Hoke Downplays Significance Of U-M Being 15-Point Underdog Against MSU
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - When the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans met last season, the result was rather lopsided, and oddsmaker Vegas Insider expects a similar outcome this season, naming the Spartans as 15-point favorites.
That line certainly makes sense given the way the season has unfolded for Michigan (3-4) and Michigan State (6-1). The teams play in East Lansing for a second straight season, and Michigan State is still a contender for the playoff so there will be no shortage of motivation for the Spartans.
Michigan head coach Brady Hoke said the Wolverines will not lack emotion either.
"Playing angry? I think you play with an attitude," Hoke said. "I wouldn't say I like the way we practice if I didn't think we have that."
In recent years, the Spartans have dominated the in-state matchup, which Hoke characterized as a great rivalry.
"The passion on both sides -- of either green and white or maize and blue -- I think that passion you see, you hear and you feel," Hoke said. "We're playing the defending Big Ten champs who have deserved that, and have played very good football during the year on both sides of the ball.
"I don't know if it's [just] another game," Hoke added. "I think there's high emotions and high passion on both teams. Look, you're playing for a state championship. That's what you're doing, and so from that standpoint, I think it's always an emotional game."
Hoke dismissed a question about Michigan's status as a 15-point underdog, saying only gamblers care about that and he does not gamble.
"That being said, we've been the underdogs before," Hoke said, "and for us, it's just going out there and playing better football each week, and we've got to do that, play our best football, obviously, Saturday."
