Michigan State Spartans football
| Michigan State Spartans football | |
|---|---|
| File:Spartans logo 3.png | |
| First season | 1896 |
| Head coach | 1st season, 7–5 (.583) |
| Stadium | Spartan Stadium (East Lansing) (capacity: 75,005) |
| Field surface | Grass |
| All-time record | 592–403–44 (.591) |
| Bowl record | 7–10 (.412) |
| Claimed national titles | 2 |
| Conference titles | 9 |
| Consensus All-Americans | 73 |
| Colors | Green and White |
| Fight song | MSU Fight Song |
| Mascot | Sparty |
| Marching band | Spartan Marching Band |
| Rivals | Michigan Wolverines Notre Dame Fighting Irish Penn State Nittany Lions |
| Website | MSUSpartans.com |
The Michigan State Spartans football program competes in NCAA Division I-A and the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State has won or shared a total of six national championships (1951, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1965 and 1966) and nine Big Ten championships. The team is known for placing some of the most talented players in the NFL, where currently 20 former Spartans are playing.
Today, the team competes in Spartan Stadium, a 75,005 person football stadium in the center of campus. Michigan State hired Mark Dantonio on November 27, 2006 as head coach. MSU's traditional archrival is the University of Michigan, against whom they compete for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. MSU is traditionally the underdog, with a 28-65-5 record in the annual game. [1] Michigan State is one of three Big Ten teams to have an annual non-conference football game against the University of Notre Dame. MSU's record against the Fighting Irish is 26-44-1.[2]
History
Football has a long tradition at Michigan State. Starting as a club sport in 1884, football gained varsity status in 1896.[3] In the 1950s, MSU led the nation in desegregation, allowing black athletes in all sports.
During the 1950s when Detroit was known as the world's leading automobile manufacturer, Michigan State was often referred to as the nation's "football factory." It was then that the Spartans churned out such impressive models as Lynn Chandnois, Dorne Dibble, Don McAulliffe, Tom Yewcic, Sonny Granddelius, Bob Carey, Don Coleman, Earl Morrall and Dean Look. In 1951, the Spartans finished undefeated and untied to claim a share of the national championship with Tennessee. The following year the team was again unbeaten and untied. They ended the 1952 season with the nation's longest winning streak (24 games) and were named the undisputed national champions by every official poll.
After waiting for several years, the team was finally admitted into the Big Ten as a regular member in 1953. They promptly went on to capture the league championship (losing only one game during the season) and beating UCLA in their first Rose Bowl game. After the 1953 season Biggie Munn, the legendary Spartan coach, turned the team over to his protégé and future legend Duffy Daugherty. It won the Rose Bowl in 1954, 1956, and 1988.
As of 2007, Michigan State is one of only five of the 119 Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) teams to have never played a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) team since the division was made in 1978.[4]
Head Coach
On November 27, 2006 Mark Dantonio was hired from the University of Cincinnati to become Michigan State's new head coach. Dantonio served as an assistant coach at Michigan State from 1995-2000. Dantonio was Ohio State's defensive coordinator during their 2002 national championship season.[5] He was also an assistant at Kansas and Youngstown State University.
Stadiums
Until the 1920s, Michigan State's football team played on Old College Field just northwest of the current stadium. In the early 1920s school officials decided to construct a new stadium to replace Old College Field. College Field, the future Spartan Stadium was ready in the fall of 1923 with a capacity of 14,000. Over the years the stadium grew. In 1935 the seating capacity was increased to 26,000 and the facility was dedicated as Macklin Field. By 1957, upper decks were added to the east and west ends, boosting the capacity to 76,000. That same season Michigan State dropped the name Macklin Stadium in favor of Spartan Stadium.[6]
After the addition of luxury boxes and club seating in 2004-2005 the capacity of the stadium grew from 72,027 to 75,005, making it the Big Ten's fifth largest stadium. It is regarded as one of the loudest stadiums in college football. Spartan Stadium is so loud that Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960) uses a recording of the crowd noise during the 1959 Michigan State-Notre Dame game.[7] For the 2007 football season the student section has around 13,000 members.
