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Michigan State's Ricky White, left, catches a pass as Michigan's Vincent Gray defends during the third quarter on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. 201031 Msu Um 132a Nick King/Lansing State Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Reliving Michigan State's Shocking 2020 Upset of Michigan

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Carter Landis | Last updated Oct 23, 2025 12:00 PM ET

Since it’s rivalry week, let’s look back on some of the Michigan State Spartans’ best wins over Michigan.

2020 was an extraordinary year for everyone in the United States. A global pandemic shut down the world for most of the year, and many questioned whether sports would return to our television sets during the height of COVID-19’s danger.

It was back-and-forth for Big Ten football, but the conference eventually agreed to play a truncated, conference-only season that began at the end of October.

MSU was beginning a new era under Mel Tucker, and fans hoped he would turn Spartan football around after the lackluster end to Mark Dantonio’s years.

It did not go as planned in his season opener against Rutgers, as the Scarlet Knights dominated Tucker’s Spartans for Rutgers’ first-ever victory over MSU in football or basketball.

This left fans in despair as the team traveled to Ann Arbor for the Paul Bunyan Trophy game against Michigan the following week.

However, things went significantly better than Spartan Nation expected them to.

Michigan State 27, Michigan 24

MSU entered the game as a major underdog against a Wolverine team led by Jim Harbaugh, looking to get over the hump.

The Spartans came out swinging on their first drive, as quarterback Rocky Lombardi connected with freshman wide receiver Ricky White on a long touchdown catch. MSU went up 7-0 early.

However, the Spartans led 7-0 in 2019’s matchup, and Michigan rolled to a blowout victory, so Spartan fans were wary that the same thing might happen.

But it didn’t.

Blake Corum scored on Michigan’s ensuing drive, but Michigan State quickly punched back. Lombardi found Jalen Nailor on a deep shot in the second quarter, and he eventually hit Connor Heyward for the go-ahead score in the first half.

The Spartans took a 14-10 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Lombardi quickly connected with White on another deep pass, which led to a field goal to make it 17-10.

Corum scored again, but Matt Coghlin kicked a 51-yard field goal to give MSU a 20-17 lead.

White was unstoppable against the Wolverines, catching eight passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. He was getting loose against Michigan’s defensive backs all game, and Lombardi was finding him.

Heyward added another touchdown late, and a Wolverine touchdown would do no harm as MSU pulled off the upset, 27-24.

For how poorly things went for Tucker’s team in Week 1, everything changed in Week 2 when he took down MSU’s biggest rival in his second game coaching the Spartans.

Jonathan Smith is MSU’s coach now, and he needs a similar kind of win against Michigan to get himself off the hot seat.

If he can pull off a big win against the Spartans’ biggest rivals, he might change how the fanbase views him.

Don't forget to give us a follow on X @MSUSpartansOnSI as well.

This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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