH 12, 1883

Michigan fans are chattering non-stop about their three-year reign of basketball excellence these days. (And by "basketball", they mean "men's basketball".) Kudos to them for crawling out of the sludge in recent seasons, but what impact might this short-term run have on their so-called "All-Time Wins Record" in football? After all, it's going to be hard for them to reconcile three-year perspectives with their famous rugby teams of the 1880s and 1890s. Without those rugby games counted as "all-time wins", the UM numbers drop off considerably.

But not necessarily in 1883, when the University of Michigan Rugby Club won their only game of the year on this date in history, March 12.

Wait, March? For "football"? Who plays football games in March? Nobody does, but back in the covered-wagon days, the rugby players had an exhibition scrimmage, reportedly attended by zero spectators. And they won the game, 40-5, over the "Detroit Independents". There is no recorded information available about the "Detroit Independents", leading us to believe that they were a very independent group, indeed! So independent that they really didn't exist beyond that field on that day.

But the proto-wolverines needed a win badly, as their "all-time wins record" at that point was 2-3-1. So they lined up a group of bodies and got the win. Hail to the victors, eh?

It would be neat to say that they won one for their Coach, but there was no coach of that team. They like to keep track of the "event" as a football win, but there was no tackling below the waist allowed, and no forward passes, either. Those five points by the nobodies was probably a field-goal, which was worth more than a touchdown on that day and for two decades to come.

The rest of their season was played eight months later, with three games between November 19 and November 27. They lost to Wesleyan, got pummeled by Yale, clipped by Harvard, and finished off by Stevens Institute. So they were 1-4, with only that one memorable triumph over the motor city nobodies.

Of course, this was before there was a "Motor City", because there were no automobiles. No cars, no coach, no fans, not really football at all. But the Michigan faithful ardently believe that it was a football game, and a victory, no less. Um, okay, whatever.

But that rugby game was not played in the last three years, so it doesn't really count, right? In fact, the all-time football record of the University of Michigan is actually 26-15, as history began for the Wolverines only three years ago.

Keep this one in mind the next time you see one of those yellow shirts with the silly "all-time wins" claim.




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TODAY IN chUMp HISTORY: MARCH 12, 1883

Wolverine Nation woke up this morning with the hope of seeing their men's basketball team win at least one game in the conference tourney, ostensibly so that their season record will remain at or above ".500". They consider themselves to be 15-15, but they are counting their exhibition game against Hillsdale College as an actual, regular-season victory, despite the FACT that Hillsdale is a Division Two school.

Oh well, those folks are always counting up numbers and throwing them around at people. The paragon of their numbers-games is the so-called "All-Time Wins Record" in football, a sport that used to be successful in Ann Arbor. In order to stay on top of that vaunted list of really old schools, they have to count up events that took place just after General George Armstrong Custer met up with Sitting Bull in a major upset defeat. Without those rugby games counted as "all-time wins", the UM numbers drop off considerably.

But you have to admit Michigan was very good at

playing rugby in the days before electricity!

But not necessarily in 1883, when the University of Michigan Rugby Club won their only game of the year on this date in history, March 12.

Wait, March? For "football"? Who plays football games in March? Nobody does, but back in the covered-wagon days, the rugby players had an exhibition scrimmage, reportedly attended by zero spectators. And they won the game, 40-5, over the "Detroit Independents". There is no recorded information available about the "Detroit Independents", leading us to believe that they were a very independent group, indeed! So independent that they really didn't exist beyond that field on that day.

The proto-wolverines badly needed a win,

as their "all-time wins record" at that point was 2-3-1.

So they lined up a group of bodies and got the win.

Hail to the victors, eh?

It would be neat to say that they won one for their Coach, but there was no coach of that team. They like to keep track of the "event" as a football win, but there was no tackling below the waist allowed, and no forward passes, either. Those five points by the nobodies was probably a field-goal, which was worth more than a touchdown on that day and for two decades to come.

The rest of their season was played eight months later, with three games between November 19 and November 27. They lost to Wesleyan, got pummeled by Yale, clipped by Harvard, and finished off by Stevens Institute. So they were 1-4, with only that one memorable triumph over the motor city nobodies.

Of course, this was before there was a "Motor City", because there were no automobiles. No cars, no coach, no fans, not really football at all. But the Michigan faithful ardently believe that it was a football game, and a victory, no less. Um, okay, whatever.

Keep this one in mind the next time you see one of those yellow shirts with the silly "all-time wins" claim.

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TODAY IN chUMp HISTORY: OCTOBER 11, 1890

Today marks another great date in Michigan Football history, as the proto-wolverines squared off on the gridiron against the mighty Albion Britons, vanquishing the upstarts by a score of 56-10. The game was played in 1890, only two years after tackling below the waist was legalized.

