For a football program like Western Michigan, facing Michigan State has always been an uphill climb. Facilities, resources, the Big Ten brand in recruiting — it’s never been an entirely fair fight.

But this much felt fair: Both programs were compensating their players similarly (with scholarships) and, if they were able to recruit and/or develop an NFL player, for the most part, they could keep them all the way through their eligibility.

That made matchups like WMU’s visit to Spartan Stadium this Friday night not just paydays for the Mid-American Conference school, but a chance to show they could punch up. It was a showcase for their top guys. And the high-end talent often wasn’t that different.

For example, from 2004 to 2024, MSU produced 10 players selected in the first two rounds of

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