Michigan State's 2010 Recruiting Class: A Turning Point in the State?

Whether or not you are aware of in-state rivalries around the country or actually involved in one yourself, I won’t be the first to tell you how heated they can become.

Bragging rights, championship trophies, and yearly success are only some of the characteristics of a stellar rivalry between major programs of the same state. One such rivalry which has recently become as interesting as ever is that between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

Now, I am speaking strictly from a football standpoint, because when it comes to basketball, the Spartans have dominated the state for many, many years.

It started with Magic Johnson in 1979, and then the Wolverines had success with the “Fab Five” in the early 1990s, only to later succumb to violating numerous collegiate violations. Then Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson and company came along and put East Lansing on top of the Big Ten, a position the program still controls today.

But football has always been a different story.

Michigan is recognized as one of the greatest collegiate football institutions ever, amassing national championships and an astounding amount of victories. They’ve have had Heisman winners, and a player (Desmond Howard) who is notorious for doing the Heisman pose. And they also have Bo.

But the Wolverines’ luck has not been quite as fruitful lately.

Besides winning a share of the 1997 national championship (with Nebraska), Michigan has not gone to a national championship game since. The program also suffered some humiliating losses to powerhouse USC in Rose Bowl games last decade. The record against Ohio State has not been up to par, either.

Fortunes were different against Michigan State, though. The Wolverines had the Spartans’ number in football for the majority of the last decade. Well, at least near the very end.

Once longtime Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr retired following the 2007-08 season, Michigan hired former West Virginia headman Rich Rodriguez to bring his spread offense into town. While many in blue thought he would continue on the successes of Carr, the exact opposite has occurred.

Michigan has missed two consecutive bowl game appearances and endured two of the worst seasons in decades in Ann Arbor. To add more salt to their wounds, Michigan State defeated Michigan two years in a row for the first time since the mid-1960s.

With Rodriguez in a make-or-break season at the helm, his in-state recruiting looks to be a step behind that of Michigan State. The Spartans are currently on pace to grab the state’s top two recruits in William Gholston and Max Bullough (according to the Detroit Free Press’ rankings).

Michigan looks to have successfully garnered QB Devon Gardner, a player some compare to that of Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor.

But if everything turns out as most in the state expect it to, the Spartans will once again win the state’s recruiting war.

And this time around, it may cost Rodriguez his job.