Records
All-Time record
As of December 9, 2007, Michigan State's all-time win/loss/tie record is 597-405-44.
National Championships
Michigan State has won two wire national championships, being declared the national champion by the AP and Coaches Polls in 1952 and the Coaches Poll in 1965. Michigan State claims national championships in an additional 4 seasons[8]:
- 1951, 1955, 1957, and 1966.
Big Ten ChampionshipsBowl Games [9]
Trophy Games
Biggest Comeback in NCAA HistoryThe 2006 edition to the Michigan State Spartans / Northwestern Wildcats football game featured the biggest comeback in NCAA history. The Michigan State Spartans, after falling behind to the Wildcats 38-3 with 9:54 remaining in the 3rd quarter, rallied to score 38 unanswered points to defeat the Wildcats 41-38. It did not, unfortunately, turn around the Spartans season, as they went on to lose their final four games to finish the season 4-8. Game of the CenturyThe 1966 Michigan State vs. Notre Dame football game ("the game of the century") remains one of the greatest, and most controversial, games in college football history[10]. The game was played in Michigan State's Spartan Stadium on November 19th, 1966. Michigan State entered the contest 9-0 and ranked #2, while Notre Dame entered the contest 8-0 but ranked #1. Notre Dame elected not to try for the endzone on the final series, thus the game ended in a 10-10 tie with both schools recording national championships.[11][12] AwardsPlayers
CoachCollege Football Hall of Famers
Pro Football Hall of FamersCanadian Football Hall of FameMichigan State's All-Time TeamChosen in 2001 by Athlon Sports [3]
Notable playersCurrent NFL players
Other famous players2007 SeasonThe Spartans started the 2007 season by paying the University of Hawaii $250,000 for breach of contract, to back out of a game scheduled 4 years ago, stating that the game was too late in the season and that it was too far and a history of questionable calls in games at Aloha Stadium.[citation needed] They played in dominant fashion defeating Alabama-Birmingham 55-18. They followed up with a win against Bowling Green, 28-17. On September 15th they edged out Pittsburgh for a 17-13 win to bring their record to 3-0. The momentum continued into their game against Notre Dame, which they won 31-14. On September 29th they faced then #9 Wisconsin. They were down 24-34 in the 3rd quarter, but rallied early to mid 4th quarter with 10 unanswered points. The Badgers answered back with 3 points, and the Spartans ultimately failed to complete the comeback. This game brought their first loss of the season, and a 4-1 record. On October 6th, the Northwestern Wildcats defeated the Spartans in Overtime, 48-41. The following week, the Spartans netted a win against Indiana bringing their record to 5-2. On October 20, 2007, the Spartans faced the #1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The Spartans did nothing offensively most of the game, but two third quarter defensive touchdowns and a late field goal made the game fairly close. The Spartans lost 24-17. On October 27, 2007 The Spartans blew a 17-3 lead and lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes 34-27. On November 3, 2007 The Spartans played their rival University of Michigan. The Spartans were down 14-3 at halftime, but came back with a 24-14 lead. However, they couldn't hold on to their lead, as Michigan scored two touchdowns late in the 4th quarter. The Spartans lost 28-24. On November 10, 2007 The Spartans rebounded and defeated Purdue, 48-31 in West Lafayette to get their 6th win of the season. This is the first time the Spartans have won at least six games since 2003. This is also the first time they have won a game in the month of November since 2004, and the first time they are bowl eligible since 2003. On November 17, 2007 The Spartans beat their land-grant rival Penn State, 35-31 in East Lansing. On December 2, 2007 Michigan State accepted an invitation to the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, FL, to face Boston College. The game will be played on December 28th at 5 PM ET. External links
References
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