ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan safety Josh Metellus was waving goodbye to Michigan State players after the Wolverines' 44-10 victory over the Spartans on Saturday. Metellus and his teammates took exception to the chippiness during the game and thought it was time for the Spartans to leave.
"I was telling them to go home," Metellus said. "It was time for them to leave and they didn't deserve to be in our stadium. I was trying to wave them goodbye because some of them wanted to stay on the field and it was our time to shine. We came out with the 'W' so we were just telling them to go home."
The game featured five personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and a few minor dustups that Michigan players felt came more from the Spartans' side once the game started to get out of reach. Metellus and teammate Khaleke Hudson both said after the game Michigan players tried to stay above the fray and not give in to the emotions of the game.
"I'm pretty pleased because I feel like we're way more classier than them," Metellus said. "They try to take it to a level that wasn't playing football. We play football over here. I don't know what they do over there, but we play football and it showed today."
QB Shea Patterson finds a wide-open Cornelius Johnson for a 39-yard touchdown, giving Michigan a 44-10 lead over Michigan State.
The game between the two in-state rivals is typically physical and can drum up emotions, so Hudson said that was something he was expecting coming into this game. He commended the referees for keeping it under control.
"We just wanted to stay focused, we just wanted to do what we had to do, we just wanted to save the talk for after the game," Hudson said. "We didn't have nothing to say at all (after the game), we don't gotta say nothing, we came out with the victory. I just had the Paul Bunyan trophy, celebrating with my teammates."
Hudson was part of an excellent defensive performance and also blocked a punt on special teams.
The defense carried its weight in this game, holding Michigan State to 220 yards and only 10 points, but the offense also came through for the Wolverines with quarterback Shea Patterson throwing for 384 yards and four touchdowns.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh praised his quarterback, saying it was a "whale of a game" and a "gem" from Patterson. He went on to praise offensive coordinator Josh Gattis for putting together a strategy for the game that was executed nearly flawlessly.
"Josh Gattis and the offensive staff really had this game plan wired," Harbaugh said. "They even felt like they had predicted what some of the adjustments were going to be in this game and just about every one was right. They called the plays that worked right into our advantage. I got to give them a lot of credit, Josh called a great game."
The win put Michigan at 8-2 on the season and, beyond the overall record, Harbaugh reiterated the importance of this game and the rivalry and how much this win meant for him and his program.
"It's a big game, for the state championship, the 112th version," Harbaugh said. "Now our team, everybody that's in the locker room has the advantage. Fifth-year seniors are 3-2, seniors are 3-1, juniors are 2-1, sophomores are 2-0 and the freshmen are 1-0, so that's a big program win, makes me very happy."