1966 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 1966 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1966 Big Ten Conference football season. Michigan State lodged a 9–0–1 record, with a season-concluding tie against Notre Dame which is considered among the greatest games in college football history. The College Football Researchers Association selected Michigan State as national champion, while Helms, NFF, and Poling selected them as co-national champion.[1]:113 Notre Dame claimed the AP and Coaches selections and earned a consensus title with a majority of selectors.[2]

1966 Michigan State Spartans football
National champion (Football Research)
Co-national champion (Helms, NFF, Poling)
Big Ten champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
1966 record9–0–1 (7–0 Big Ten)
Head coachDuffy Daugherty (13th season)
MVPGeorge Webster
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
(c. 76,000 natural grass)
1966 Big Ten football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 2 Michigan State $ 7 –0 –0  9 –0 –1
No. 7 Purdue 6 –1 –0  9 –2 –0
Michigan 4 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
Illinois 4 –3 –0  4 –6 –0
Minnesota 3 –3 –1  4 –5 –1
Ohio State 3 –4 –0  4 –5 –0
Northwestern 2 –4 –1  3 –6 –1
Wisconsin 2 –4 –1  3 –6 –1
Indiana 1 –5 –1  1 –8 –1
Iowa 1 –6 –0  2 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 17NC State*No. 2
W 28–055,418
September 24Penn State*No. 1
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
W 42–865,763
October 1at IllinoisNo. 1
W 26–1057,747
October 8MichiganNo. 1
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)
W 20–778,833
October 15at Ohio StateNo. 1
W 11–884,282
October 22No. 9 PurdueNo. 2
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 41–2078,004
October 29at NorthwesternNo. 2
W 22–044,304
November 5IowaNo. 2
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 56–768,711
November 12at IndianaNo. 2
W 37–1930,096
November 19No. 1 Notre Dame*No. 2
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
T 10–1080,011
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Schedule Source:[3]

Personnel
1966 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
FB 45 Robert Apisa Jr
RB 25 Regis Cavender So
RB 26 Clinton Jones Sr
RB 34 Dwight Lee Jr
T 57 Joe Przybycki Jr
QB 16 James Raye Jr
WR 84 Gene Washington Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DL 61 Charles Bailey So
DL 55 Pat Gallinagh
S   Jess Phillips Jr
DE   Jeff Richardson Sr
DL 95 Bubba Smith Sr
DB 20 James Summers Sr
DB 41 Charlie Thornhill Sr
LB 90 George Webster Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 42 Dick Kenney Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Rankings
Main article: 1966 NCAA University Division football rankings

Game summaries

NC State
See also: 1966 NC State Wolfpack football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
2–1 1929 W 40–6

Penn State
See also: 1966 Penn State Nittany Lions football team and Michigan State–Penn State football rivalry
Overall record Last meeting Result
7–1–1 1965 W 23–0

at Illinois
See also: 1966 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
4–5 1965 W 22–12

Michigan
Michigan at Michigan State
1 234Total
Wolverines 0 007 7
• No. 1 Spartans 7 0013 20
See also: 1966 Michigan Wolverines football team and Paul Bunyan Trophy
Overall record Last meeting Result
17–36–5 1965 W 24–7

[4]

at Ohio State
Michigan State at Ohio State
1 234Total
• Spartans 0 038 11
Buckeyes 2 006 8
  • Date: October 15
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game attendance: 84,282
  • Game weather: Rain, wind SE 20-35, 69°F
See also: 1966 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
4–2 1965 W 32–7

Purdue
Purdue at Michigan State
1 234Total
No. 9 Boilermakers 0 0713 20
• No. 2 Spartans 7 14146 41
See also: 1966 Purdue Boilermakers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
10–9–1 1965 W 14–10

[5]

at Northwestern
See also: 1966 Northwestern Wildcats football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
7–3 1965 W 49–7

Iowa
See also: 1966 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
2–3 1965 W 35–0

at Indiana
See also: 1966 Indiana Hoosiers football team and Old Brass Spittoon
Overall record Last meeting Result
14–5–1 1965 W 27–13

Notre Dame
Notre Dame at Michigan State
1 234Total
No.1 Fighting Irish 0 703 10
No. 2 Spartans 0 1000 10
Main article: 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game
See also: 1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Megaphone Trophy, and Game of the Century (college football)
Overall record Last meeting Result
14–17 1965 W 12–3

The 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.[6] The game was played in Michigan State's Spartan Stadium on November 19, 1966. Michigan State entered the contest 9–0 and ranked #2, while Notre Dame entered the contest 8–0 and ranked #1. Notre Dame elected not to try to score on its final series, thus the game ended in a 10–10 tie with both schools receiving national champion selections.[7]

Team members in the NFL
  • In the 1967 NFL Draft, four of the top eight picks in the draft were players from Michigan State.
PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL franchise
Bubba SmithDefensive end11Baltimore Colts
Clinton JonesRunning back12Minnesota Vikings
George WebsterLinebacker15Houston Oilers
Gene WashingtonWide receiver18Minnesota Vikings
Jeff RichardsonDefensive end6146New York Jets
James SummersDefensive back9217Denver Broncos
Charlie ThornhillDefensive back9232Boston Patriots
Dick KenneyKicker14358Philadelphia Eagles

[8]

References
  1. 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  2. "Past Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I FBS) National Champions (formerly called Division I-A)". ncaa.org. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  3. "Football Statistics Summary for 1966". msuspartans.com. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  4. "No. 1 Spartans Stop Wolverines." Palm Beach Post. 1966 Oct 9. Retrieved 2015-Jan-12.
  5. "Spartans Win Easily Over Purdue, 41-20." Palm Beach Post. 1966 Oct 23.
  6. Celzic, Mike. The Biggest Game of Them All: Notre Dame, Michigan State and the Fall of 1966. ISBN 978-0-671-75817-2.
  7. Jenkins, Dan (November 28, 1966). "An Upside-Down Game". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  8. 1967 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com


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