American college football season
1966 Michigan State Spartans football |
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National champion ( Football Research) Co-national champion (Helms, NFF, Poling) Big Ten champion |
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Conference | Big Ten Conference |
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Ranking |
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Coaches | No. 2 |
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AP | No. 2 |
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Record | 9–0–1 (7–0 Big Ten) |
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Head coach | - Duffy Daugherty (13th season)
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MVP | George Webster |
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Captain | Clinton Jones, George Webster |
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Home stadium | Spartan Stadium |
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Seasons |
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.
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 Notre Dame was selected as national champion by the AP and Coaches polls.[2]
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 17 | NC State* | No. 2 | | W 28–10 | 55,418 | [3] |
September 24 | Penn State* | No. 1 | - Spartan Stadium
- East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
| W 42–8 | 65,763 | |
October 1 | at Illinois | No. 1 | | W 26–10 | 57,747 | |
October 8 | Michigan | No. 1 | - Spartan Stadium
- East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
| W 20–7 | 78,833 | |
October 15 | at Ohio State | No. 1 | | W 11–8 | 84,282 | |
October 22 | No. 9 Purdue | No. 2 | - Spartan Stadium
- East Lansing, MI
| W 41–20 | 78,004 | |
October 29 | at Northwestern | No. 2 | | W 22–0 | 44,304 | |
November 5 | Iowa | No. 2 | - Spartan Stadium
- East Lansing, MI
| W 56–7 | 68,711 | |
November 12 | at Indiana | No. 2 | | W 37–19 | 30,096 | |
November 19 | No. 1 Notre Dame* | No. 2 | - Spartan Stadium
- East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
| T 10–10 | 80,011 | |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
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[4]
Personnel
1966 Michigan State Spartans football team roster |
Players | Coaches |
Offense Pos. | # | Name | Class | FB | 45 | Robert Apisa | Jr | RB | 25 | Regis Cavender | So | RB | 26 | Clinton Jones | Sr | RB | 34 | Dwight Lee | Jr | OT | 57 | Joe Przybycki | Jr | QB | 16 | James Raye | Jr | WR | 84 | Gene Washington | Sr | | Defense Pos. | # | Name | Class | 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. | # | Name | Class | K | 42 | Dick Kenney | Sr | | - Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
- Injured
- Redshirt
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Rankings
Game summaries
NC State
Penn State
At Illinois
Michigan
Michigan at Michigan State | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Wolverines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | • No. 1 Spartans | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 20 | |
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Scoring summary |
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| 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]
At Ohio State
Michigan State at Ohio State | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | • Spartans | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 11 | Buckeyes | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | - Date: October 15
- Location: Ohio Stadium
- Game attendance: 84,282
- Game weather: Rain, wind SE 20-35, 69 °F (21 °C)
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Scoring summary |
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| 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
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 | |
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Scoring summary |
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| 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]
At Northwestern
Iowa
At Indiana
Notre Dame
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 | |
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Scoring summary |
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| 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] 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.[8]
Team members in the NFL
- In the 1967 NFL Draft, four of the top eight picks in the draft were players from Michigan State.
[9]
References
- ^ 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. Archived from the original on May 13, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
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Venues | |
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |
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1936–1949 | |
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1950s | |
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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
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1970s | |
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1980–1991 | |
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Western Conference | |
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Big Ten | |
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Big Nine | |
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Big Ten | |
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National championships in bold |
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