CFB AM: Michigan State fans vandalize iconic Ann Arbor campus symbol

Published Oct. 22, 2014 9:00 a.m. ET

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Teddy Mitrosilis

It must be Michigan-Michigan State week.

Wednesday morning, as Michigan students awoke and began their days, they were treated to a surprise.

Sometime overnight, a Spartans fan or fans presumably snuck onto campus and left their mark on an iconic campus symbol.

The block ‘M’ on the university diag, donated to the school by the class of 1953, was painted Spartan green. A white ‘SU’ was then painted next to it.

Here’s the photo from the Michigan Daily. Michigan fans: Are you officially ready to pull an upset when you face the No. 8 Spartans in East Lansing this weekend?

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. After three straight losses – the latest being a 59-0 whipping at Alabama – Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said he’s spending the bye week reevaluating every Aggies starter, including QB Kenny Hill. It’s incredible to think how far this team has plummeted since that fantastic Week 1 performance at South Carolina. All those offensive weapons have been quieted against quality defenses.

2. The NCAA and Oklahoma State announced on Tuesday that allegations of widespread misconduct detailed in a Sports Illustrated investigative piece last year were “fundamentally unfounded.” The allegations included payment for performance, improper academic assistance, ubiquitous drug use and sexual interactions between recruits and “hostesses” on trips to campus.

While the private investigation into OK State delivered mostly good news, the school did report three potential infractions to the NCAA regarding the application of its drug testing policy and on-campus recruiting practices.

3. There was football last night. No, really! On a Tuesday! Louisiana-Lafayette beat Arkansas State 55-40 on eight rushing touchdowns. Elijah McGuire went for 265 yards and four TDs on 19 carries, and Alonzo Harris had 107 yards and four TDs on 27 carries. There were also two odd plays from the Red Wolves you need to see.

First is a 70-yard touchdown run after a running back was tackled on top of a defender and everyone thought he was down. Great awareness.

Second is this Arkansas State fake punt attempt – out of its own end zone. Yeah.

THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

1. I don’t know if anyone should be surprised that this kind of reprehensible behavior still exists, but it’s disturbing: Michigan has not had a good season, and QB Devin Gardner shares some of the blame for subpar on-field performance. That doesn’t excuse the racist backlash Gardner has received via email and social media, as he says he’s “been called the N-word so many times this year.”

That’s never OK, but it’s especially infuriating when said about a guy like Gardner – someone who’s done every important thing right as a student at Michigan. Read this Dan Wetzel column about how Gardner has handled failure and disappointment on the field with nothing but a consistent temperament and work ethic. By all accounts, he’s a good dude who’s done great things at Michigan and set himself up to have a lot of success in life. The one thing he hasn’t done well in Ann Arbor is win a lot of football games, which of course isn’t all his fault. So be it.

2. Would South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier ever entertain a return to Gainesville to coach Florida? Nope – he says his next move will be to his beach home as a retired coach.

3. Five-star UCLA QB recruit Josh Rosen: “The reason I love UCLA so much is because I want to win for a school that isn’t used to winning.”

Oh.

THREE THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW

1. Suspended Georgia running back Todd Gurley was seen recently wearing a “Free Gurley” T-shirt. Keep doing you, Todd. Keep doing you.

2. I strongly considered going to Oregon, and while I’ll never regret my college choice of UNC, I have a couple buddies who can’t say enough good things about Eugene. And I’m sure they never played beer pong in the stands. Not once. Nope.

3. Former Gator Tim Tebow is among those questioning the leadership and identity at Florida. Speaking of Florida, the Gators lost a four-star linebacker recruit to Urban Meyer and Ohio State.

LASTLY

* Here’s my weekly hit on the Eric Hasseltine Show in Memphis, talking Notre Dame-Florida State, Ole Miss-LSU, the Big 12, Pac-12 and a bunch more if you care to listen.

* Like this motivational sign Mississippi State has in its locker room about the SEC West.

* The media world lost a titan on Tuesday: Ben Bradlee, the iconic editor of The Washington Post, died at 93. Bradlee was the man who oversaw the Post’s most famous work – Woodward and Bernstein’s reporting on Watergate, which was turned into a film called “All the President’s Men.” Read this tribute from The New Yorker’s David Remnick.

Have a great Wednesday, all.

Teddy Mitrosilis is an editor and writer for FOXSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TMitrosilis and email him at tmitrosilis@gmail.com.

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