List of Michigan State Spartans football seasons

Spartan Stadium, where the Spartans have played since 1923.

This is a list of seasons completed by the Michigan State Spartans football team of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Since the team's creation in 1885, the Spartans have participated in more than 1,100 officially-sanctioned games, including 21 bowl games.

Michigan State originally competed as a football independent. In 1896, MSU joined the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Spartans then competed independently again from 1907 through 1952. In 1953, MSU joined the Big Ten conference, where it has been a member ever since.^[1]

Seasons[]

National Champions^{[A 1]}	Conference Champions	Bowl game berth	Division Champions

Total					640	434	44	(all games)
Year	Coach(es)	Conference	Conference finish^[2]	Division finish	Record^[3]^[4]			Bowl^[5]	Final ranking
Year	Coach(es)	Conference	Conference finish^[2]	Division finish	Wins	Losses	Ties	Bowl^[5]	AP ^[6]	Coach ^[6]
Michigan State Spartans
1885	Unknown	Ind			0	1	0
1896	No Coach	MIAA			1	2	1
1897	Henry Keep	MIAA			4	2	1
1898	Henry Keep	MIAA			4	3	0
1899	Charles O. Bemies	MIAA			2	4	1
1900	Charles O. Bemies	MIAA			1	6	0
1901	George Denman	MIAA			3	4	1
1902	George Denman	MIAA			4	5	0
1903	Chester Brewer	MIAA			6	1	1
1904		MIAA			8	1	0
1905		MIAA			10	2	0
1906		MIAA			7	2	2
1907		Ind			4	2	1
1908		Ind			6	0	2
1909		Ind			9	1	0
1910		Ind			6	1	0
1911	John Macklin	Ind			5	1	0
1912		Ind			7	1	0
1913		Ind			7	0	0
1914		Ind			5	2	0
1915		Ind			5	1	0
1916	Frank Sommers	Ind			4	2	1
1917	Chester Brewer	Ind			0	9	0
1918	George Gauthier	Ind			4	3	0
1919	Chester Brewer	Ind			4	4	1
1920	George Clark	Ind			4	6	0
1921	Albert Barron	Ind			3	5	0
1922	Albert Barron	Ind			3	5	2
1923	Ralph H. Young	Ind			3	5	0
1924		Ind			5	3	0
1925		Ind			3	5	0
1926		Ind			3	4	1
1927		Ind			4	5	0
1928	Harry Kipke	Ind			3	4	1
1929	Jim Crowley	Ind			5	3	0
1930		Ind			5	1	2
1931		Ind			5	3	1
1932		Ind			7	1	0
1933	Charlie Bachman	Ind			4	2	2
1934		Ind			8	1	0
1935		Ind			6	2	0
1936		Ind			6	1	2
1937		Ind			8	2	0	Lost 1939 Orange Bowl vs. Auburn, 0-6
1938		Ind			6	3	0
1939		Ind			4	4	1
1940		Ind			3	4	1
1941		Ind			5	3	1
1942		Ind			4	3	2
1944		Ind			6	1	0
1945		Ind			5	3	1
1946		Ind			5	5	0
1947	Clarence Munn	Ind			7	2	0
1948		Ind			6	2	2		14
1949		Ind			6	3	0		19
1950		Ind			8	1	0		8	9
1951		Ind			9	0	0		2	2
1952		Ind			9	0	0		1	1
1953		Big Ten	T-1st		9	1	0	Won 1954 Rose Bowl vs. UCLA, 28-20	3	3
1954	Duffy Daugherty	Big Ten	T-8th		3	6	0
1955		Big Ten	2nd		9	1	0	Won 1956 Rose Bowl vs. UCLA, 17-14	2	2
1956		Big Ten	T-4th		7	2	0		9	10
1957		Big Ten	2nd		8	1	0		3	3
1958		Big Ten	10th		3	5	1
1959		Big Ten	2nd		5	4	0			16
1960		Big Ten	4th		6	2	1		15	11
1961		Big Ten	3rd		7	2	0		8	9
1962		Big Ten	T-5th		5	4	0
1963		Big Ten	T-2nd		6	2	1		10	10
1964		Big Ten	6th		4	5	0			20
1965		Big Ten	1st		10	1	0	Lost 1966 Rose Bowl vs. UCLA, 12-14	2	1
1966		Big Ten	1st		9	0	1		2	2
1967		Big Ten	T-5th		3	7	0
1968		Big Ten	7th		5	5	0
1969		Big Ten	9th		4	6	0
1970		Big Ten	T-5th		4	6	0
1971		Big Ten	T-3rd		6	5	0
1972		Big Ten	4th		5	5	1
1973	Denny Stolz	Big Ten	T-4th		5	6	0
1974		Big Ten	3rd		7	3	1		12	18
1975		Big Ten	T-3rd		7	4	0
1976	Darryl Rogers	Big Ten	T-7th		4	6	1
1977		Big Ten	3rd		7	3	1
1978		Big Ten	T-1st		8	3	0		12
1979		Big Ten	T-7th		5	6	0
1980	Muddy Waters	Big Ten	9th		3	8	0
1981		Big Ten	T-6th		5	6	0
1982		Big Ten	T-8th		2	9	0
1983	George Perles	Big Ten	7th		4	6	1
1984		Big Ten	T-6th		6	6	0	Lost 1984 Cherry Bowl vs. Army, 6-10
1985		Big Ten	T-4th		7	5	0	Lost 1985 All-American Bowl vs. Georgia Tech, 14-17
1986		Big Ten	T-5th		6	5	0
1987		Big Ten	1st		9	2	1	Won 1988 Rose Bowl vs. USC, 20-17	8	8
1988		Big Ten	2nd		6	5	1	Lost 1989 Gator Bowl vs. Georgia, 27-34
1989		Big Ten	T-3rd		8	4	0	Won 1989 Aloha Bowl vs. Hawaii, 33-13	16	16
1990		Big Ten	T-1st		8	3	1	Won 1990 Sun Bowl vs. USC, 17-16	16	14
1991		Big Ten	T-6th		3	8	0
1992		Big Ten	3rd		5	6	0
1993		Big Ten	7th		6	6	0	Lost 1993 Liberty Bowl vs. Louisville, 7-18
1994^{[A 2]}		Big Ten	T-4th		0	11	0
1995	Nick Saban	Big Ten	5th		6	5	1	Lost 1995 Independence Bowl vs. LSU, 26-45
1996		Big Ten	T-5th		6	6	-^{[A 3]}	Lost 1996 Sun Bowl vs. Stanford, 0-38
1997		Big Ten	T-6th		7	5	-	Lost 1997 Aloha Bowl vs. Washington, 23-51
1998		Big Ten	6th		6	6	-
1999	Nick L. Saban, Bobby Williams	Big Ten	T-2nd		10	2	-	Won Citrus Bowl vs. Florida, 37-34	7	7
2000	Bobby Williams	Big Ten	T-9th		5	6	-
2001	Bobby Williams	Big Ten	T-8th		7	5	-	Won 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic vs. Fresno State, 44-35
2002	Bobby Williams, Morris Watts	Big Ten	T-8th		4	8	-
2003	John L. Smith	Big Ten	T-4th		8	5	-	Lost 2003 Alamo Bowl vs. Nebraska, 3-17
2004		Big Ten	T-5th		5	7	-
2005		Big Ten	9th		5	6	-
2006		Big Ten	T-10th		4	8	-
2007	Mark Dantonio	Big Ten	T-7th		7	6	-	Lost 2007 Champs Sports Bowl vs. Boston College, 21-24
2008		Big Ten	3rd		9	4	-	Lost 2009 Capital One Bowl vs. Georgia, 12-14	24	14
2009		Big Ten	T-6th		6	7	-	Lost 2010 Alamo Bowl vs. Texas Tech, 31-41
2010		Big Ten	T-1st		11	2	-	Lost 2011 Capital One Bowl vs. Alabama, 7-49	14	14
2011		Big Ten	2nd	1st	11	3	-	Lost 2011 Big Ten Championship Game vs. Wisconsin, 39-42 Won 2012 Outback Bowl vs. Georgia, 33-30 (3OT)	11	10
2012		Big Ten		4th	7	6	0	Won 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl vs. TCU, 17-16

