Strange but true: Rodents re-enact MSU's win over UM

LANSING - Michigan State’s unlikely Oct. 17 win over the University of Michigan has been captured in an even more unlikely way — by a Lansing taxidermist using 27 dead chipmunks.

Nick Saade put the final touches on his second gridiron creation Monday. It shows the final play of the game with a tiny rodent in a tiny MSU helmet re-enacting Jalen Watts-Jackson’s 38-yard fumble return. MSU won 27-23.

“After watching the game and seeing what happened, and we were so close to the prediction. We did win at the last second. I decided to re-enact the play itself and make it more realistic,” he said.

In July, Saade, a Spartan fan, used stuffed chipmunks to stage a gridiron rivalry between MSU and U-M. His pretend game was tied at 27-27 with one second on the clock and a Spartan chipmunk about to throw a touchdown pass.

Saade said the similarity between his fantasy game and the real one inspired his second stuffed chipmunk artwork.

He doesn’t kill animals for his projects, he said. Instead he uses road kill, trapped nuisance animals and leftover parts from hunting and fishing trophies.

Saade’s first piece sold to a Wolverine fan in New Jersey for $1,500. This one is for sale at the same price, he said.