Jeff Seidel

Detroit Free Press Columnist

It’s hard to come up with any kind of logical scenario where Michigan State will beat Michigan on Saturday, baring something absolutely crazy, like half the Wolverines forgetting to show up.

There is only one real question this week: How bad will it get?

I think it will be over by halftime. Maybe before that.

Get ready for an absolute blowout of epic proportions.

But the reason is more complex than revenge. It’s more than the way last year’s game ended.

It’s something far deeper and revealing. It is the mind-set of this Michigan team, the mind-set of coach Jim Harbaugh. This team doesn’t just want to win any single game. It wants to annihilate its opponent — all of its opponents — not just on the scoreboard, but on every possession, on every play.

It’s about crushing an opponent into submission through relentless attack and aggression in every phase of the game. It’s about leaving no doubt and removing all hope. That’s the goal, at least.

“You have to have that mind-set, especially in football,” Michigan All-America cornerback Jourdan Lewis said. “Football is an aggressive sport. If you aren’t going out there with the mind-set of crushing your opponent, what are your chances of winning?”

That statement was not cloaked in revenge. It was not spoken with any sense of animosity or anger. And it wasn’t a boast. No, it was a simple statement of fact, as if it were a team mantra.

And it starts to explain what Michigan has done over its last four games, winning by a combined score of 182-25, including a 78-0 victory over Rutgers.

“There is no mercy,” Lewis said. “Once you give up mercy, you give up momentum. Then, you don’t know what will happen at that point. You always have to have momentum on your side. You gotta have that intensity about you.”

Where does this mind-set come from?

It stems from all of the losing and struggles and frustration that happened before Harbaugh arrived.

Lewis has seen the other side and he never wants to go back there. This team is fueled by a fear of failure.

“It’s a testament of everything we have been through, seeing the losses and hard times, knowing what it is like to lose and not wanting that feeling ever again,” Lewis said. “It really helps us.”

Lewis has never been on the field when the Wolverines beat the Spartans. Nobody on this team has.

A year ago, MSU won on the infamous punt play — a play that Lewis refuses to watch.

He was on the field in 2014 when MSU beat Michigan, 35-11.

And he was on the field in 2013 when MSU won, 29-6.

On Monday, Lewis was asked if it is worse to lose on a final, stunning play or when the game isn’t close and all hope is gone? Is it worse to get stunned or be dominated?

“The pure domination,” he said. “Seeing how dominant they were against our offense (in years past). Basically, us having no hope in the game. That stings more, I think, when it’s not even competitive anymore. They are out there doing whatever they want to do. That stings more than a game where we fought our hardest and we lost on a last play.”

So what we have here is a perfect storm: Michigan has one of the best teams in the country. The Wolverines are scoring 48.7 points per game, the third-highest average in the country, while allowing just 10.0 points a game, the stingiest defense in the country.

Meanwhile, MSU is a hot mess.

But Lewis is not taking the Spartans lightly. This is a rivalry game and MSU coach Mark Dantonio will undoubtedly get his team to play with pride and emotion — and that’s probably the only thing that could keep this game close. For a while.

“They have just had some tough breaks,” Lewis said. “They always look physical. They always look like they are ready to play at any moment. And they are ready to go out there and scrap. It’s definitely the same Michigan State team. They are just having some struggles this year.

“I know those guys are going to go out there and compete, no matter what their record is right now. I know they are a frisky team, a really hard-fought team.”

But Michigan has more talent and way more momentum.

The Wolverines have a defense that is loaded with future NFL football players. “Oh, it’s a lot,” Lewis said. “I couldn’t even put a numerical number, an amount. It’s unbelievable the talent right now, especially in that front seven.”

Since returning from injury, Lewis has not really been challenged. Are teams going away from him? “That’s probably not my doing,” he said, humbly. “It’s the front seven. Those guys are getting so much pressure the quarterback has no time to look my way.”

So you have one of the best teams in the country about to face a team that has no confidence, no momentum, no nothing.

Like I said, it’s hard not to think this is going to get real ugly, real fast.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel/. Download our Wolverines Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!