Michigan State Football Among Elite Programs

SpartyONline Writer
Aug 6, 2016
3 min read

The Michigan State Spartans’ rich football tradition is as storied as any program in the nation. In the fifteen year period from 1951 through 1966 Michigan State ruled the college football landscape, claiming six national championships. Oklahoma claimed four national titles, and Alabama along with Notre Dame and Ohio State claimed three each during the same period.

According to the College Football Data Warehouse (CFBDW), only Alabama has been more dominant than Michigan State during any fifteen year period since 1950 [see list below]. The Crimson Tide won five national titles from 1964 to 1979. The Spartans (1951-1966) along with Notre Dame (1964-1977), Ohio State (1954-1970), and USC (1962-1978) have earned four national championships each during similar stretches.

Now after over four decades Mark Dantonio has returned the Michigan State Spartans to national elite status. The Spartans have won 11 or more games in five of the last six seasons, a record unmatched by any Division 1 FBS program.

In addition Michigan State has amassed a 15-6-1 record in match ups between two schools ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press College Football Poll, more than any other program. In fact that win percentage (.705) is the best among college football programs in the 79-year history of the poll, according to ESPN. Miami is second with a 24-12 record (.667).

Over the last decade Ohio State has dominated the Big Ten, earning 5 conference championships and a national title versus three conference championships for both Michigan State and Wisconsin, and one for Penn State. However with the advent of the Big Ten championship game, the Spartans have continued to build momentum, winning the conference championship two out of the last three years.

The Spartans are the only Big Ten team to have beaten an Urban Meyer coached OSU team. In fact MSU is the only team in the nation to have defeated Meyer’s Buckeyes twice, once in 2013 and again in 2015. The only other teams to have beaten Meyer since he’s been in Columbus are Virginia Tech and #12 Clemson.

In the modern college football era signaled by the advent of the Bowl Championship Series in 1996 and the College Football Playoff Final Four in 2014, only three Big Ten teams - Ohio State, Nebraska, and Michigan State – have either won a BCS national title or made it to the CFP Final Four. The 13-0 Tom Osborne coached Nebraska team defeated Tennessee in the 1997 BCS Championship game for the national title. Ohio State is the only Big Ten team to claim both a BCS national title and a College Football Playoff national title in 2002 and 2014 respectively. The Spartans made it to the College Football Playoff Final Four in 2015 by defeating Iowa for the Big Ten Title.

Michigan may have missed out on a BCS title due to the Big Ten contractual commitment to play in the Rose Bowl. Michigan’s single claim to a national title in almost 70 years came in the 1997 season, the validity of which is challenged by Nebraska faithful to this day. Undefeated Michigan was ranked first in both major polls but struggled to defeat #8 Washington State in the Rose Bowl, winning by only five points to remain undefeated at 12-0. Meanwhile unbeaten Nebraska faced one-loss and #3 ranked Tennessee in the Orange Bowl in the Bowl Championship Series title game. Nebraska dominated the Vols, even though the Huskers played with an injury-hobbled Peyton Manning. The AP sports writers kept the Wolverines #1, however the Coaches’ Poll recognized Nebraska (13-0) as the national champion in part due to their lopsided 25 point victory against a more highly ranked opponent.

Below is a list of all of the CFBDW recognized national championships from 1950 to present. The College Football Data Warehouse is an independent research entity that recognizes selectors deemed to be most acceptable through history.

Alabama 11 (1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015)

Ohio State 7 (1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002, 2014)

Oklahoma 7 (1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000)

USC 6 (1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003, 2004)

Miami 5 (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001)

Nebraska 5 (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997)

Notre Dame 5 (1964, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988)

Michigan State 4 (1951, 1952, 1965, 1966)

Texas 4 (1963, 1969, 1970, 2005)

Florida 3 (1996, 2006, 2008)

Florida State 3 (1993, 1999, 2013)

LSU 3 (1958, 2003, 2007)