Spencer Brown ejected for punch to Michigan player

Things are always heated in the Michigan–Michigan State game. This year was no different. And there were some extracurriculars on Saturday evening’s version of one of the most heated rivalries in all of sports. Michigan State offensive lineman Spencer Brown was flagged for a personal foul, after he jumped on Michigan’s Braiden McGregor. Then, officials decided to eject Brown from the game. It happened after Michigan defensive back Mike Sainristil intercepted a pass from Katin Houser and returned it for six points.

Check out the play by Spencer Brown below.

A dirty and inexcusable play from Michigan State's Spencer Brown.

Disgusting. pic.twitter.com/tovcUf8JoG

— Trevor Woods (@WoodsFootball) October 22, 2023

That wasn’t the only controversy the Spartans had to deal with in the game.

Michigan State apologized late on Saturday for an inappropriate trivia question that showed Adolf Hitler on the stadium video board prior to a rivalry game against Michigan.

The trivia shown on the video board — apparently a reel or video from a third party — asked about what nation Hitler was born in. Along with the question about Hitler was a picture of the man most responsible for perpetrating the Holocaust.

“MSU is aware that inappropriate content by a third-party source was displayed on the videoboard prior to the start of tonight’s football game. We are deeply sorry for the content displayed, as this is not representative of our institutional values. MSU will not be using the third-party source going forward and will implement stronger screening and approval procedures for all videoboard content in the future,” Michigan State spokesperson Matt Larson said in a statment.

The picture of Hitler, along with the trivia question, was noted by dozens of attendees who posted pictures on social media.

On a night where the Spartans were thumped, 49-0, by their arch-rivals at home, the snafu showing one of the 20th centuries most brutal dictators — and the associated public relations mess to clean up — is merely insult to injury.

Michigan State used an unorthodox method to deliver offensive play calls

With the possibility that Michigan had sussed out Michigan State’s signals — potentially as part of an illicit sign-stealing operation — the Spartans had to adapt. And with the information coming to light late in the week, there wasn’t enough time to alter signals.

So instead Michigan State ditched signals entirely. The solution? Quarterback Katin Houser coming to the sideline between each play to get the call from a backup quarterback on a headset.

It’s quite the rigmarole for the Spartans and resembles high school play calling mechanics, but it ensures the opposition doesn’t know what’s coming before the play starts.

Though the Spartans shielded their play calls from getting deciphered, it did yielded much. The Spartans’ offense was impotent and the defense didn’t do them many favors.

Michigan State gained 182 total yards and just 49 on the ground. The Spartans were 6-for-16 on third downs and 0-for-3 on fourth downs, along with coughing up a pair of turnovers. All told, Michigan State gained just 10 first downs and was shutout 49-0, the worst shutout margin since a 55-0 loss to Michigan in the 1940s.

On3’s Andrew Graham also contributed to this article.