EAST LANSING – Four straight losses, all by double digits.

The juice Michigan State began the season with amid a 3-0 start is long gone but another trophy game is ahead and it’s the biggest one on the schedule. The Spartans (3-4, 0-4 Big Ten) host No. 25 Michigan (5-2, 3-1) on Saturday (7:30 p.m., NBC) in the 118th installment of the rivalry.

“It’s a very important, meaningful game so that creates a huge opportunity for us, especially kind of where we’re at with things,” coach Jonathan Smith said on Monday. “This season hasn’t gone our way, all those things, I think it comes at a good time to galvanize this group and have a great week of work getting ready for Saturday.”

Smith is only in his second season leading the Spartans but the fan base is growing increasingly frustrated with the

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