Jonathan Smith after first taste of Michigan rivalry: 'Neither side likes each other'

The meeting between Michigan State and Michigan on Saturday was new head coach Jonathan Smith‘s first taste of the rivalry and he learned plenty from that experience.

In the end, Michigan beat Michigan State to make it three straight wins over the Spartans. Immediately following that loss, Smith shared what he did learn about the rivalry, highlighting how frustrating it was to lose a one-score game.

“It’s passionate,” Jonathan Smith said. “Neither side likes each other and that’s why I go back to it’s pretty, pretty frustrating.”

The rivalry boiled over in the closing moments of the game. A fight broke out on the field while the Wolverines were kneeling the ball with several players ending up on the ground and others coming onto the field from the sideline. That came just two years after there was a fight in the tunnel that ended with several Michigan State players receiving criminal charges.

Jonathan Smith previously spoke about the emotion that he saw from his team in the closing comments of the loss.

“Yeah, on Sundays we take a deep look at the game. And we’re obviously about correcting and improving. We’re going to watch it and [there are] some things we want to build off of. Some things we’ve got to clean up. Spoke to a little bit of the emotion of the game. That locker room, when I walked in after that game, this thing means something. It was frustrating. I actually told them that’s a good thing,” Smith said.

“If I’d have walked into the locker room and these guys are just staring at their phones, we’d have problems. We didn’t have that. This thing was emotional, and that’s how we want to be playing the game.”

Big Ten releases statement on Michigan-Michigan State fight

After reviewing the fight at the end of the Michigan State game against Michigan, the Big Ten released a statement on the incident, including that they would not be levying further punishment as a conference.

“The Big Ten Conference thoroughly reviewed video of the incident that occurred at the conclusion of Saturday’s Michigan-Michigan State football game. Amidst the confrontation, student-athletes from both teams were on the ground and surrounded by so many individuals that both players were completely obscured from view,” the statement read.

“The video review was inconclusive as to whether individual discipline was appropriate for anyone in the immediate vicinity of the two players who were on the ground. While the confrontation was a disappointing conclusion to the contest, the Conference appreciates the efforts made by staff from both teams, security personnel, and game officials to rapidly de-escalate the incident, as well as the responses by both head coaches. The Big Ten discussed the situation with both institutions and determined that no further action will be taken.”