Albion was playing it's 10th game of "football" - - - ever - - - after taking a year off from the sport in 1889. At the time of this memorable contest, the Britons had played only four teams in their brief football history. Neither team had a Head Coach. Players did not wear uniforms with numbers, and there was no such thing as a forward pass. There was no specific requirement for the size or shape of the ball. Field goals were worth five points.

Their exaggerated claims made by Wolverines about their alleged football supremacy are based on counting these historical events as actual games. The forward pass was not legalized until 1906, and the NCAA did not begin tracking football records until 1937. The sport evolved from rugby to a hybrid form of rugby in the latter part of the 19th century. But it was rugby in 1890, as this article from the Detroit Free Press (archives) clearly states.

Remember "games" like this when UM fans start calling out their inflated "all-time win" numbers. This was more of a modified rugby exhibition than a football game.

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TODAY IN chUMp HISTORY: NOVEMBER 26, 1885

While the Michigan football team prepares to be hammered like a nail by Ohio STATE this weekend, Wolverine fans everywhere are heading for the hills and calling for the heads of coaches, players, and administrators. In other words, "It's a great day to be a Michigan Wolverine!"

At least that's what I heard their young fans singing about after the 2007 game at Spartan Stadium. Singing very loud, I might add. Right at us, as we left the upper deck, all the way down to ground level and off into the night. Little did we know that little Mike Hart was crowing about "little brother" at that same moment in the post-game press conference.

Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end. BUT THEY DID. And now the shoes are on the other feet. Blue and yellow shoes, about to be stomped into the ground again by Scarlet and Gray cleats. Here come the Buckeyes, ready to work on an "Urban Renewal Project" at the Horseshoe.

So the Bluebloods are a bit depressed right now. If you know any of them, we have a way you can cheer them up! You can remind them of past history, you know, like "yesteryear" and old newsreels and such. And we all know how much they love to live in the past.

Just tell them about this date in history, in 1885, when the UM Rugby team scored a great victory over the "Peninsular Cricket Club". That's right, a rugby team played a cricket team and four score and seven years later, they relabeled it "football" as part of a promotional t-shirt campaign that never seems to end.

We're talking about the so-called "All-Time Wins Record"

for college football, the main claim to fame

by fans of Michigan football. 

They have counted up some seventeen-quadra-zillion "wins" in their history, and are all too willing to remind anybody within earshot just whatever their current number happens to be at the time. And they're counting the big win over the "Peninsular Cricket Club" right there with any wins against Ohio State, Notre Dame, and their "number three rival", Michigan State University. It must have been quite a game.

The UM rugby players scored two "rouges" to go along with their touchdowns and field-goals for a 42-0 win over the boys from Detroit who reportedly had never practiced the new sport. The PCC specialized in baseball, tennis, and bicycling, and later became the Detroit Athletic Club.

• Nobody led the team in tackles, as they were not allowed.
• Nobody led the team in forward passing, as those were not legal.
• No coach got credit for the win, because there was no coach.

After the season, the UM student newspaper criticized the team for playing low-quality opponents. But hey, a win is a win, and it capped-off one of those "undefeated seasons" after two wins against Windsor earlier in the month. 

Two wins over some Canadians and 

a beat-down on a cricket team equals 3-0, and

another "undefeated season" you can read about on t-shirts.

So when Brutus rips the snot out of the Wolverines on Saturday, you can still cheer up your Michigan fan friends by raising a toast to that great win over the cricket-playing Detroiters in 1885!

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THIS DATE IN chUMp HISTORY: NOVEMBER 26, 1885

While the Michigan football team prepares to be hammered like a nail by Ohio STATE this weekend, Wolverine fans everywhere are heading for the hills, selling their game tickets, and calling for the heads of coaches, players, and administrators. In other words, "It's a great day to be a Michigan Wolverine!"

At least that's what I heard their young fans singing about after the 2007 game at Spartan Stadium. Singing very loud, I might add. Right at us, as we left the upper deck, all the way down to ground level and off into the night. Little did we know that little Mike Hart was crowing about "little brother" at the same time in the post-game press conference.

Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end...BUT THEY DID END. And now the shoes are on the other feet. Blue and yellow shoes, about to be stomped into the ground by Scarlet and Gray feet. Here come the Buckeyes, ready to work on an "Urban Renewal Project" in Michigan Stadium.

So the Bluebloods are a bit depressed right now. If you know any of them, we have a way you can cheer them up! You can remind them of past history, you know, like "yesteryear" and old newsreels and such. And we all know how much they love to live in the past.

