Michigan State was already heavily favored to beat Michigan on Saturday, but then the latter went and made their in-state rival angry before the start of the game.

In video captured on the Big Ten Network (BTN), Michigan junior linebacker Joe Bolden was seen thrusting a stake into the ground of Spartan Stadium before the game. In the final minutes of the game, Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio returned the favor by running up the score to 35-11.

"It just felt like we needed to put a stake in them at that point," Dantonio said in his postgame news conference, according to ESPN.

Aside from allowing himself a slight smirk, Dantonio did not look like a coach whose team had just trounced their in-state rival.

"I can only be diplomatic for so long," Dantonio said. "The little brother stuff, all the disrespect, it didn't have to go in that direction.

"We try to handle ourselves with composure. That doesn't come from a coach. It comes from the program. Throwing the stake down in our backyard out here and coming out there like they're all that. That got shoved up... It got shoved in the last minute and a half."

Michigan coach Brady Hoke released a statement apologizing for the incident, ESPN reported, explaining why one his players got hold of a stake in the first place. Hoke also apologized personally to Dantonio.

"The stake was brought into our locker room as a visual reminder, and one of our team leaders chose to take it out on the field," Hoke said of the team's meeting Friday night. "As the leader of our football program, I take full responsibility for the actions of our team. We believe in displaying a high level of respect at the University of Michigan and unfortunately that was not reflected by this action prior to kickoff."

Michigan is now 3-5 this season and 1-3 in the Big Ten after their fourth loss in five games. Michigan State is now a winner of six in a row and host a conference heavyweight showdown with Ohio State in two weeks.