With three straight rivalry wins, the Paul Bunyan Trophy’s stay in Ann Arbor is at its longest stretch in nearly two decades.

Snatching it back would require a skidding Michigan State (3-4, 0-4 Big Ten) to upset No. 25 Michigan (5-2, 3-1) on Saturday (7:30 p.m., NBC) in East Lansing.

Here are five keys to the Spartans knocking off the Wolverines:

Channeling fire and desperation

Four straight losses by double digits means speculation about second-year coach Jonathan Smith’s job security heading into Saturday night. A win against Michigan would be at least a step toward easing the pressure, if only in the short term.

Michigan State dropped each of its last two games 38-13 but there was a major difference in its energy between an ugly defeat at home against UCLA and the fight shown at un

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