The winner of each year's game receives the Paul Bunyan – Governor of Michigan Trophy, a four-foot wooden statue of a lumberjack.

Because the Big Ten Championship Game features the top two teams in the conference, the schools could theoretically meet twice in a season.

It is a four-foot tall wooden statue of Paul Bunyan, the giant lumberjack of American folklore, mounted on a five-foot base.

[citation needed] Crisler's protests turned out to be irrelevant, as Michigan State won the first trophy game afterwards displaying it in Jenison Fieldhouse.

With less than five minutes left in the game, Michigan quarterback Shorty McMillan completed a pass to Stanley Borleske who ran 50 yards to the Aggies' 15-yard line.

[19] After the game, The Michigan Alumnus made note of the Aggies' potential as an athletic threat: "This victory with the football tie in 1908, and the Farmers' clean sweep in baseball in 1912, point to the fact that M.A.C.

In the Detroit Free Press, E. A. Batchelor summed up the game: "Twenty-four to nothing sounds like a horrible beating but it doesn't even begin to express how completely the M.A.C.

In music, cheering, fighting and playing football, the Aggies just naturally outclassed their foemen so badly that the Maize and Blue crowd could find no single straw at which to clutch as it drowned in a sea of tears.

Michigan had won the previous eight series meetings, but quarterback Ed Smith led the Spartans to a 24–15 upset win.

With six seconds left, Elvis Grbac threw a touchdown pass to Derrick Alexander to make it 28–27 Michigan State.

It was a clear and obvious foul that a million and one eyes in the stands and on national television could see, but somehow not one single referee in this joint managed to catch a glimpse of.

The interceptions included a one-handed catch by eventual 1997 Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson after which he managed to get one foot in bounds on the sideline.

With 17 seconds remaining, Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker attempted to scramble for a touchdown but was stopped at the one-yard line.

[34] Dave Parry, the Big Ten conference's coordinator of football officials, said, "that play, as much as we've put that under a high-powered microscope, was correct.

The Wolverines eventually awoke and added a 24 yard field goal by Garrett Rivas to cut the MSU lead to 14.

Michigan recovered the ensuing onside kick and went down the field to make it a 27–20 MSU lead after a 36-yard touchdown reception by Braylon Edwards.

Michigan's defense was able to force an MSU punt and once again, Edwards demonstrated late game heroics with an iconic 21-yard touchdown catch to knot the score at 27–27.

A potential MSU game-winning field goal attempt fell short and the game went into overtime for the first time in series history.

On October 25, 2014, as they were coming onto the East Lansing field prior to the game, the Michigan team drove a stake into the turf, angering the Spartans.

This was notable because four of the previous six games ended with the Spartans taking a knee inside the Michigan red zone, instead of adding a final score.

In his postgame press conference, Mark Dantonio referenced the stake incident in explaining the decision to add a final touchdown.

Late in the 4th quarter, with the Wolverines leading 23–21, Michigan State drove into field goal range, but a sack pushed them outside the 40.

The numeric mismatch on the line allowed easy penetration while the Wolverine long-snapper quick-snapped a low ball, which was bobbled by punter Blake O'Neill.

The Michigan State Spartans came into the game unranked at 3–1 on the season, with their only loss at that point to Notre Dame in East Lansing.

Michigan scored a touchdown in the third quarter and attempted a Hail Mary pass in the closing seconds, but a deflection by MSU's Joe Bachie in the endzone cemented the Spartans' 14–10 win.

Michigan State coach Dantonio referred to Harbaugh's comments as "BS" despite the fact that there is video evidence that shows otherwise.

[61][62] Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press reported that he saw Michigan State players punching, shoving and kicking McBurrows.

[69][70] The Big Ten also reprimanded the University of Michigan for failing to “provide adequate protection for personnel of both home and visiting teams when entering and leaving playing arenas,” per conference policy.

Khary Crump was charged with felonious assault[71] and eventually sentenced to probation;[72] the other six entered a pre-plea diversion program for defendants accused of misdemeanors.

[79] ‡ Hosted ESPN's College Gameday Media related to Michigan-Michigan State football rivalry at Wikimedia Commons