Michigan checks off rivalry win, continues march toward Columbus

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- It wasn’t exactly a dagger that No. 2 Michigan brought to Spartan Stadium Saturday, but it was a lot better than a lawn stake.

The Wolverines continued their steady march through the 2016 season Saturday with a 32-23 win over Michigan State. The eighth win of the season checked off another box for head coach Jim Harbaugh, who can now add beating the in-state rival to the list of renovations he’s made in Ann Arbor during the last two years.

His team has at last pried itself free of whatever physical and mental headlock Mark Dantonio held on this annual series for the last eight years. The Spartans kept Michigan from running away with an easy one thanks to two late…