Michigan vs. Michigan State football score: Game recap, highlights (2024)

Michigan blew out Michigan State football in the first meeting in the annual rivalry showdown since tension boiled over last year. Michigan dominated from start to finish for the 49-0 statement win.

The last time these two played, there was a postgame fight in the tunnel at Michigan Stadium that ultimately led to legal discipline for MSU players and overshadowed Michigan’s convincing 29-7 win to reclaim the Paul Bunyan Trophy. There was no scraps this time around, but Michigan State did have to issue an apology for showing a picture of Adolf Hitler on the jumbotron pregame.

Since then, Michigan has continued to skyrocket to the top of the college football world, doing so despite multiple NCAA investigations. MSU fired head coach Mel Tucker for cause because of a sexual harassment allegation, and sits at the bottom of the Big Ten after now five straight losses.

Michigan State hosted the 116th matchup of the in-state battle. The game kicked off at 7:30 p.m. from Spartan Stadium, the first-ever night game in East Lansing in the history of the series, and was televised on NBC and livestreamed on Peacock and on Fubo (free trial). Michigan entered as a 25½-point favorite.

Check out the game recap below.

READ MORE: Cheating allegations against Michigan football cast a pall over its triumphant climb

Michigan vs. Michigan State updates, highlights

Final: Michigan shuts out Michigan State 49-0

Michigan trounced Michigan State 49-0 to retain control of the Paul Bunyan trophy. The Wolverines dominated all 60 minutes in East Lansing to move to 8-0 on the season. It was the fifth straight loss for MSU, who is now 2-5 overall.

Michigan added a last-second rushing touchdown from backup quarterback Alex Orji with eight seconds left to make the final score a seven-touchdown margin.

J.J. McCarthy delivered the best half of his career to put Michigan ahead 28-0 at halftime. McCarthy had 276 yards and three touchdowns at the midway point and finished the game 21-for-27 for 287 yards and four touchdowns. He played one drive in the second half to add his fourth touchdown to make it 42-0 before he and the rest of the Michigan starters rested for the rest of the game.

His favorite targets were his two tight ends, Colston Loveland and AJ Barner, who both finished with at least 75 yards and a touchdown. Blake Corum rushed for 59 yards and scored the opening touchdown. Michigan let off the gas for the final 20 minutes and did not score with its backups in.

Michigan State, on the other hand, could not get anything going on offense no matter who was on the field for the Wolverines. The Spartans gained just 190 yards and converted 10 first downs in the shutout. Katin Houser struggled mightily in his second start against the nation’s best defense, and threw a pick-six to Mike Sainristil to add insult to injury.

Michigan is now 8-0 and enters its bye week. The Wolverines will take on Purdue in two weeks. Michigan State will be on the road next week against Minnesota looking to end the losing streak that has lasted over a month.

3:10, fourth quarter: Ja'Den McBurrows records late interception

Michigan defensive back Ja'Den McBurrows, who was assaulted in last year's tunnel fight between the two teams, intercepted Michigan State true freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt in the final minutes of the blowout.

6:44, third quarter: McCarthy hits AJ Barner for his fourth touchdown, Wolverines lead 42-0

J.J. McCarthy is now up to 287 yards and four touchdowns. This time, he fed his other tight end, AJ Barner, at the goal line on a bootleg for the easy touchdown. Michigan reached the red zone immediately thanks to multiple 15-yard penalties against the MSU defense on the opening play of the drive.

9:49, third quarter: Mike Sainristil picks off Houser, returned for touchdown to give Michigan 35-0 lead

Michigan State had its best drive so far coming out of the halftime locker room. MSU put together a few first downs to reach Wolverine territory but faced a fourth-and-short. MSU decided to go for it, but Katin Houser and Tre Mosley were on the wrong page and Houser fired behind him into the arms of Sainristil. The defensive back tiptoed the sideline and returned it 72 yards for his second pick-six of the season.

MSU right tackle Spencer Brown was ejected on the play for diving helmet-first at Michigan defensive end Braiden McGregor while he was laying on the ground.

Halftime: Michigan dominant, hold 28-0 lead

It has been all Wolverines in the first 30 minutes in East Lansing in one of the most dominant halves in the history of the rivalry.

