A conflicted state

Today would've been a big day for Third Grade Me.

On Fridays before a big college football game, Mrs. Burr would let me pass around a sheet of paper to everyone in class to predict the score of the game. A Michigan State fan, she even filled it out with us.

Looking back, I should probably invoice Mrs. Burr for all my gambling losses each year.

This week, I'm reminded of things like this. And Michigan going for two in 1990. Charles Woodson's one-handed interception in 1997 (you should watch it again). Clockgate in 2001.

I'm also reminded when people in Missouri or St. Thomas have asked me over the years: "So, are you a Michigan or Michigan State guy?"

The short answer is I'm a Michigan fan, and always have been.

But there's no mistaking the fact that, in part fueled by the Tom Izzo machine on the basketball court, it's been a lot easier to be a Michigan State fan for the last 10 years.

If I was 15 years old right now, I'd probably be wearing a lot of Green and White.

Unfortunately I'm 32, which means I've pretty much denounced college football for a decade while Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke fumbled away the program of my youth.

Back then, Michigan used to get the best few kids from Detroit, the next best kid or two from Michigan, go to Ohio and take the best couple kids away from John Cooper, then cherry pick some from California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Florida.

They would pound you with big, tough offensive linemen like Greg Skrepenak, Jon Jansen, Steve Hutchinson and Jake Long, and burst through those holes with running backs like Tyrone Wheatley, Anthony Thomas, Chris Perry and Mike Hart. And just when your defensive fronts were tired out, quarterbacks like Elvis Grbac, Tom Brady and Chad Henne would find wide receivers like Desmond Howard, David Terrell and Braylon Edwards over the top.

And that's not even touching on the brilliance of defensive players such as Erick Anderson, Ty Law, Charles Woodson and LaMarr Woodley.

Michigan State, meanwhile, got the best in-state kids the Wolverines didn't want.

It was not enough, and things got embarrassing for the program when -- probably frustrated by its second-class status -- it took a chance on players like Jeff Smoker and Charles Rogers. This resulted in a program implosion under Bobby Williams and a memorable 49-3 loss to Michigan in 2002.

Soon after that though, Michigan ended the Lloyd Carr era with a thud, with the 2007 season-opening Appalachian State loss throwing things off kilter until, well, Dec. 30, 2014.

While Carr was saving some face after the App State loss with a pretty good season (you might forget) and a New Year's Day bowl win over Tim Tebow and Florida, Mark Dantonio had a 7-6 season in his first year in East Lansing.

After stumbling for a couple years, Dantonio now has the Spartans as a legitimate national power and the unquestioned dominant program in the state. In the steady Dantonio, MSU might have one of the best five coaches in the country.

But now he's second-best in his own state.

While the talk around Michigan State this summer should've revolved around a possible run to the College Football Playoff, that noise was dwarfed by coach Jim Harbaugh's return to Ann Arbor.

The biggest evidence: On social media, my Michigan State friends ironically complain more about Harbaugh Hype more than actual media hype surrounding his arrival. They let Harbaugh's return ruin the offseason heading into what should've been unbridled enthusiasm about what could've been (still could be?) an all-time season in East Lansing.

Would anyone have believed that six games into his tenure, he'd have the sad-sack Wolverines as touchdown favorites against the undefeated Spartans?

Is it possible that Harbaugh, with the headlines and the shirtless camps and surreal offseason of possible elaborate performance art, was actually underrated?

It's true. Harbaugh is up there with Urban Meyer and Nick Saban, the top football coaches in the country. Most figured it would only be a matter of time until Michigan was once again a top-10 team. Not many figured it might happen by Halloween.

MSU fans are terrified, and they should be. They know that if Michigan is back, there might not be enough room in this state for two national powers.

And the past 10 years that Michigan fans have endured could be reversed in the other direction, much quicker than anyone ever could've imagined.

So, that's all that's at stake on Saturday.

Who do you like?

Remember, you have to pick a side.