Former Alabama coach and current ESPN “College GameDay” analyst Nick Saban won seven national championships after leaving Michigan State football, however, he credits the Spartans for sparking his success.

Saban, speaking about his time with Michigan State from 1995-99, was reflecting on upsetting Ohio State in 1998, 26 years before the Spartans take on the Buckeyes on Saturday.

REQUIRED READING: Mark Dantonio credits his Michigan State football ‘legacy’ to former players, others

“That 1998 game changed my whole coaching philosophy,” Saban said Saturday. “Because I thought we had no chance to win the game. Lee (Corso), no chance. So, I called the sports psychiatrist and said, ‘how do I approach the team?’ And he made me get to be a transformational leader in terms of making people focus on the process and not the outcome.

“That changed my whole coaching career.”

Saban has been consistent throughout his career of focusing on the process, which he has noted multiple times as an important aspect of his coaching philosophy over the year. One of college football’s most successful coaches ever won a national championship at LSU and won six at Alabama before retiring after the 2023 season.

The 72-year-old former coach said the unranked Spartans’ 28-24 upset win over then-No. 1 Ohio State completely changed him.

“That was the dawn of a new Nick,” Saban said.

Michigan State is hoping for the same magic from first-year coach Jonathan Smith on Saturday that it received from Saban in 1998, as the Spartans have only beat Ohio State twice in Columbus since then, also winning in 2011 and 2015. Ohio State has also won eight consecutive games against the Spartans dating back to 2015.

Saban finished his Michigan State tenure with a 34-24 record, ending the 1999 season with a 9-2 record and a win in the Citrus Bowl over Florida. The Spartans ended the year ranked No. 9 in the Coaches and AP Top 25 poll, which earned him a job at LSU for the next season.

Here are scores and results from around Metro Detroit for Week 5 of the Michigan high school football season.

Dearborn Heights Crestwood 33, Romulus 22: Tristan Vigneux and Jordan Brooks each scored two touchdowns while Kevin Brooks scored a touchdown as well for Crestwood (3-2, 2-2 Western Wayne). Romulus is now 2-2, 2-3.

Detroit Denby 40, Detroit Cody 6: Shawntez Bowie Jr led the way with 225 all-purpose yards for Detroit Denby (3-2, 3-0 DPSL Gold). Chris Kendrick had four touchdowns and Kenny McClinton recorded eight tackles for loss and three sacks defensively for Denby. Detroit Cody (3-2, 2-1).

Detroit Edison 32, Detroit Voyager College Prep 20: Kayden Upshaw had over 200 all-purpose yards, including a 70 yard interception and a 75-yard fumble recovery for Detroit Edison (3-2, 2-2 Charter-Gold). Myles Matlock added 110 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Detroit Voyager College Prep falls to 4-1, 3-1 in the Charter-Gold.

Detroit Pershing 50, Detroit Communication Media Arts 0: Jalen Foster threw for 251 yards, ran for 94 yards, and scored four touchdowns for Detroit Pershing (4-1, 2-1 Detroit PSL-Gold). Deijhone Patterson of Detroit Pershing caught three passes for 113 yards. Detroit Communication Media Arts is now 0-5, 0-3 in the Detroit PSL-Gold.

Detroit Southeastern 14, Detroit Western 0: For Detroit Southeastern, Khalil Hayes ran the ball 21 times for 157 yards while Anthony Laster threw for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Tayjon Watkins had nine tackles for Detroit Southeastern (2-3, 1-2 Detroit PSL-Blue). Detroit Western is now 1-4, 0-3 in the Detroit PSL-Blue.

Garden City 25, Melvindale 12: Andre Davis led the way with 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Garden City (4-1, 3-1 Western Wayne). King Allen had 116 yards for Melvindale (0-5, 0-4 WW).

Riverview 52, Flat Rock 45: Nathan Pinkava had 232 rushing yards and four touchdowns, including the game winning touchdown in the fourth quarter for Riverview (5-0, 4-0 Huron). Lucas Thompson went 3-4 with 62 yards and a touchdown for Riverview. Graham Junge went 10-20 with 193 yards and four touchdowns with Ben Sulley rushing for 176 yards and two touchdowns for Flat Rock (4-1, 3-1 Huron).