Just tell them about this date in history, in 1885, when the UM Rugby team scored a great victory over the "Peninsular Cricket Club". That's right, a rugby team played a cricket team and four score and seven years later, they relabeled it "football" as part of a promotional t-shirt campaign that never seems to end.

We're talking about the so-called "All-Time Wins Record" for college football, the main claim to fame by fans of Michigan football. They have counted up some seventeen-quadra-zillion "wins" in their history, and are all too willing to remind anybody within earshot just whatever their current number happens to be at the time.

And they're counting the big win over the "Peninsular Cricket Club" right there with any wins against Ohio State, Notre Dame, and their "number three rival", Michigan State University. It must have been quite a game.

The UM rugby players scored two "rouges" to go along with their touchdowns and field-goals for a 42-0 win over the boys from Detroit who reportedly had never practiced the new sport. The PCC specialized in baseball, tennis, and bicycling, and later became the Detroit Athletic Club.

Nobody led the team in tackles, as they were not allowed. Nobody led the team in forward passing, as those were not legal. No coach got credit for the win, because there was no coach. After the season, the UM student newspaper criticized the team for playing low-quality opponents. But hey, a win is a win, and it capped-off one of those "undefeated seasons" after two wins against Windsor earlier in the month.

So when Brutus rips the snot out of the Wolverines on Saturday, you can still cheer up your Michigan fan friends by raising a toast to that great win over the cricket-playing Detroiters in 1885!




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TODAY IN chUMp HISTORY: DECEMBER 7, 2005

There are so many milestones in the storied history of the University of Michigan Football team, many of them dating back to the time before football. The rugby accolades alone are enough to make your head spin, especially if you consider rugby to be "football".

Today is the 10-year anniversary of a very special date in Wolverine history. It's the day that UM Football star Larry Harrison was (finally) convicted of Indecent Exposure. Charges were brought against Harrison for his multiple "strokes of genius" in the student neighborhoods of Ann Arbor. The details are sordid, and we'll leave it at that.

The sports media portrayal of Michigan athletes aims to convince us that these are very special people - - - the "leaders and best" - - - and that they should be honored and respected as soon as they put on their yellow shorts, no matter what they do. But the reality is that UM athletes aren't a darned bit better than their counterparts at Ohio STATE, Florida State, Notre Dame, and Southern Methodist University. They are just as likely to screw-up as any student at any other place. They're not "special".

To put things into perspective, look at the beating that Connor Cook is taking in the sports media regarding some form of protocol with a surprise post-game handshake. Now look at the Larry Harrison story. Which one do you think will last longer in the collective memories of fans who follow MSU and UM?

For a comprehensive review of the misdeeds perpetrated by the Michigan miscreants, try out this link.

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TODAY IN chUMp HISTORY: NOVEMBER 9, 1889

We all know at least one Michigan fan who really believes that his or her favorite team holds the "all-time wins record" in college football. Plenty of t-shirts to prove it, too. (If you read something on a t-shirt, it must be true, right?)

This is another big day in UM "Football" history, since it was on this date in 1889 that the pre-Wolverines handed those boys from Albion College another gridiron lesson. (Perhaps without the gridiron.) The final score was 33-4, though nobody can explain how those point totals were determined. Seems like Albion must have had one touchdown, since those were worth four points back then. Either way, rack it up and roll it into the total, and today's Michigan fans count them all as one equal victory.

But there was no head coach, and no Michigan Stadium, and no Big Ten, and no forward passing. The players didn't wear numbers, and tackling below the waist had just been legalized. The most common offensive play was the "flying wedge", a system that was later banned by President Theodore Roosevelt. And that happened 30 years before the NCAA began tracking football as a sport.

It must be either Voodoo Economics or Fuzzy Math that gets them to their exaggerated win totals. Or maybe they're just counting Rugby scrimmages as football games.

Let's all agree that the University of Michigan was

rugby champion of the 1800s, or at least the 1880s. 

Cornell and the Chicago University Club beat them by a combined score of 86-0 later that same (three-game) season. So this lone victory stands as the shining point of light in the season of 1889. A day to remember for all Michigan fans everywhere.

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MICHIGAN STATE vs MICHIGAN FOOTBALL RIVALRY: EVEN-STEVEN THIS CENTURY

People can look at numbers in different ways. Most people who want to identify a trend-line in any aspect of life will take a snapshot of the present moment, then look backwards in time until they see a pattern emerging. The result is considered the "current trend".

