Michigan–Michigan State football rivalry
| First meeting | October 12, 1898, Ann Arbor Michigan 36, Michigan State 0 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | October 29, 2016, East Lansing Michigan 32, Michigan State 23 |
| Next meeting | October 7, 2017, Ann Arbor |
| Trophy | Paul Bunyan Trophy, Michigan leads, 36–26–2 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 109 |
| All-time series | Michigan leads, 69–35–5 |
| Largest victory | Michigan, 119–0 (1902) |
| Longest win streak | Michigan, 14 (1916-1929) |
| Current win streak | Michigan, 1 (2016–present) |
The Michigan–Michigan State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the University of Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State University Spartans. The winner of each year's game receives the Paul Bunyan Trophy. The teams first played in 1898 and have met almost every year since 1910 (exceptions in 1943, 44); the competition became a conference rivalry with Michigan State's entrance into the Big Ten Conference in 1950.
Michigan leads the series 70-35-5. The series record for the Paul Bunyan Trophy (as of 2016) is 36–26–2 for Michigan as the trophy wasn't added until Michigan State became a full member of the Big Ten in 1953, at which point Michigan led 33–9–3. A home-and-home series did not begin until the 1958 season. Through the 1957 season, the game was played in Ann Arbor 46 times and in East Lansing only 6 times. At the start of the trophy game series, Michigan State began a nearly two-decade period of dominance. From 1950 to 1969, Michigan State went 14–4–2. For the next four decades Michigan went 30-10 vs MSU. Since the Spartans hiring of Coach Mark Dantonio, Michigan State has won seven of the last ten games. Michigan State has held a four game winning streak on four separate occasions (most recently in the 2008–11 seasons) in the series history. Michigan has held winning streaks of fourteen, ten, eight, six and five games throughout the series.
The game's trophy is the "Paul Bunyan – Governor of Michigan Trophy", or simply, the Paul Bunyan Trophy. It is a four foot tall wooden statue of the legendary giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan on a five-foot base. It reflects Michigan's history as a major lumber-producing state. The trophy was first presented in 1953 by governor G. Mennen Williams to commemorate Michigan State's joining the Big Ten Conference.
When the trophy was created in 1953, Michigan athletic director and former head coach Fritz Crisler refused to take the trophy if Michigan had won the game. Michigan State won the first game for the Paul Bunyan Trophy in 1953, displaying it proudly in Jenison Fieldhouse.
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