Utica 41, Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse 23: Mahti Gwilly led with 125 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on 15 carries with a receiving touchdown, Xavier Crosby added 100 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, and Johnny Hiegel finished 9-for-13 for 115 passing yards and a touchdown for Utica (2-3, 1-2 MAC White). Harrison Township is also 2-3, 1-2.

Thursday

Detroit PSL

Detroit Central 59, Detroit Osborn 0

Detroit Denby 40, Detroit Cody 6

Detroit Douglass 20, Detroit Northwestern 8

Detroit Renaissance 30, Detroit Mumford 0

Friday

Catholic

Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 44, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 12

Birmingham Brother Rice 22, Toledo St John’s Jesuit (OH) 21 

Clarkston Everest Collegiate 63, Madison Heights Bishop Foley 6 

Jackson Lumen Christi 35, Dearborn Divine Child 0

Macomb Lutheran North 49, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 13 

Orchard Lake St Mary’s 64, Waterford Kettering 0

Riverview Gabriel Richard 29, Detroit Loyola 8  

Royal Oak Shrine Catholic 14, Allen Park Cabrini 7

Toledo Central Catholic (OH) 27, Cleveland St Ignatius (OH) 26

Toledo St Francis De Sales 28, Detroit U of D Jesuit 21 

Charter

Arts & Technology Academy of Pontiac 26, Southfield Bradford Academy 6

Detroit Edison 32, Detroit Voyageur College Prep 20 

Detroit Lincoln-King 42, Detroit Leadership Academy 0

Ecorse 1, Romulus Summit Academy North 0 (forfeit)

Harper Woods Chandler Park 1, Detroit University Prep 0 (forfeit)

Melvindale Academy for Business & Tech 14, Detroit Community 6

Mount Clemens 35, Detroit Old Redford 6 

Detroit PSL

Detroit Cass Tech 40, Detroit East English 6

Detroit Martin Luther King 39, Detroit Henry Ford 0 

Downriver

Allen Park 33, Dearborn Edsel Ford 7 

Gibraltar Carlson 63, Southgate Anderson 13

Taylor 43, Woodhaven 7

Trenton 42, Wyandotte Roosevelt 7 

Huron

Monroe St Mary Catholic Central 32, Milan 0 

New Boston Huron 39, Monroe Jefferson 21 

Riverview 52, Flat Rock 45

KLAA

Belleville 35, Livonia Franklin 6 

Brighton 42, Hartland 17

Dearborn Fordson 14, Dearborn 10 

Howell 27, Northville 12

Livonia Stevenson 14, Livonia Churchill 7

Novi 35, Salem 28 

Plymouth 49, Canton 20 

Westland John Glenn 59, Wayne Memorial 0 

Lakes Valley Conference

South Lyon 51, Walled Lake Central 16

South Lyon East 20, Waterford Mott 7 

Walled Lake Western 42, White Lake Lakeland 7

MAC

Grosse Pointe South 38, Roseville 21

Clinton Township Clintondale 44, Hazel Park 24 

Madison Heights Madison 46, New Haven 6

Marine City 56, St Clair Shores South Lake 16

Port Huron Northern 30, Port Huron 23

Romeo 21,  New Baltimore Anchor Bay 14

St Clair 46, Center Line 20 

St Clair Shores Lake Shore at Sterling Heights

St Clair Shores Lakeview 42, Macomb L’Anse Creuse North 0

Utica 41, Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse 23 

Utica Eisenhower 35, Sterling Heights Stevenson 13

Warren Fitzgerald 18, Madison Heights Lamphere 7 

Warren Mott 49, Fraser 28

MIAC

Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest 42, Sterling Heights Parkway Christian 7

Whitmore Lake 54, Lutheran Westland 23

OAA

Berkley 14, Royal Oak 7 

Birmingham Groves 28, Harper Woods 12  

Birmingham Seaholm 14, Farmington 6

Bloomfield Hills 19, Pontiac 6

Clarkston 35, West Bloomfield 20 

Lake Orion 28, Rochester Adams 25 

North Farmington 14, Troy Athens 7

Oxford 28, Rochester 10

Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 17, Southfield Arts & Technology 0