Others, like Michigan Football fans, will establish their trend-line by starting at an arbitrary date two centuries earlier, then add-in whatever just happened to make a microscopic revision to their "pattern". The UM football numbers game is a trick, designed to keep everything looking just the same as it did in 1935 or thereabouts.

By beating Michigan on Saturday, Michigan State Football has now pulled EVEN with UM since the turn of the new millennium. As you can see below, the series is tied, 8-8 beginning with the year 2000:

The football series between Michigan State and
Michigan is tied, 8-8, since the year 2000
(courtesy Wikipedia)

You can go as far back as 1998 when the series was tied at 9-9 to the present day. This is a much more relevant measurement than starting in the 1800s before rugby had developed into modern football, with forward passing and scoring systems that resemble what we see today.

Only chUMps start their trend-line analysis with a random date only a few years after the Civil War. For example, stock brokers looking at a particular stock don't begin their survey with the stock price of 75 years ago. Meteorologists don't base their weather forecasts on the conditions that prevailed when the Wright Brothers were getting it up at Kitty Hawk. People traditionally start in the present and work backwards to see relevant patterns.

So the new "water-mark" in the rivalry series, including the most recent game, shows that the game record between MSU and UM is TIED going back nearly two decades. Wolverine dominance was largely a feature of the 1970s-1980s, not including the pre-war era when all games were played in Ann Arbor.

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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL TEAM CANCELS SPRING GAME TO WATCH FINAL FOUR

March Madness hits everybody in different ways. People play hooky on game days, they bet too much, they drink too much, they yell too much, etc. It's a crazy time of year.

Down in Ann Arbor, the local football team had another scrimmage scheduled for Saturday afternoon. We don't know if they were planning to count that event as another "game" that they "won" for the "all-time wins record", but guess what? They decided to bag it, and head to Indianapolis instead.

UM Athletic Director Buddy Hackett explained.

"We like to support the conference, even in years that we stink it up, you know? It's great to see Wisconsin in the Final Four, but what really floats our boat is when we see Michigan State on the big stage. We're related to them, did you know that?"

Hackett says MSU and his school are like sisters, or brothers, or something that Desmond Howard once said. So it's a matter of family pride to support the Spartans.

"Plus, when you think about it, who wants to watch our guys try to play football, especially against each other? Haven't we all seen enough of that crap to last awhile? Did I mention we have a women's softball team?"

Many of the Wolverine football players will be riding down to Indy in a Beer Wagon driven by Graham Glasgow, a guy who knows how to have a good time. Others are planning to reunite with former UM player Taylor Lewan, who says he's looking to "kick some Wildcat ass" while visiting the Circle City.

So don't worry if you didn't get tickets for the free event scheduled for Michigan Stadium on Saturday afternoon. You can still go there and hang out and think about the good old days, like the late 1800s, when UM Rugby, er, I mean, "football" reigned supreme.

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THE 10-YEAR BATTLE: MSU FOOTBALL vs UM

It's time to review the true status of the football rivalry between Michigan State and Michigan. Wolverine fans are constantly bragging about their "all-time wins record", but to do so, they are actually counting rugby scrimmages from the late 1800s as "football". Let's take a look at the last ten years of the series, including results through October 2014.

Last 10 Football Games Between MSU and UM

• Ten Game Record = MSU 6, UM 4
• Non-Overtime Record = MSU 4, UM 3
• Total Points = MSU 265, UM 192 (MSU +73)

SEASON RESULTS OVER LAST DECADE (2004-2014)

• MSU TEN+ YEAR TOTAL = 85-51 (.625)
• Seven bowl games, two wins
• Current Bowl Games in a row = 7
• Biggest Bowl Win Streak = 2
• League Championships = 2
• Division Titles = 2

• UM TEN+ YEAR TOTAL = 80-54 (.597)
• Eight bowl games, two wins
• Current Bowl Games in a row = 3
• Biggest Bowl Win Streak = 1
• League Championships = 1
• Division Titles = 0

BOTTOM LINE:  "Where's the threat?"

Do you want to see the

"long version" of this article,

complete with all of the

detailed data and stats?

Click Here

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TODAY IN chUMp HISTORY: OCTOBER 30, 1886

Just about every Michigan fan knows about their Umpteen-Gazillion football victories compiled since the crust of the Earth was originally formed. Many of those games were a little different than what we think of as "Football" today, but hey, let's not let the details get in the way of a good story, eh?

Today is a day that is famous to all Wolverine fans, as it was on this date in 1886 that UM beat Albion by a score of 24-0. The Head Coach was not carried off the field, because there was no Head Coach. Too bad, since the game capped a thrilling undefeated season for Michigan, finishing with a 2-0 record.  So this was one of their many undefeated seasons!

