Michigan State trolls Michigan football with mocking tweet

DETROIT – It was just another Thursday afternoon in the Michigan-Michigan State football rivalry.

With 29 hours left in the college football offseason, the Michigan State Spartans' football staff jumped on an opportunity to take one last shot at their rival before the season started.

The "MSU Football Staff" account was tweeting pictures from Michigan State's football picture day. Each picture was posted with the quote, "Those who have stayed are already champions."

Seems pretty innocent right? The Spartans explained the quote with a small blurb that reads, "Since Mark Dantonio's arrival in 2007, every Spartan that has stayed at MSU for 4 years has won a Big Ten Championship."

But those in tune with the rivalry know this wasn't about MSU touting its championships. It was about taking a shot at Michigan.

READ: Michigan's history as a preseason top 10 team

The Spartans were poking fun at former Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler's quote, "Those who stay will be champions." The Wolverines haven't won a conference title since sharing the 2004 crown with Iowa.

As if the ending to the 2015 game and an offseason overflowing with attention for Jim Harbaugh hadn't fueled the rivalry enough, now Michigan State has taken a shot at a Michigan football icon.

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Both teams are highly ranked in the preseason polls and expect to compete for the Big Ten East championship, but Michigan is the one garnering national championship hype.

For once, Michigan and MSU will both go into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder and something to lose. Oct. 29 can't come soon enough.