Dean Holden

dholden@lsj.com

Michigan and Michigan State seem to develop new wrinkles in their rivalry each year.

In a sense, the game itself is just the fuel for storylines, trash talk, catchphrases, and T-shirt designs leading up to - and coming out from - each 60-minute contest.

Usually, what plays out on the field is only a part of each year's new narrative.

Since trash talk between fans is likely to hit a fever pitch in the coming hours, this seems like a good time to look back over the recent history of the rivalry, just to give everybody some perspective in the days since the "No. 1 vs. No One" game in 1990.

Oddly enough, the first real verbal shots fired since 2000 come from the "Clockgate" game in 2001, in which Michigan broadcasters Jim Brandstatter and Frank Beckmann had words for the clock operator in the final seconds of MSU's 26-24 victory.

Michigan exacted revenge in a big way the following season.

And that kind of domination would quietly continue, with Michigan winning six straight games leading up to this infamous moment in 2007 following a 28-24 Michigan win.

Michigan running back Mike Hart's infamous "little brother" statement has largely shaped the rivalry since that press conference, but probably not in the way he'd hoped.

The most notable (and immediate) response came from first-year head coach Mark Dantonio.

The Spartan football team responded in turn the following season with a 35-21 victory.

This would start a string of four straight victories for the Spartans. During MSU's 28-14 victory in 2011, Spartan fans decided to let Michigan know they'd not forgotten about "little brother."

Thus, the "little sister" taunt was born.

Michigan fans came out of that game with other complaints as well, as MSU received a number of personal foul penalties on the way to the victory.

And so, as has become typical, the team that gets slighted comes back to win the following year, as Michigan won 12-10 in 2012.

Prior to 2013's game, Michigan offensive lineman Taylor Lewan talked about not being "bullied" by MSU.

The Spartans won 29-6, the largest margin of victory for either team in Dantonio's tenure as head coach.

After the game, Lewan had this to say.

This year, trash talk seems to have been at a minimum, aside from a quick, seemingly accidental rip by Connor Cook during Big Ten media days.

Now Wolverine fans seem to be directing more talk at their own team than the Spartans.

But who knows what fireworks we may be treated to after this game? Will it be the crowd, coaches, or players that bring it? Or, as Graham Couch alluded to earlier this week, will the rivalry just take a reprieve so everybody can calm down for a bit?