Michigan trolls Michigan State: Little Brother stays Little Brother

As Michigan polished off its fifth win in its last seven meetings against in-state rival Michigan State, the teams had to be (eventually) separated amidst a modest brawl as the final seconds ticked off the clock inside Michigan Stadium.

There, the slumping Wolverines were taking a knee to formally dispatch their heated foes for a third-straight year and fifth time in the past seven meetings.

Up 24-17 and simply kneeling one final time for the sake of closing out the game, Michigan saw a Michigan State defensive lineman wrap a Wolverine in a head-lock.

Whistles blew. Benches emptied. After all, the Paul Bunyan Trophy was on the line.

And in a victorious postgame setting, star Michigan tight end Colston Loveland reminded the Spartans of their place in this rivalry in which the Wolverines have won nearly twice as many times as they have lost (74-38).

"Little bro stay doing little bro things," Loveland told Fox Sports/Big Ten Network on the field after the game. "So, MSU the little bro. They can do whatever they want. We knew it was going to get chippy, but everything within the confines of the game, we do right. And after?

"If they want to get busy, we'll get busy."

While first-year Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said the end-game sequence was not indicative of his team's character, the Wolverines showed strong guts in this heated in-state rivalry.

Already a loser of three regular-season games within a full season for the first time since 2019, Michigan entered the contest wobbly at best.

But the Wolverines carried an 9-7 lead into halftime and led 24-10 inside the game's final seven minutes before securing back-to-back first downs to end the contest in the final two minutes.

Check out Loveland's full comments below: