Carlos Monarrez | Detroit Free Press

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Sports writers root for only three things: Marriott points, quick games and flight bumps.

We’re never supposed to root for the teams we cover. But I’m making an exception this week.

I’m rooting for Michigan to beat Michigan State on Saturday.

And you should, too. Even if you don’t root for the Wolverines on Saturday, you should root for them going forward if they beat MSU Even if your blood runs greener than green and you hate Michigan so much you ignore yellow traffic lights and anyone who has jaundice.

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Here’s the reason: Michigan has a much better chance than Michigan State does to qualify for the College Football Playoff, make college football relevant in our state in November and strengthen the Big Ten by reminding everyone it’s more than a one-team conference.

If you’re a State fan, your blood’s probably boiling right now. Wishing that Michigan does well against your team isn’t anathema, it’s blasphemy. You probably hope they never win another game, disband the team, tear down their stadium and salt the Earth so that never grows there again.

But MSU fans have to face the fact they need Michigan. They’re like family members — notice I didn’t say brothers? — who have a tense and grudging relationship but must unite against the bully down the street.

Michigan needs Michigan State, too, because this is also about more than taking down Ohio State. This isn’t some high-minded political pursuit or a religious dissertation. It’s a turf war. It’s a street fight. It’s about respect. It’s about the Big Ten and the Midwest and schools located in cities no one else would willingly visit.

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The rest of the country views the Big Ten as nothing more than Ohio State and a crazed, shirtless Jim Harbaugh running around at a football camp. If they think of MSU at all, they think of it as that other school in Michigan that may or may not be coached by some guy named Mike or Mark.

The reality is Michigan is a national brand in a way MSU will never be. But it’s a fading one, with the excitement and luster of Harbaugh’s hire fading with each disappointing season that has brought the Wolverines no closer to a national championship or even regularly contending for one.

Like it or not, what Harbaugh has brought is attention and a higher profile not only to his school but also to the conference and to the state. In many ways, college football and the vagaries of playoff rankings are about popularity and perception. Just ask Central Florida’s fan. U-M and Harbaugh would be popular inclusions in the CFP.

Maybe this is cynical on my part, but I get a sense the CFP selection committee would love nothing more than to have Notre Dame in the semifinals, along with perennial bankable favorites Alabama and Ohio State with Urban Meyer chasing redemption in the form of football glory.

Michigan has a chance to change that narrative. The Wolverines’ season is suddenly ramping up with excitement growing similar to the 2016 season, when the Wolverines started 9-0. Michigan is 6-1 and ranked sixth in the Associated Press poll. And the Wolverines aren’t just beating teams, they’re demolishing them. Their only loss is a very respectable one at No. 4 Notre Dame.

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The Spartans? They’re 4-2 and just pulled off a great, gutty win at Penn State that allowed them to enter the AP ranking at No. 24. But they have two bad losses to Arizona State and Northwestern. If the script was flipped, I’d be rooting for MSU to beat U-M, stay bold, get healthy and make the College Football Playoff.

The reality is MSU has no chance of making the CFP. But Michigan does. The Wolverines have a tougher schedule down the stretch. But if U-M beats MSU, I think they’ll run the table and win their last four games. They get Penn State and Indiana at home and play at Rutgers.

It would all come down to the Nov. 24 game at Ohio Stadium. Now that star OSU defensive end Nick Bosa — a likely top-three NFL draft pick next year — is out for the season, I like U-M’s chances even more.

Running the table and beating Ohio State would virtually lock up a spot in the College Football Playoff for Michigan. Now imagine U-M making a run even after that. In the Big Ten Championship. In the CFP. Imagine a national title. It would change the conversation and tilt the landscape. It would raise the bar not only at Michigan, but also at Michigan State.

Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.