Notes[]

↑ Based on championships claimed by Michigan State.^[2]
↑ Michigan State forfeited its entire schedule after an academic scandal; record was 5-6 (4-4 Big Ten).^[7]
↑ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.^[8]

References[]

↑ Michigan State Spartans. College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 2011 Football Media Guide. Michigan State Official Athletic Site. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
↑ Michigan State Spartans Index. Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
↑ Michigan State Yearly Totals. College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
↑ Michigan State Bowl History. College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Michigan State In the Polls. College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
↑ Spartans Spared Major Penalties. Associated Press. 17 September 1996. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
↑ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2006-08-24-overtime_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-29.

[3] Based on championships claimed by Michigan State.^[2]

[9] Michigan State forfeited its entire schedule after an academic scandal; record was 5-6 (4-4 Big Ten).^[7]

[11] Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.^[8]

[affiliation-1] Michigan State Spartans. College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 19 October 2011.

[nationalchamps-2] 2.0 ^2.1 2011 Football Media Guide. Michigan State Official Athletic Site. Retrieved 20 October 2011.

[seasons-4] Michigan State Spartans Index. Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.

[warehouse-5] Michigan State Yearly Totals. College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 18 October 2011.

[bowl-6] Michigan State Bowl History. College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 21 October 2011.

[polls-7] 6.0 ^6.1 Michigan State In the Polls. College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 19 October 2011.

[1994season-8] Spartans Spared Major Penalties. Associated Press. 17 September 1996. Retrieved 20 October 2011.

[10] Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2006-08-24-overtime_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-29.

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