In this year's edition of the Battle for Paul Bunyan, Michigan prevailed in East Lansing, beating Michigan State 31-20. The game was not the most exciting contest, but a win is a win. Throughout the course of the contest, some game-shaping moments took place...here they are.

1st Quarter

• With about 10 minutes remaining in the first quarter, Michigan linebacker Jaishawn Barham peeled back and put a hit on Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles that knocked the ball loose. Fellow linebacker Jimmy Rolder jumped on it giving the Wolverines phenomenal field position on the MSU 34.

• Unfortunately, the Wolverines stalled out and settled for a field goal, making the game 3-0.

• With 3:58 left in the first quarter, Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood kept the ball and dashed around the left edge for a 13-yard score. The freshman quarterback immediately hit the Paul Bunyan pose made famous by former Michigan wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones.

• At about the 2:00-minute mark, second-year linebacker Cole Sullivan injured his arm while making a routine tackle. Unfortunately, his own teammate, safety Brandyn Hillman, came in and put his helmet right on Sullivan's left upper arm. The injury is still unknown at this point but he was clearly in a lot of pain and went directly to the locker room. He did not return.

2nd Quarter

• At the 14:30 mark, Michigan State popped its biggest play of the day when running back Makhi Frazier broke out for 49 yards. 

• The Spartans ended up working the ball down to the 2-yard line only to back up after a 15-yard personal foul penalty.

• However, on the very next play, Michigan committed a pass interference penalty in the end zone, putting the ball right back on the two.

• With 8:24 remaining in the half, Chiles punched it in with a quarter back sneak, making it 10-7, U-M.

The entire second quarter, and really the whole first half, was filled with bad offense from both teams. Michigan had a very peculiar series of plays right before halftime where it seemed like a Hail Mary should've taken place, but it didn't. All in all, it was just a boring, disjointed inefficient half of football. The two very talented quarterbacks combined to go 11-of-28 for 85 yards. Yuck.

3rd Quarter

• Michigan came out in the second half very ready to run the ball. Justice Haynes carried it twice for a combined 48 yards on the first two or three plays of the half and really got it going. Haynes ended up scoring a touchdown with just under 12 minutes left in the third.

• With 5:57 left in the quarter, Michigan put together a phenomenal defensive series that started after a punt pinned the Spartans inside their own 5-yard line. MSU was forced to punt the ball from the back of their end zone. 

• Haynes continued to grind out tough yards for much of the quarter and scored again with 3:08 left in the third quarter giving Michigan a 24-7 lead.

• Toward the very end of the quarter, with less than a minute to play, Michigan edge rusher TJ Guy put a huge hit on Aidan Chiles to record his first sack of the game.

4th Quarter

• As the 4th quarter started, the Spartans matriculated down the field before Chiles found wide receiver Nick Marsh on a 24-yard pass that carried the receiver out of bounds at the 1-yard line with 13:00 minutes left. 

• A play later, MSU running back Brandon Tullis punched it in from a yard out, making the score 24-13. The Spartans went for two, but were unsuccessful on a Chiles pass.

• After a disjointed possession for the Wolverines, MSU got the ball back with around 10 minutes left in the game and running back Makhi Frazier popped a 25-yard to put the ball back in Michigan territory. 

• With 8:01 to play, from the Michigan 27-yard line, MSU went for it on 4th and 3 and failed to convert. 

• At the 5:51 mark, Haynes took a handoff to the left and coughed it up. Michigan State jumped on it giving the Spartans the ball on their own 46-yard line with a chance to make it a game.

• The Spartans had a little bit cooking after recovering the fumble and managed to make it into Michigan territory. Then, on 4th and 1, Chiles tried a quarterback sneak on a quick snap and got stuffed like a turkey giving the ball back to U-M.

• As Michigan was running the clock out and icing the game, running back Jordan Marshall raced up the middle and out to the right sideline for a 56-yard touchdown. The extra point made the game 31-13 and put the final nail in Michigan State's coffin. 

• During garbage time and with a backup quarterback in the game, Michigan State went down against U-M's second and third-string defense and got a touchdown with just seven seconds remaining in the game. The 21-yard TD pass and extra point made the game 31-20, and that's how it ended.