The results were impressive as Michigan and Michigan State opened the season with methodical victories.
But which team is better?
It's a fair question.
The majority of over-under predictions entering 2021 were seven to eight wins for the Wolverines, and four to five for the Spartans.
But multiple factors suggest the two programs are on similar ground. The Spartans won a Big Ten game on the road, at defending Big Ten West champion Northwestern. The Wolverines downed a Mid-American squad, Western Michigan, at home.
In the strange COVID-impacted 2020 season, Michigan was 2-4 and MSU 2-5. The Spartans beat the Wolverines decisively.
Each team is breaking in quarterbacks, UM's Cade McNamara and MSU's Payton Thorne. Both QB's managed their games well Labor Day weekend, a task made easier by much-maligned veteran offensives lines, who were surprisingly dominating.
Wake Forest transfer Kenneth Walker III was sensational for MSU, yet Michigan backs Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins were also dynamic.
Both defenses were efficient.
Michigan State coach Mel Tucker has been impactful. He has brought much-need energy to the Spartans' football program. It's not only been reflected in recruiting (MSU's 2022 commitments are ranked 13th by Rivals.com, four spots ahead of Michigan), but on the field.
It's way too early to suggest Tucker presents a Mark Dantonio 2.0 challenge for the Wolverines, but MSU did pull off a stunning upset in Ann Arbor last year. And Tucker has a much better offensive coordinator, Jay Johnson, than the unimaginative crew Dantonio insisted on retaining until the bitter end.
The question is whether Jim Harbaugh can amp it up. He has a much different staff than most of his first six years as Michigan coach, one that brings much more youth, but with perhaps more experience in how college football has evolved.
Western Michigan figures to be better than most MAC teams. The Wolverines did exactly what was necessary Saturday. They simply overwhelmed the Broncos with athleticism and strength while playing mistake-free football.
However, the perpetual challenge for Harbaugh has been preparing his squad for encounters with teams equal to, or surpassing, Michigan's talent.
There are a number of teams on Michigan's schedule fitting that category. One of them just might be MSU.
It's unrealistic to expect either MSU or Michigan to beat Ohio State. While Tucker is playing with house money in Year 2, the one game Harbaugh can't lose and retain his credibility in his seventh season is MSU.
It could make the Michigan-MSU game, held the day before Halloween in East Lansing, even more crucial than usual.
