As I was writing the annual dueling column this past week in light of the Michigan-Michigan State game, I spent hour upon hour thinking of reasons why Sparty was inferior.

There were the obvious favorites: “We’ll be your boss someday”; “Can’t read, can’t write”; and especially anything assuming the Spartans were Michigan’s “Little Brother.”

But as I searched for ways to flair up that East Lansing inferiority complex, I came across one argument that, on several occasions, rubbed me the wrong way: that Michigan vs. Michigan State is not a rivalry.

Now, I appreciate a good Michigan State joke as much as the next person. And I would defend Michigan’s superiority in every way, shape or form without any hesitation.

But it’s simply foolish to say this matchup is not a rivalry.

Yes, Michigan leads the all-time series by an enormous margin — 67-31-5, to be exact. Yes, the Wolverines boast a ridiculously one-sided comparison in nearly every category of the record books. And yes, Michigan State may never get rid of that complex, which comes full swing the week before this game every year.

But the truth is, the Spartans have clearly outplayed Michigan in the team’s past three meetings, and Michigan State is starting to look pretty damn good on the gridiron. With no matchup against Ohio State on its schedule this year, Sparty could even, dare I say it, make a run at the Rose Bowl.

“Maybe someday the little brother grows up and can at least compete with the big brother and makes it a game every week," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said after the game.

And he’s right, to some extent: This is going to be a game for years to come.

It’s not even what happens on the field, though, that makes this the rivalry what it is. Students all over campus were forced to put up with “Go Green, Go White!” chants on Saturday night as they seethed inwardly. The undeniable pain of having to deal with a loss like this one proves plain and simple that Michigan fans care about this intrastate matchup, whether they want to admit it or not.

Think about it. For the Wolverines’ unblemished record to be tainted by the Spartans hurts much more than if Michigan would’ve lost to, say, Iowa or two weeks after that to Penn State.

For those at the Daily, we understand this rivalry all too well. The Daily takes on the State News in a pretty serious touch football game every year, which the Daily had won five years in a row entering Friday night's game.

After the first half, it looked as though the tables might be turning, as Michigan State’s student newspaper had a fairly commanding three-touchdown lead. Despite having won five years in a row, despite the confidence we had heading into the game, my fellow writers and I were in danger of being the first group to lose in the matchup in half a decade.

This didn’t settle well with any of us. We had lost games before, but none of us had lost to the State News. That loss to that team would’ve hurt unlike any other game we might lose to any other team (Ohio State’s student newspaper, included).

Needless to say, the Daily came back and won the game in double overtime, just minutes before the lights were turned off on Elbel Field. We had earned bragging rights for the sixth year in a row, and most of us who played probably can’t tell you a touch football game that has meant more in our entire lives.

That’s because our brother in East Lansing, little or not, is our rival. And just like any brother, we’re going to be stuck with them for a very long time, whether we like it or not.