Go Green, Go White & Go Blue: Rivalry Week is Here

4th & Goal by Cory Smith

4th & Goal by Cory Smith 

The undefeated & #6 ranked University of Michigan Wolverines travel to Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Saturday to face the also 7-0 Michigan State University Spartans. First & foremost, let us know in the comments who you got this weekend! 

mLive notes that the last time these two programs were top 10 with such a high profile meeting, the Beatles were touring America:

Saturday’s game between the Wolverines and the Spartans will be the first time in the 113-year history between these two state rivals that both teams are at least 7-0. It’s also the first game both teams have been ranked in the Top 10 since the same year The Beatles landed in the U.S.

The setting was East Lansing on October 10, 1964. Seventh-ranked Michigan took on 9th-ranked MSU in one of the biggest games in the decades-long rivalry, with Michigan winning 17-10 in front of 78,234 people. This was just the fourth game against each other where both teams were ranked in the Top 10.

…Michigan is favored by four over the No. 8 ranked Spartans. The Wolverines lead the all-time series 71-37-5.

Cory took this photo of the Spartans getting ready to punch it in back in October of 2009. MSU eventually won the game in overtime. See more in Cory’s HDR Photography gallery on Flickr & view and purchase prints on his website!

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The U.P. stand-off: Lions vs Packers

The U.P. stand-off

The U.P. stand-off, photo by Ann Fisher

The Detroit Lions host the Green Bay Packers this Sunday at Ford Field for the first of two divisional meetings. Wikipedia notes that the longest continuously-running NFL rivalry is the Lions vs Packers. They first met in 1930 when the Lions were known as the Portsmouth Spartans (they were based in Portsmouth, Ohio until they moved to Detroit in 1934 season). They’ve been division rivals since 1933 and have always met at least twice a season since 1932, without any cancelled games.

As Ann notes, that rivalry is no contest in Marquette. Thought it may be in Michigan, the U.P. is Packers territory.

View her photo of lawn geese all dressed up for the season background big and see more in her 2014 U.P. slideshow.

Lots more Detroit Lions on Michigan in Pictures.