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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/jimbobbypaul on 2023-07-27 20:00:01.
Main hub thread with the full 131 rankings
FINALLY, another Big Ten team. Michigan State comes in as the 7th ranked B1G team, the first we’ve seen since Maryland at #58. If that doesn’t show you the difference between the top and bottom half of the Big Ten, I don’t know what will. Michigan State might very well be a team on the rise—they’re my #14 team of the 2010’s (2010-19), and even had an 11-2 season under Mel Tucker in 2021, but imploded last season to go just 5-7 with some internal issues. 2022 aside, the trends point up for Michigan State, who seem to be pumping money into football. They’ve always been one of my personal favorites in the Big Ten for their cool green uniforms and Spartan logo.
Best Seasons and Highlights
1. 2013: 2. Michigan State: 13-1 (45.730) 2. 2015: 6. Michigan State: 12-2 (39.351) 3. 2014: 6. Michigan State: 11-2 (37.300) 4. 1999: 6. Michigan State: 10-2 (35.103) 5. 1987: 9. Michigan State: 9-2-1 (31.936) 6. 2021: 9. Michigan State: 11-2 (31.392) 7. 2011: 15. Michigan State: 11-3 (28.624) 8. 2010: 16. Michigan State: 11-2 (27.831) 9. 2017: 13. Michigan State: 10-3 (26.874) 10. 1990: 19. Michigan State: 8-3-1 (20.152) 11. 2008: 26. Michigan State: 9-4 (16.728) 12. 1989: 21. Michigan State: 8-4 (15.712) 13. 2003: 33. Michigan State: 8-5 (9.910) 14. 1988: 30. Michigan State: 6-5-1 (8.094) 15. 1997: 28. Michigan State: 7-5 (7.488) 16. 2007: 37. Michigan State: 7-6 (7.283) 17. 1985: 31. Michigan State: 7-5 (4.730) 18. 2012: 44. Michigan State: 7-6 (4.681) 19. 2018: 42. Michigan State: 7-6 (2.887) 20. 2001: 45. Michigan State: 7-5 (2.095) 21. 1998: 36. Michigan State: 6-6 (1.556) 22. 1986: 36. Michigan State: 6-5 (0.600) 23. 1995: 44. Michigan State: 6-5-1 (0.129) 24. 2019: 52. Michigan State: 7-6 (-2.598) 25. 1993: 38. Michigan State: 6-6 (-2.830) 26. 1994: 46. Michigan State: 5-6 (-4.130) 27. 2000: 51. Michigan State: 5-6 (-5.264) 28. 2009: 62. Michigan State: 6-7 (-6.502) 29. 1984: 58. Michigan State: 6-6 (-7.574) 30. 1996: 50. Michigan State: 6-6 (-8.025) 31. 1992: 56. Michigan State: 5-6 (-10.092) 32. 2005: 62. Michigan State: 5-6 (-10.487) 33. 2004: 61. Michigan State: 5-7 (-10.912) 34. 2022: 74. Michigan State: 5-7 (-11.399) 35. 1983: 65. Michigan State: 4-6-1 (-16.537) 36. 2020: 90. Michigan State: 2-5 (-17.950) 37. 2006: 79. Michigan State: 4-8 (-23.952) 38. 2002: 79. Michigan State: 4-8 (-27.848) 39. 1991: 78. Michigan State: 3-8 (-27.925) 40. 2016: 99. Michigan State: 3-9 (-33.809) Overall Score: 28999 (29th)
- 278-202-5 record
- 5 conference titles
- 12-14 bowl record
- 14 consensus All-Americans
- 128 NFL players drafted
Mel Tucker’s 2021 season narrowly misses the top 5, as do a few Kirk Cousins-led teams in 2010 and 2011. Mark Dantonio dominates the list, with 7 of the top 9 seasons, including the top 3 all in a 3 year stretch from 2013-15. Consensus All-Americans we won’t discuss below are LB Percy Snow (1989) who won the Butkus and Lombardi Awards and finished 8th in Heisman voting, OL Bob Kula (1989), WR Charles Rogers (2002) who became Michigan State’s 2nd all-time leading receiver in just 2 years and was the 2nd overall pick in the NFL Draft, P Brandon Fields (2004) who led the nation with 47.9 yards per punt, RB Javon Ringer (2008) who for some reason to me was one of the most mystical and mysterious players growing up, for literally no reason other than I liked his name and shape, LB Greg Jones (2009, 2010) who left as the NCAA’s 2nd all-time leading tackler, DL Jerel Worthy (2011), RB Kenneth Walker III (2021) who ran for 197 yards and 5 TD against #6 Michigan, and P Bryce Baringer (2022), who led the nation with 49.0 yards per punt and wears snazzy goggles. Top NFL players include QB Kirk Cousins, WR Derrick Mason, WR Muhsin Muhammad, WR Andre Rison, WR Plaxico Burress…ALL RIGHT, WE GET IT, YOU PRODUCE GOOD WIDE RECEIVERS. RB Le’Veon Bell, OT Jack Conklin, OT Flozell Adams, LB Julian Peterson, DT Domata Peko, and QB Brian Hoyer.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 2016 (3-9 overall, 1-8 Big Ten)
Having gone 36-5 over the previous 3 seasons, it was going to be hard for Michigan State to replicate that success in 2016 after losing their starting QB, and All-American offensive linemen. They weren’t expected to drop off THAT much though, returning a great defense and being ranked #12 in the preseason. In fact, they started 2-0 with a win on the road over #18 Notre Dame! I don’t know if it was injuries, bad coaching, or what, but #8 Michigan State went just 1-9 in their remaining 10 games. It all started with a 6-30 home loss to #11 Wisconsin which was a little suspect, then a loss to Indiana bumped them from the Top 25, and losses to BYU and Northwestern gave Michigan State just a 7% chance at making a bowl game, sitting at just a 2-4 record with Ohio State and Michigan on the schedule. Going for a cheeky 2 point conversion against Michigan down 23-30, having just scored with 1 second left, Michigan S Jabrill Peppers intercepted QB Tyler O’Connor’s pass, returning it 99 yards for a 2 point pick six, MSU losing 23-32. That pretty much summed up the season. For a 2 week stretch late in the season Michigan State looked like one of the best teams in football, beating Rutgers 49-0 and only losing 16-17 to #2 Ohio State. Balance was restored in the universe with a 12-45 loss to Penn State to end the year.