They played two "innings" on a field of indeterminate proportions using a ball of imprecise size and shape. There were no tackles below the waist, because those were not yet legalized. The "flying wedge" was the main offensive play, because it had not yet been made illegal. There were no forward passes, because nobody had figured it out yet. 

The Michigan Argonaut reported the event as "a rugby game", a description that sounds pretty accurate. Yet the Bluebloods want to look back at it as "football".  And they count it as part of their "all-time wins record". Now you know a little bit more about how they count their win totals.

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TEN YEARS AFTER: THE LAST DECADE OF MICHIGAN STATE vs MICHIGAN FOOTBALL

The ninth season of the Mark Dantonio Era is well underway, with the Spartans riding a 12-game win-streak and standing pat during the bye week at 8-0. Much still to be determined this year. But as we get ready to come out of the mid-season break we take a look at the football series between Michigan State and Michigan.

Everybody knows by now that Michigan State has out-performed and generally surpassed Michigan in football under Dantonio, especially in the last five years. But what about the last decade? UM fans are always heralding history, telling us that MSU has "only been good recently", as if it's just a passing fad or a blip on the sports screen. So let's take a look at the two programs compared to each other over the last 10 years of college football.

Wolverine fans are constantly bragging about their "all-time wins record", but to do so, they are actually counting rugby scrimmages from the late 1800s as "football". There's no way to stop those people, but we don't have to believe in their mythology. Anyway, a decade is definitely a significant measuring stick, so here we go.

Last 10 Football Games Between MSU and UM

2015:  MSU won by 4 (27-23)

2014:  MSU won by 24 (35-11)

2013:  MSU won by 23 (29-6)

2012:  UM won by 2 (12-10)

2011:  MSU won by 14 (28-14)

2010:  MSU won by 17 (34-17)

2009:  MSU won by 6 (26-20, OT)

2008:  MSU won by 14 (35-21)

2007:  UM won by 4 (28-24)

2006:  UM won by 18 (31-13)

• Ten Game Record = MSU 7, UM 3
• Total Points = MSU 261, UM 183 (MSU +78 points)

You can see from the summary above that over the last ten years of the series, MSU has taken charge, winning both big and small, both home and away. (Important to note that this "Ten-Year Picture" will not change much to favor UM the next couple of seasons, even if the Wolverines win the next two games, as the game count for the decade would remain 7-3, MSU.)

Let's continue by summarizing the season results for each team over the past decade, not including the present season which is still in progress.

SEASON RESULTS OVER THE LAST DECADE

Michigan State Spartans

2005:  5-6, Ninth Place, no bowl

2006:  4-8, Tenth Place, no bowl

2007:  7-6, Seventh Place, bowl loss

2008:  9-4, Third Place, bowl loss

2009:  6-7, Sixth Place, bowl loss

2010:  11-2, First Place (B1G), bowl loss

2011:  11-3, First Place (division), Bowl Win

2012:  7-6, Fourth Place (division), Bowl Win

2013:  13-1, First Place (B1G), Rose Bowl Champion

2014:  11-2, Second Place (division), Cotton Bowl Champion

• MSU TEN YEAR TOTAL = 84-45 (.651)
• Current Bowl Games in a row = 8
• Total Bowl Victories = 4
• Current Bowl Win Streak = 4
• Biggest Bowl Win Streak = 4
• League Championships = 2
• Division Titles = 2

Michigan Wolverines

2005:  7-5, Third Place, bowl loss

2006:  11-2, Second Place, bowl loss

2007:  9-4, Second Place, Bowl Win

2008:  3-9, Tenth Place, no bowl

2009:  5-7, Tenth Place, no bowl

2010:  7-6, Seventh Place, bowl loss

2011:  11-2, Second Place (division), Bowl Win

2012:  8-5, Second Place (division), bowl loss

2013:  7-6, Fifh Place (division), bowl loss

2014:  5-7, Fourth Place (division), no bowl

• UM TEN YEAR TOTAL = 73-53 (.580)
• Current Bowl Games in a row = 0
• Total Bowl Victories = 2
• Current Bowl Win Streak = 0
• Biggest Bowl Win Streak = 1
• League Championships = 0
• Division Titles = 0

BOTTOM LINE:  Mark Dantonio promised that MSU would "measure up" when he took over the job in 2007, and the Spartans have done so, by winning league championships, division titles, and bowl games. By comparison to Michigan, Michigan State has won more rivalry games, they have a better bowl streak in progress, as well as a better bowl-win streak. The series is starting to become uneven when measuring total points scored.

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Care to compare these numbers from two years ago?

Click Here for a similar summary compiled just after the 2014 Rose Bowl.

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