Even as he headed down south, to the heart of the Red River Rivalry, Oklahoma teammates asked Keith Nichol the same question.
How does the Red River Rivalry compare to Michigan-Michigan State?
"I'd be like, well, it's just like Oklahoma-Oklahoma State or Oklahoma-Texas," said Nichol, now a Michigan State quarterback. "It means everything to people in this state."
Battling for state pride is nothing new in college football. Pretty much every state in the country - save for the northeast, where major college football is further apart and the focus is on professional sports - has this type of rivalry.
In Michigan, it is the Paul Bunyan Trophy.
For Nichol, who grew up in Lowell, it was always about Michigan State. He envisioned being like Spartans' quarterback Drew Stanton in high school. His mom, Patrice, graduated from Michigan State.
"We have a Michigan State flag out in my front yard before I even thought about coming here. It's always been Michigan State," Nichol said. "I've never even wavered to the Michigan side of the ball. It's always been green and white."
Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.
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