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The football battle between MSU and Michigan requires the Big Ten to punish the Wolverines

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If what appears to have happened is what actually happened in the on-field scuffle at the end of Saturday night's Michigan State-Michigan football game, then Michigan running back Kalel Mullings needs to be suspended for multiple games.

If the video from the broadcast that appears to show Mullings stomping on someone on the ground is somehow not what happened – if he was, say, just picking the little rubber balls from the turf out of his cleats and that This was never the case with anyone under him – then this needs to be explained in detail.

This doesn't just disappear. There is too much history, some of it very recent. Too many feelings just beneath the surface. Too much precedent.

MSU athletic director Alan Haller said Monday that he contacted Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti shortly after leaving the field Saturday night in Ann Arbor and spoke with Petitti again “several times” Sunday.

“I will turn this over to the conference office and give them an opportunity,” Haller said Monday. “Because there are a lot of new people who weren’t here two years ago.”

You may recall that two years ago, eight MSU players were suspended by MSU for their role as aggressors in postgame fights with the Wolverines in the tunnel of this stadium. Seven of them were later criminally charged after former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh planted that seed and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit followed through.

Haller said Tuesday he had no intention of calling for tar and feathers.

“I don’t think this situation (in 2022) should have been a criminal incident, nor do I think it should be,” he said. “This is a sporting political situation and the conference will address it.

“I want to make sure the school is held to the same standard as everyone else.”

RELATED: Michigan State AD wants Michigan to be 'held to the same standard' after on-field battle

It's important that the Big Ten gets this right. Or they risk losing the trust of at least one member and feeding a ingrained perception that Michigan plays by a different set of rules and is — some would say — all too willing to play the victim while slow to take responsibility.

Many MSU fans on social media are out for blood right now. But their anger also hides a legitimate longing for fairness and respect. That's what the Big Ten didn't give MSU two years ago, when it took forever to decide the tunnel battles and MSU's suspended players twisted in the wind as they waited for Savit, who made his decision a month later, to indict seven players. In the end, seven of those eight players were missing for the rest of the season. For most people that was probably too much. They didn't do anything worse than Mullings did on Saturday night.

Part of the ridiculousness and stupidity of Savit's accusations was the precedent at the time. What happened in 2022 happened moments after the game, not much later, still in the arena, physically and metaphorically.

FROM NOVEMBER 2022: Couch: MSU's suspended football players have paid a heavy price. For most of them, the criminal charges smack of a rivalry gone awry

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore opened his news conference Monday by addressing the skirmish without specifics.

“Unacceptable, not how we carry ourselves. We will sort this out internally,” he said. “…This will never happen again.”

When Moore was asked directly by the Detroit Free Press if he had seen the video in which Mullings appeared to “kick a Michigan State official” onto the ground, Moore replied, “No.” We’ll take care of it.”

Moore could be the hero this rivalry needs if he were to overtake the Big Ten here and ditch Mullings for a few weeks. He has no idea how much that would help lower the temperature. This rivalry would remain an annual calamity, but this kind of acceptance of blame that he hinted at Monday would show the other side that this can be a new day.

The Spartans played their role in this. MSU defensive end Anthony Jones and Michigan tight end Colston Loveland insulted each other and were overly aggressive on the final play, a kneel. That led to Loveland head-butting Jones and Jones wrestling Loveland's head – spurring Michigan's sideline to rush in and get involved. There was too much crowding. But nothing more than a coming together at the end of an emotional game. No big deal. Until after a few seconds Mullings suddenly stomped on someone – or something, maybe a snake? – and then was pushed away by whoever was beneath him.

MORE: Couch: UM's Colston Loveland has earned the right to be insufferable. MSU football still has a lot of work to do to be taken seriously.

“Ultimately this is a rivalry game, it’s emotional,” said Haller. “So they incorporated all the things into the game – I played four of those things. And there are probably some things I've said and done that I wouldn't do as a 50-year-old. It is something that has to be managed constantly because emotions are high and frustration is there. We will look at it from our point of view and see if we need to do anything, but ultimately this is the responsibility of the conference.

“We have to win the game and we will work on that. But I will not allow this to happen without something being checked.”

MORE: Michigan State's Jonathan Smith on Michigan fight: 'We won't forget Saturday night'

Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch.

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