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American college football season
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 in the "game of the century", considered among the greatest games in college football history.
Despite repeating as Big Ten champion, the Spartans knew going into the season they would not be going to a bowl game. Conference rules at the time barred the same team from representing the conference in the Rose Bowl in consecutive seasons and barred teams from appearing in any bowl game other than the Rose Bowl. The former rule was rescinded in 1972 and the latter in 1975.
The College Football Researchers Association selected Michigan State as national champion, while the Helms Athletic Foundation , National Football Foundation (NFF), and Poling System selected them as co-national champion.[ 1] : 113 [ 2]
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 17 NC State * No. 2 W 28–1055,418 [ 3] September 24 Penn State * No. 1 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry ) W 42–865,763 October 1 at Illinois No. 1 W 26–1057,747 October 8 Michigan No. 1 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry ) W 20–778,833 October 15 at Ohio State No. 1 W 11–884,282 October 22 No. 9 Purdue No. 2 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI W 41–2078,004 October 29 at Northwestern No. 2 W 22–044,304 November 5 Iowa No. 2 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI W 56–768,711 November 12 at Indiana No. 2 W 37–1930,096 November 19 No. 1 Notre Dame * No. 2 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry ) T 10–10 80,011 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 4]
1966 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
K
42
Dick Kenney Sr
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible
Michigan at Michigan State
1
2 3 4 Total
Wolverines
0
0 0 7
7
• No. 1 Spartans
7
0 0 13
20
Scoring summary Q1 MSU Raye 5 yard run (Kenney kick) MSU 7–0 Q4 MSU Apisa 7 yard run (kick failed) MSU 13–0 Q4 MSU Washington 25 yard pass from Raye (Kenney kick) MSU 20–0 Q4 MICH Detwiler 15 yard pass from Vidmer (Sygar kick) MSU 20–7
[ 5]
Michigan State at Ohio State
1
2 3 4 Total
• Spartans
0
0 3 8
11
Buckeyes
2
0 0 6
8
Date: October 15Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 84,282Game weather: Rain, wind SE 20-35, 69 °F (21 °C) Scoring summary Q1 8:09 OSU Safety, center pass through end zone OSU 2–0 Q3 6:02 MSU Kenny 27-yard field goal MSU 3–2 Q4 14:53 OSU Long 47-yard pass to Anders (kick failed) OSU 8–3 Q4 7:09 MSU Apisa 1-yard run (Kenney pass to Wedemeyer) MSU 11–8
Purdue at Michigan State
1
2 3 4 Total
No. 9 Boilermakers
0
0 7 13
20
• No. 2 Spartans
7
14 14 6
41
Scoring summary Q1 MSU Lee 3 yard run (Kenney kick) MSU 7–0 Q2 MSU Raye 16 yard run (Kenney kick) MSU 14–0 Q2 MSU Apisa 6 yard pass from Raye (Kenney kick) MSU 21–0 Q3 MSU Apisa 2 yard run (Kenney kick) MSU 28–0 Q3 PUR Griese 6 yard run (Griese kick) MSU 28–7 Q3 MSU Apisa 10 yard run (Kenney kick) MSU 35–7 Q4 PUR Hurst 2 yard run (kick failed) MSU 35–13 Q4 MSU Cavender 2 yard run (pass failed) MSU 41–13 Q4 PUR Griese 2 yard run (Griese kick) MSU 41–20
[ 6]
Notre Dame at Michigan State
1
2 3 4 Total
No.1 Fighting Irish
0
7 0 3
10
No. 2 Spartans
0
10 0 0
10
Scoring summary 2 MSU Cavender 4-yard run (Kenney kick) MSU 7-0 2 MSU Kenney 47-yard field goal MSU 10-0 2 ND Gladieux 34-yard pass from O'Brien (Azzaro kick) MSU 10-7 4 ND Azzaro 28-yard field goal Tied 10-10
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.[ 7] Michigan State 's Spartan Stadium on November 19, 1966. Michigan State entered the contest 9–0 and ranked No. 2, while Notre Dame entered the contest 8–0 and ranked No. 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.[ 8]
Team members in the NFL [ edit ] In the 1967 NFL/AFL draft , four of the top eight picks in the draft were players from Michigan State. [ 9]
^ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF) . National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018 .^ "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 January 1, 2009 .^ "Jones, Apisa, Raye spark MSU, 28–10" . Battle Creek Enquirer . September 18, 1966. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Football Statistics Summary for 1966" . msuspartans.com. Retrieved August 21, 2013 .^ Jack Saylor (October 9, 1966). "Spartans Explode on U-M: Finish Strong in 20–7 Romp" . Detroit Free Press . pp. 1C, 7C – via Newspapers.com . ^ "Spartans Win Easily Over Purdue, 41-20." Palm Beach Post. 1966 Oct 23.
^ Celzic, Mike (1992). The Biggest Game of Them All: Notre Dame, Michigan State and the Fall of 1966 ISBN 978-0-671-75817-2 ^ Jenkins, Dan (November 28, 1966). "An Upside-Down Game" . Sports Illustrated . Retrieved August 17, 2019 .^ "1967 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com" . Pro-Football-Reference.com the original on May 13, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2018 .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1936–1949 1950s 1960s
1960 Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF ) / Ole Miss (FWAA) 1961 Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA) 1962 USC 1963 Texas 1964 Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF) 1965 Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF) 1966 Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF) 1967 USC 1968 Ohio State 1969 Texas 1970s 1980–1991
Western Conference Big Ten Big Nine Big Ten National championships in bold
