MSU-Michigan matchup will be under the lights at the Big House on Oct. 29

The annual Michigan and Michigan State in-state rivalry game on Oct. 29 at Michigan Stadium will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on ABC, UM announced on Monday.

This is the second time the game will be played under the lights in Ann Arbor. They played in primetime in 2017 with the Spartans winning, 14-10.

This will be the 115th meeting in the series, and the Paul Bunyan Trophy,  which the teams first played for in 1953, is on the line. Michigan State has won the last two games and 10 of the last 14, dating back to the 2008 season. The teams are 3-3 in the last six meetings.

Neither team has a game on Saturday and both will enter the rivalry game having had an opportunity to rest after the first seven weeks of the regular season.

Michigan currently is ranked No. 4 and coming off a 41-17 win over then-No. 10 Penn State last Saturday after rushing for 418 yards. The Wolverines are 7-0, 4-0 Big Ten and are ranked No. 7 nationally in scoring offense (42.7 points) and No. 5 in scoring defense (12.1).

Michigan State is 3-4, 1-3 and coming off a 34-28 double-overtime win over Wisconsin to snap a four-game losing skid.

The coveted Paul Bunyan Trophy has resided in East Lansing for the last two years. Michigan was heavily favored in 2020, but MSU left Michigan Stadium with a 27-24 win, and last season, Kenneth Walker III led the Spartans with five rushing touchdowns in a 37-33 victory at Spartan Stadium in the battle of highly ranked unbeaten teams — Michigan was ranked No. 6 and Michigan State No. 8.

Michigan last had the Paul Bunyan Trophy after winning in 2019 for a second straight season. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is 3-4 against the Spartans, and Michigan State coach Mel Tucker is 2-0 against the Wolverines.

Not long after Michigan beat Penn State last Saturday, the players’ attention turned to Michigan State.

“We want Paul back. We want him back,” sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy said. “They're coming to our house, I don't know if it's gonna be under the lights, but it might be, (and) we’re ready for that one. We’re going to be turning the page (after the Penn State win) really quick.”

achengelis@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @chengelis