Michigan defends the belt, 27–20, on the road at Michigan State.
AP poll, week 11: Michigan No. 11 at Michigan State No. 9 · No. 1 that week: Michigan State. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
Michigan came in 7 days into reign #257, which began with a win over Purdue, with no defenses yet; this was its first defense. Michigan went on to defend it 2 more times before USC took it on January 1, 2004, 68 days after the reign began.
For Michigan State this was its 11th shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before.
It was the 4th of 4 belt games between the two; going in, Michigan led the belt series 3–0; all-time Michigan leads 4–0. Every meeting →
About this game
Michigan traveled to Michigan State on November 1, 2003, for a regular season matchup in week 11. Michigan State won 27-20, but Michigan was the belt defender and retained the belt with the victory.
Written by Claude, strictly from this site’s own record of the game — the score and what it meant for the belt. CFBD doesn’t have a box score for games this old, so nothing here is invented beyond what’s verifiably on file.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 9:05 | Michigan | +18 yd | John Navarre (MICH) pass right side intercepted by Jason Harmon (MSU). Returned for 18 yards. |
| Q2 12:35 | Michigan | +0 yd | Extra point by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is good. |
| Q2 12:35 | Michigan | +1 yd | Chris Perry (MICH) rushed up the middle for a 1 yard touchdown. |
| Q1 1:05 | Michigan | +0 yd | Wolverines fumble by Chris Perry (MICH), recovered by Chris Perry (MICH), advanced for no gain. |
| Q2 12:31 | Michigan | +23 yd | Kickoff returned by DeAndra Cobb (MSU) for 23 yards. |
| Q2 10:30 | Michigan State | +23 yd | Jeff Smoker (MSU) pass right side complete to Aaron Alexander (MSU) for 23 yards. |
| Q2 9:30 | Michigan State | +28 yd | Jeff Smoker (MSU) pass right side complete to Matt Trannon (MSU) for 28 yards. |
| Q2 7:10 | Michigan State | +20 yd | 20 yard field goal by Dave Rayner (MSU) is good. |
| Q2 1:10 | Michigan | +40 yd | John Navarre (MICH) pass left side complete to Braylon Edwards (MICH) for a 40 yard touchdown. |
| Q2 0:15 | Michigan State | +22 yd | Jeff Smoker (MSU) pass left side complete to Ziehl Kavanaght (MSU) for 22 yards. |
| Q2 0:04 | Michigan State | +57 yd | 57 yard field goal by Dave Rayner (MSU) is no good. |
| Q3 8:10 | Michigan | +31 yd | Punt by Adam Finley (MICH) returned 31 yards by Ziehl Kavanaght (MSU) to the Wolverines 44. |
| Q3 4:20 | Michigan | +26 yd | John Navarre (MICH) pass right side complete to Andy Mignery (MICH) for a 26 yard touchdown. |
| Q3 4:20 | Michigan | +0 yd | Extra point by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is good. |
| Q3 4:12 | Michigan | +22 yd | Kickoff returned by DeAndra Cobb (MSU) for 22 yards. |
| Q3 4:08 | Michigan State | +73 yd | Jeff Smoker (MSU) pass across the middle complete to Agim Shabaj (MSU) for a 73 yard touchdown. |
| Q3 4:08 | Michigan State | +0 yd | Extra point by Dave Rayner (MSU) is good. |
| Q3 3:58 | Michigan State | +26 yd | Kickoff returned by Steve Breaston (MICH) for 26 yards. |
| Q4 13:36 | Michigan | +0 yd | Extra point by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is good. |
| Q4 13:36 | Michigan | +16 yd | John Navarre (MICH) pass left side complete to Braylon Edwards (MICH) for a 16 yard touchdown. |
| Q3 1:22 | Michigan | +22 yd | John Navarre (MICH) pass across the middle complete to Jason Avant (MICH) for 22 yards. |
| Q4 13:31 | Michigan | +56 yd | Kickoff returned by DeAndra Cobb (MSU) for 56 yards. |
| Q4 10:35 | Michigan State | +31 yd | 31 yard field goal by Dave Rayner (MSU) is good. |
| Q4 10:32 | Michigan State | +21 yd | Kickoff returned by Steve Breaston (MICH) for 21 yards. |
| Q4 6:20 | Michigan State | +0 yd | Extra point by Dave Rayner (MSU) is good. |
| Q4 6:20 | Michigan | -65 yd | Wolverines fumble by John Navarre (MICH), recovered by Clifford Dukes (MSU), returned for a 65 yard touchdown. |
| Q4 0:03 | Michigan State | +0 yd | Jeff Smoker (MSU) pass left side intercepted by Scott McClintock (MICH). Returned for no gain. |
Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 233050127) · This game in the downloadable dataset