Michigan State Players Clotheslined Michigan Player, Devin Bush Disgraced Logo

Tempers flared before Saturday's rivalry game between the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans.

A Michigan spokesperson alleged MSU players clotheslined one of the Wolverines players while he was stretching, and Michigan linebacker Devin Bush was shown using his cleats to tear up the Spartans' midfield logo.

Dan Murphy of ESPN.com reported spokesman David Ablauf said Michigan State didn't alert Michigan it was about to enter the stadium for its walk across the field, leading to the incidents.

Here's a look at some videos of the situation:

It's an important Big Ten clash, with sixth-ranked Michigan 4-0 in conference play and Michigan State 2-1, including an upset victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions last week to get back in the top 25.

On Thursday, Matt Charboneau of the Detroit News provided comments from MSU head coach Mark Dantonio, who felt the rivalry had taken a positive turn in recent years.

"I'll tell you one thing about the three games that we've had, '15, '16, '17, I think they have been played with great sportsmanship on the field, I really do," Dantonio said. "Everybody's playing hard and I think that's good for college football. Well-coached football teams and respect; respect what they have done."

The bad blood returned Saturday, though.

Meanwhile, Bush suffered an injury in the first quarter after his part in the heated pregame antics:

Nick Baumgardner of the Detroit Free Press noted the linebacker later returned to the contest.

The game remained scoreless late into the opening quarter, when the game was halted by a weather delay.

Michigan State won last year's battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy and holds an 8-2 record over the last 10 meetings. Michigan still owns the all-time edge with a 69-36-5 mark.