Michigan football wanted to ‘beat down’ on MSU due to tunnel fight

Last year, Michigan football crushed the Michigan State Spartans 29-7 at the Big House in Ann Arbor. While the game itself was not too memorable, it led to one of the most infamous moments in the rivalry’s history: the post-game tunnel fight, which saw a few Spartans beating down on Wolverine players with helmets and more after the game. Today, senior captain and star offensive lineman Trevor Keegan spoke with the media, where he explained that Michigan wanted to “beat down” on MSU during the team’s 49-0 win in East Lansing in Week 8.

Michigan football wanted to ‘beat down’ on MSU due to tunnel fight

Two weeks ago, just before the Wolverines’ bye week, Michigan football went to East Lansing and crushed Michigan State in one of the worst beatdowns that the rivalry has ever seen. All said and done, Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines took home a 49-0 victory in Week 8 — it was the first shutout since 2000 and the largest margin of victory in the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry since the 1940s.

“We came into that game (against Michigan State) — we wanted to make a statement before the bye,” Trevor Keegan said on Tuesday. “I think really, the thing that happened last year in the tunnel, that really motivated us (Michigan football) as well. You know, guys were like, ‘Don’t let it distract you’ and things like that. You know, ‘We’re over it.’

“Nah, we weren’t over it,” he continued. “We wanted to come in there and really beat down on (Michigan State). So it was nice — it was a good time.”

Michigan football did exactly what Trevor Keegan said — as I mentioned, the Wolverines handed MSU one of the worst losses in the rivalry’s history, in their own building nonetheless.

This weekend, Michigan will shift its focus to a Week 10 matchup against Purdue before the team’s first crucial test of the 2023 season: a road trip to Penn State.

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