Michigan State runs up score after Michigan player shoves spear into Spartan logo
Great teams have a reason for everything they do on the field.
Michigan State raised some eyebrows in the fourth quarter of their matchup against inter-state rival Michigan on Saturday. Up 28-11 with 28 seconds left, Spartans running back Jeremy Langford rushed for his third touchdown of the game, capping off a 35-11 win.
According to ESPN's Dan Murphy, the Spartans knew they would run up the score before the game even started.
It had nothing to do with being unsportsmanlike, though. Both coaches were made aware of the fact that a Wolverine player planted a spear at center field in the pre-game - directly into the Spartans logo.
"I can only be diplomatic for so long," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. "The little brother stuff, all the disrespect, it didn't have to go in that direction."
Those comments refer to 2007 when former Michigan tailback Michael Hart said beating the then-downtrodden Michigan State was like beating up his younger brother.
Dantonio isn't holding a grudge, but now the tables have turned and this game got personal in a hurry. Running up the score, he said, was premeditated.
"We try to handle ourselves with composure," he said. "That doesn't come from a coach. It comes from the program. Throwing the stake down in our backyard out here and coming out there like they're all that.
"That got shoved up ... It got shoved in the last minute and a half."