Statistically MSU wasn’t as bad as you’d probably expect a 3-9 team to be, averaging 24.1 PPG while giving up 27.8 PPG. O’Connor had a forgettable senior season, throwing for 1970 yards 16 TD 9 INT. Projected breakout RB LJ Scott had a respectable 1141 yards and 7 TD from scrimmage, and WR RJ Shelton was 2nd Team All-B1G. Dantonio would right the ship in 2017 with a 10-3 season.
5. 1987 (9-2-1 overall, 7-0-1 Big Ten)
What a wild year. Michigan State opened with a 27-13 win at home over #19 USC on Labor Day, aired on “ABC Monday Night Football”. Riding the momentum of a win to a #17 ranking, MSU would lose their next 2 games by a combined 11-62 score, crawling back into their hole after trying to stand up to #9 Notre Dame and #6 Florida State. From then on, Michigan State would go unbeaten, displaying one of the best defenses in the country. Wins over #17 Iowa and #12 Michigan put MSU right back in the Top 25 at #19, despite being just 3-2. Their defense picked off Michigan 7 times in the 17-11 win. A 14-14 tie with Illinois dropped them from #14 to #20, but immediately followed it up with a 13-7 win on the road over #15 Ohio State, holding the Buckeyes to just 2 rushing yards. A 38-0 win over Purdue and 27-3 win over #16 Indiana clinched the Big Ten title, and a 30-9 win over Wisconsin was extra. Against #16 USC in the Rose Bowl, a rematch of the opening week showdown, Michigan State won again 20-17, beating USC on a Holiday for the second time (Labor Day and New Years Day), and winning their first Rose Bowl in over 30 years. MSU finished #8 in the country, going 8-0-1 in their final 9, giving up just 8.7 PPG in that stretch.
There were a ton of notable names on this team. RB Lorenzo White was a consensus All-American for the second time in his career, rushing for 1572 yards and 16 TD, also winning the Big Ten POTY for the second time. OT Tony Mandarich was a 2nd Team All-American, and was regarded as the “best offensive line prospect of all time” because of his production in college combined with his athleticism (6’6 330 lbs, 4.65 40 yard dash, 10’3 broad jump, 39 reps of 225 lb bench press). DB Todd Krumm led the nation in interceptions with 9, earning 2nd Team All-American honors, and P Greg Montgomery was a 2nd Teamer as well, booting 45.0 yards per punt. Other notable names were C Pat Shurmur, who was an Honorable Mention AA and went on to be the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, and QB Dan Enos, who completed 0 of 4 passes but ran for 113 yards, and went on to be the head coach at Central Michigan and OC at Alabama/Miami (FL)/Maryland/Arkansas. Even 5x NFL Pro Bowl WR Andre Rison had 785 receiving yards, accounting for 66% of the team’s total receiving yards.
4. 1999 (10-2 overall, 6-2 Big Ten)
Oh hey Nick Saban. Is he really going to appear in the top 5 seasons of 4 different teams (1990 Toledo, 1999 Michigan State, 2003 LSU, Alabama)? Michigan State was coming off just a 6-5 year, but it was one where they had beaten #10 Notre Dame and #1 Ohio State. It took Saban 5 years, but they finally popped in 1999 and stopped losing to the teams they shouldn’t lose to. An opening 27-20 win over Oregon (who finished #19) and 23-13 win over #24 Notre Dame put the Spartans at 3-0 and #19. Two more wins set up a huge ESPN College GameDay matchup of #11 Michigan State hosting #3 Michigan, with similar vibes to the 2021 game. WR Plaxico Burress had himself a day, catching 10 passes for 255 yards, with the defense holding off a late comeback attempt by Michigan QB Tom Brady. MSU moved all the way up to #5 with a 34-31 win, but partied a bit too hard, losing back-to-back games to #20 Purdue (Drew Brees) and #16 Wisconsin (Ron Dayne), falling to #19 at 6-2. Saban must’ve whipped them into shape, because they won out the rest of the way, beating #20 Ohio State, #13 Penn State, #10 Florida in the Citrus Bowl, and Northwestern 40-0. MSU finished 2nd place in the Big Ten and #7 in the AP Poll, an…
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