Jim Harbaugh calls for ‘mutual respect’ in heated Michigan-MSU rivalry

INDIANAPOLIS — The heated Michigan-Michigan State rivalry took a turn for the worst last October, when a lopsided victory for the Wolverines turned to violence afterward at Michigan Stadium.
Seven MSU players were charged in the incident inside the tunnel leading to the locker rooms, where Michigan’s Gemon Green and Ja’Den McBurrows were attacked without explanation.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh later called the assault “egregious” and “tough to watch,” and called on “serious consequences” to be issued.
They were, of course, but Harbaugh never heard from MSU coach Mel Tucker following the incident, he told reporters Thursday at Big Ten Media Days, and called for “mutual respect” in the rivalry.
More: Mel Tucker: No way to tame Michigan-Michigan State rivalry
“The goal is mutual respect and tremendous competition,” Harbaugh said. “That’s what we’re striving for.”
This was far from the first issue between the two programs separated by 65 miles apart. In 2018, Michigan linebacker Devin Bush got caught in the middle of MSU’s pregame march on the field at Spartan Stadium, and retaliated by sprinting to midfield and tearing up the paint job.
On the field, the rivalry has been a rather balanced one of late, with both schools splitting the last six meetings.
“We have that for Michigan State, mutual respect,” Harbaugh said. “And it is great competition.”
Asked if he believes MSU has reciprocated of late, given the nature of the October incident in Ann Arbor, Harbaugh replied: “That’s unknowable for me to know that.”
Harbaugh’s comments come just a day after MSU coach Mel Tucker scoffed at the idea of pausing the rivalry, calling it his program’s biggest game of the season.
“How do you rein it in? I don’t know how you do that,” Tucker said. “There’s not a day that’s gone by I haven’t heard something about that game.
“Every day of my life I hear about that game, so I don’t know how you rein that in. It just is what it is.”