Michigan had a chance to add another score just before the half, but a false start on Donovan Edwards and a 10-second runoff cost Michigan more points before the halftime whistle.

Outside of that, Michigan has been dominant on both sides of the ball on its way to a 28-point lead. The story of the first half was J.J. McCarthy, who completed 20-of-26 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns. McCarthy hit tight windows and extended plays to power the offense, who has 63 rushing yards, in one of the best halves of his career. The Wolverines defense held Michigan State to 51 total yards and just two first downs in a complete shutdown effort.

2:54, second quarter: McCarthy hits Loveland for second touchdown. Michigan leads 28-0

Michigan is laying it on in the first half.

After forcing another three-and-out, Michigan ran the ball from midfield to the edge of the Michigan State red zone. McCarthy found his tight end Colston Loveland again from 22 yards out for their second touchdown connection of the first half. McCarthy zipped the ball right past the ear of MSU linebacker Cal Haladay into a tight window for the touchdown.

10:44, second quarter: McCarthy connects with Colston Loveland for TD, Michigan leads 21-0

It is getting ugly early for Michigan State.

After a forcing a quick punt, Michigan picked up right where it left off on offense and surgically moved the ball down the field with more key third down conversions. On a free play thanks to offsides, McCarthy threaded a pass down the seam to his tight end Colston Loveland, who made a contested catch in the end zone for the 22-yard score.

1:55, first quarter: Roman Wilson doubles Michigan lead, Wolverines up 14-0

The turnover on downs proved to be pivotal early. Michigan picked up a first down on third-and-13 thanks to a screen pass to Donovan Edwards to get inside of the MSU 30. On the next play, McCarthy scrambled right to avoid pressure up the middle and hit a wide open Roman Wilson on the run in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown. It was the 10th touchdown of the season for Wilson.

4:48, first quarter: Michigan State fails on fourth down

Michigan State had a big fourth down decision facing two yards for a first down from midfield on the first drive. Interim coach Harlon Barnett decided to keep the offense on the field but Nathan Carter was stuffed short on a run up the middle for a turnover on downs. The Wolverines took over at their own 49 with a chance to build on the early lead.

8:50, first quarter: Michigan strikes first on Blake Corum TD, Michigan leads 7-0

Michigan got the opening kickoff and immediately scored on a 12-play, 84-yard drive. Blake Corum capped off the drive with a bruising goal line run from a yard out to take the lead. J.J. McCarthy hit five of six passes for 74 yards, including two third down conversions, to move Michigan down the field.

Pregame notes

Michigan State had to issue an apology after a pregame trivia on the scoreboard showed a picture of Adolf Hitler 80 minutes before kickoff. MSU said the quiz was made by a third-party and will not work with them in the future.

MSU debuts its black "Shadows" uniforms, complete with black helmets, jerseys and pants.

Michigan made national headlines this week for something other than its 7-0 start. The NCAA is investigating the Wolverines for allegedly scouting future opponents in-person, which violates NCAA rules. The news, which broke Thursday, added some discourse between rival fanbases in the buildup to kickoff, but ultimately should not have much of an impact on this game.

The news added life to the week that was pretty mundane otherwise because the Wolverines are largely expected to win. Through seven games, Michigan is undefeated, winning by an average margin of 32.7 points, and holding opponents to under seven points per game. It looks to be another favorable matchup for the Wolverines' defense against MSU’s struggling offense and redshirt freshman quarterback Katin Houser, who is making his second career start.

Tunnel fight, 1 year later: What happened, where are they now?

J.J. McCarthy and Blake Corum have been the two main catalysts for the explosive Wolverine offense averaging 39.4 points per game. The Wolverine offense has the edge over the Spartan defense which is improved from last year but still susceptible to big plays.

Michigan State enters on a four-game losing streak after another fourth-quarter collapse against Rutgers last week. Interim head coach Harlon Barnett, who stepped up to fill in for Tucker, is looking to find answers quickly in all three phases of the game to try to hand Michigan its first regular season loss since the Wolverines’ last trip to East Lansing.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan vs. Michigan State football: Game recap, highlights