Troy 31, Oak Park 6 

Southeastern

Chelsea 35, Adrian 10

Dexter 63, Ann Arbor Skyline 0

Pinckney 24, Tecumseh 18

Saline 48, Ann Arbor Huron 0

Temperance Bedford 24, Ypsilanti Lincoln 21

Ypsilanti Community 27, Jackson 20 

Western Wayne

Dearborn Heights Crestwood 33, Romulus 22

Others

Orchard Lake St Mary’s 64, Waterford Kettering 0

WALKER, Mich. ― Former President Donald Trump returned to west Michigan on Friday, telling a crowd of supporters he plans to slash corporate tax rates for companies making products in the U.S. while raising tariffs on products —namely cars — manufactured in foreign countries. 

During his more than hour-long remarks to a crowd of supporters at a manufacturing plant just outside Grand Rapids, Trump said he would reduce the federal corporate tax rate to 15%, down from 21% currently, for any manufacturer so long as they build their products within the U.S. 

He also said he would institute a 100%-200% tariff on cars made in Mexico. Currently, many automakers build cars in Mexico due to lower labor costs. Production costs are also lower due to incentives instituted in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement negotiated during Trump’s presidency. 

More: Watch replay: Former President Donald Trump to speak in Walker

“If you don’t make your product here, you will have to pay a tax or tariff when you send your product into the United States … and (we’ll) use that money to benefit the American citizen,” Trump said.  

The rally, held at metal-panel manufacturer FALK Productions in the Grand Rapids-suburb of Walker, was Trump’s first scheduled stop in Michigan on Friday. Following the event, he was scheduled to hold a town hall at Macomb Community College in Warren.  

Michigan is one of a handful of states considered key to determining the outcome of the presidential election between Trump and the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. Opinion polls currently show a narrow margin in the battleground state, with the RealClearPolling average currently showing Harris holding a lead of 1.8 percentage points in Michigan.

Speaking in front of a backdrop that read “jobs, jobs, jobs,” Trump pitched supporters on returning Michigan, and the U.S., to manufacturing prominence.  

“We will be the most competitive in the world,” he said, adding Michigan’s manufacturing sector will be “hotter than it ever was in its heyday.” 

During Trump’s first term in the White House, manufacturing jobs grew slightly before falling at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to figures made available by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figures show manufacturing jobs rebounding in 2021 and 2022, the first two years of President Joe Biden’s tenure, before plateauing.

Trump argued Harris’ policies would harm the manufacturing industry in Michigan.  

The Biden administration has called on automakers to produce more electric vehicles to combat rising greenhouse gas emissions, something Trump derided as a mandate.

“The electric car has a great place, but (it’s) not for everybody,” Trump said. He argued it didn’t make sense for the U.S. to compete with China in producing electric vehicles, saying China is richer in minerals needed to make batteries to power the cars.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has suspended his campaign to support Trump, also spoke at the rally.

Democrats, earlier in the day, pushed back on Trump’s claims that he would be a better president for manufacturers. During a virtual press call, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, pointed to announcements of new manufacturing projects in Michigan. The Biden administration has announced billions in federal funding to manufacturers, including hundreds of millions to electric vehicle battery manufacturers in Michigan last week.

“We know that Trump is full of broken promises, and if Trump is in the White House again, our workers, our manufacturers, will pay the price,” Stabenow said. 

Trump also continued to criticize Harris’ record at the U.S. southern border with Mexico, blaming her for rising migrant crossings there this year. Trump, throughout his campaign, has made the border and immigration a focus of his remarks, repeatedly painting migrants as violent criminals. He said Harris “should resign in disgrace” for the state of the southern border. 

In a departure from his stance during his 2020 reelection campaign, Trump encouraged his supporters to cast their votes through absentee ballots, which are now available in Michigan. However, he continued to say there wasn’t a legitimate way for him to lose the election to Harris, telling supporters “They cheat, that’s the only way we’re going to lose.” 

“If you have your ballot, return it as soon as possible,” Trump said as he concluded his remarks.

Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com

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