2013 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 2013 Michigan State Spartans football team will represent Michigan State University in the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference during the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Michigan State plays their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan and are led by seventh year head coach Mark Dantonio.

Previous season
Michigan State's 2012 campaign was a letdown from the prior year's. That year the Spartans went 11-3, continued a two-year undefeated streak at home, advanced to the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game, defeated SEC powerhouse Georgia in the Outback Bowl, and ended the season ranked #10 in the Coaches Poll. However, the departure of key offensive players—notably Kirk Cousins and Keshawn Martin, who were both selected in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL draft—proved costly for the 2012 Spartans. After surging to a #10 ranking in the Coaches Poll, the Spartans were favorites to be the Big 10's representative for the Rose Bowl. A defeat at Spartan Stadium to Notre Dame snapped their home win streak, and the Spartans stumbled into conference play with a come-from-behind win over Eastern Michigan, who ended the season 2-10. The Spartans went 3-5 in conference play, losing all of their home games. Those five losses were by a combined 13 points. The lone bright spot in that period came when Michigan State snapped a 21-game home winning streak for Wisconsin by beating the eventual Rose Bowl representatives, giving the Spartans their first win in Camp Randall Stadium since 2001. MSU only earned bowl eligibility by defeating Minnesota in the final game of the season. There, in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, the Spartans overcame a 13-0 halftime deficit to win 17-16.

Offensively, the Spartans were led by tailback Le'Veon Bell, who ended the regular season with 1,648 yards for 11 touchdowns, averaging 137.3 yards per game and earning 834 of his yards after contact. The Spartans were ranked 9th in the Big Ten for total offense, averaging 370.3 yards per game. Michigan State's offense managed only 21 touchdowns in 42 red zone trips this season and only 25 overall. Spartan quarterback Andrew Maxwell saw almost all the action that year, throwing for 2,578 yards and 13 touchdowns with a 53% completion rating. Backup quarterback Connor Cook only saw action in two games, going 5 for 6 with no touchdowns and one interception, which was returned for a score.

On the defensive side, Michigan State led the Big Ten, giving up 273.3 yards per game and 16.3 points per game. They ranked in the top 10 nationally for total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense, and passing efficiency and yardage defenses. Junior linebacker Max Bullough led the Spartans with 101 tackles, while William Gholston's 3.5 sacks and Darqueze Dennard's three interceptions were also team leaders. Senior cornerback Johnny Adams, who also had three interceptions, was unable to play in the bowl game due to an injury. The Spartans earned 13 interceptions during the regular season, 3rd best in the Big Ten.