EAST LANSING - Michigan State hosts Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon, in a
matchup of cross state foes that have a lopsided history.
The last meeting between the Eagles (0-1) and the Spartans (1-0) was in
2002 when Jeff Smoker led the Green-and-White to a 56-7 thrashing to
open the season.
Looking further into the MSU-EMU matchup shows the Spartans lead the
overall series 6-0.
The first ever meeting between the two teams was over one hundred years
ago when MSU, who was known as the Michigan Agricultural College (MAC),
defeated EMU, then known as Ypsilanti, 18-0.
One hundred years later, the series resumed but with the same results,
as the Spartans demolished the Eagles 47-0.
A little sweeter for the Spartans may be the fact that they always come
out against the Eagles and display the kind of program they are,
showing that the Big Ten is rich in competition and is superior to the teams
of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
Historically, the Spartans own a record of 27-5 (.844) against the MAC
Conference, outscoring their opponents 402-118. They defeated Kent State in last season’s opener 49-14.
Lopsided history and all, the Spartans still must come out strong and
improve from their season-opening win against Idaho. Although it was a
win, the Vandals made the Spartans sweat a bit throughout the game,
staying within reach, before the Spartans put them away in the fourth
quarter.
I didn’t know much about the history until now,” said senior center
Kyle Cook. “I hope we make it 7-0.”
“We just can’t think about that, no matter who it is we have to play
our hardest, and nothing is going to be handed to us,” added Cook on
staying focused for the game.
As a strong favorite, the Spartans hope that their history against the
Eagles will continue, making them 2-0 on the season heading into a
tough contest at Pittsburgh the following week.