Michigan HC Kyle Whittingham says the quiet part out loud about Michigan State rivalry game

The Michigan Wolverines are in the middle of a disappointing season with a 5-3 record and aren't even inside the AP Top 25 poll. That's not a good look for a team that's used to playing high-profile bowl games and that won the national championship just a few years ago.

So, Michigan isn't in a normal place going into its rivalry game against the Michigan State Spartans, and that's not lost on head coach Kyle Whittingham. Speaking to the press this week, he said that this game doesn't have the weight it usually has because of both teams' poor records. He also said that the Ohio State and Michigan rivalry is a much bigger one.

Kyle Whittingham discusses Michigan-Michigan State rivalry

"I've heard it's gotten nasty at times," Whittingham said about the Michigan and Michigan State rivalry, according to The Athletic. "There's some bad blood. It's good. It intensifies everything.

"I don't want to downplay it at all — it's a very important game — but they're certainly in a different position at 2-6 than we are at 5-3. This is the type of game that could really make a season much more ... tolerable? I don't know what the word I'm looking for is. Very impactful."

For Michigan, he adds that he's had to change his goals because of the team's losses.

"Every game's meaningful, but it would take really weird circumstances to get back in the conference race," Whittingham said. "I don't think that's in the cards."

Whittingham is saying the quiet part out loud about this year's game, but that's not the whole story. Michigan State still represents a game the Wolverines really can't afford to lose. Michigan is having a rough season, and with bigger goals largely out of reach, beating the Spartans is one of the few things that could help salvage it. The same is true for the Spartans. A win over Michigan would mean a lot to the program. Michigan takes on Michigan State on Saturday in Ann Arbor.