Mel Tucker comments on the Michigan football vs. Michigan State rivalry

INDIANAPOLIS, IN. — The Michigan football vs. Michigan State rivalry has been getting heated as of late, with last year’s tunnel incident becoming a tipping point where things appeared to boil over following the Wolverines’ 29-7 victory over MSU in Ann Arbor. Heading into the new season, Mel Tucker had a chance to comment on his program and where he sees the Michigan-Michigan State game going right now.

Mel Tucker comments on Michigan football vs. Michigan State rivalry game

During today’s Big Ten Media Day session, Michigan State football head coach Mel Tucker had a chance to chime in on the UM-MSU rivalry, which has been intense on the field and occasionally marred by off-field incidents over the past few decades. Despite the ugliness that followed last year’s game, Tucker says that scheduling changes were never an option for the rivalry series.

“No, that’s never going to happen,” Tucker said of delaying or moving the Michigan football vs. Michigan State rivalry game. “That’s not even a reality. Why would we want to do that?”

Things have been getting heated, and will likely stay that way

While scheduling changes were not an option for Michigan football or for Michigan State football, it is still widely thought that the Spartans and Wolverines need to find a way to dial things back a bit. That said, it isn’t on Mel Tucker’s to-do list.

“How do you rein it in? I don’t know how you do that,” Mel Tucker said. “There’s not a day that’s gone by that I haven’t heard something about that game. I mean, every day of my life I hear about that game, so I don’t know how you rein that in. It just is what it is.”

This fall, Michigan football will make the trip to East Lansing to face Mel Tucker and Michigan State football in October. Per new reports, this matchup will be a night game — it is slated for 7:30 PM (EST) on NBC. If Michigan football is to win, it would give Jim Harbaugh a winning record against Michigan State all-time (as a coach) and would tie his series against Mel Tucker at 2-2.

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