1955 Michigan State Spartans football
National champion (Boand)
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 17–14 vs. UCLA
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
Record9–1 (5–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPCarl Nystrom
CaptainCarl Nystrom
Home stadiumMacklin Stadium
Seasons
← 1954
1956 →
1955 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Ohio State $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
No. 2 Michigan State 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
No. 12 Michigan 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Purdue 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1
Illinois 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 3 – 1
Wisconsin 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Iowa 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
Minnesota 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Indiana 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 6 – 1 0 – 8 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1955 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State University in the 1955 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third season playing in Big Ten Conference and their second season under head coach Duffy Daugherty, the Spartans compiled a 9–1 record (5–1 against Big Ten opponents),and outscored opponents by a total of 253 to 83.[1][2] The team's sole loss was on the road and early in the season against rival Michigan by a 14–7 score.[3]

In the final AP and UPI coaches polls, both released on November 28, 1955, Michigan State was ranked No. 2 behind No. 1 Oklahoma. In the UPI poll, the Sooners edged the Spartans by a narrow margin of 325 points to 309 points with seven of the coaches ranking Michigan State as the No. 1 team. In the AP poll, the Sooners tallied 3,581 points to 3,204 points for Michigan State.[4] After the polls were finalized, the Spartans defeated No. 4 UCLA in the 1956 Rose Bowl. Neither the AP nor UPI conducted post-bowl polls in these years. Although most later rankings and analyses continued to recognize Oklahoma as the 1955 national champion, the Boand System recognized Michigan State as national champion.[5]

Two Michigan State players, quarterback Earl Morrall and tackle Norm Masters, were selected as consensus first-team players on the 1955 All-America college football team.[6] Fullback Jerry Planutis was also selected as a first-teaam All-American by Jet magazine.[7]

Eight Michigan State players were selected by the Associated Press (AP), United Press (UP), or International News Service (INS) on the 1955 All-Big Ten Conference football team: quarterback Morrall (AP-1, UP-1, INS-1); halfback Walt Kowalczyk (AP-2, UP-2); halfback Clarence Peaks (UP-3); fullback Planutis (AP-2, UP-1); end John Lewis (UP-3); tackle Masters (AP-1, UP-2, INS-1); guard Carl "Buck" Nystrom (AP-1, UP-2, INS-1); and center Joe Badaczewski (UP-3).[8][9][10]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 24at Indiana
W 20–1320,287[11][12]
October 1at No. 2 Michigan
L 7–1497,239[3]
October 8No. 20 Stanford*
W 38–1447,586[13]
October 15No. 4 Notre Dame*No. 13
  • Macklin Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
W 21–752,007[14]
October 22IllinoisdaggerNo. 6
  • Macklin Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 21–751,851[15]
October 29at WisconsinNo. 5
W 27–053,529[16]
November 5at PurdueNo. 4
W 27–041,000[17]
November 12MinnesotaNo. 3
  • Macklin Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 42–1451,605[18]
November 19Marquette*No. 3
  • Macklin Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 33–041,814[19]
January 2, 1956vs. No. 4 UCLA*No. 2
W 17–14100,809[20]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[21][22]

References

  1. ^ "2016 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. pp. 146, 155. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  2. ^ "1955 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  3. ^ a b George S. Alderton (October 2, 1955). "Wolverines Win, 14-7: Yost-Style Victory; Spartans Tops Only in Statistics". Lansing State Journal. p. 57 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Pick Oklahoma Nation's Top College Team". Daily News-Post. Monrovia, California. November 29, 1955. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. p. 113. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 9. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  7. ^ "Jet's All-American College Grid Team". Jet.
  8. ^ "Five Boilermaker Gridders Gain Recognition on AP's All-Big Ten". Journal and Courier. November 22, 1955 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Krupa Named All-Big Ten: Dawson, Lundey, Murley, Murakowski Cited by UP". Journal and Courier. November 23, 1955. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Two Hawks On All-Big 10". The Des Moines Tribune. November 22, 1955. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ George S. Alderton (September 25, 1955). "Fast Start for Michigan State's Youngsters: Sophs Spark Spartans In 'Comeback' Victory Over Indiana, 20 to 13". Lansing State Journal. pp. 67, 71 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Indiana Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). Indiana University. p. 14. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  13. ^ George S. Alderton (October 9, 1955). "Spartans Hit 'Old Form', Shatter Stanford, 38-14: Rattle Indians With Early Rash Of Touchdowns". Lansing State Journal. p. 59 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ George S. Alderton (October 16, 1955). "1955 State Team One of Spartans' Best: End Notre Dame's Winning Streak, 21-7". Lansing State Journal. pp. 61, 64 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ George S. Alderton (October 23, 1955). "Indian Totems Wave From Spartan Spears: Morrall Paces Michigan State To 21-7 Victory". Lansing State Journal. pp. 67, 68 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Henry J. McCormick (October 30, 1955). "Spartans Bury Last Badger Title Hopes, 27-0: Blazing Speed, Standout Backs Engineer Rout". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. Sports 1, 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Dale Burgess (November 6, 1955). "Purdue Falls Victim To Fumbles As Michigan State Wins; 27 To 0; Spartans Outgained From Scrimmage But Net 116 Yards On Interceptions". The Palladium-Item and Sun-Telegram. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ George S. Alderton (November 13, 1955). "Victorious Spartans in Waiting Role: Michigan-Ohio State Game Key to State's Rose Bowl Hopes Now". Lansing State Journal. pp. 63, 69 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ George S. Alderton (November 20, 1955). "California, It's Those SPARTANS --- Again! Bowl-Bound Michigan State Takes Care of Marquette in Finale, 33 to 0". Lansing State Journal. pp. 67, 68 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "MSU Edges UCLA, 17-14, Before 100,809: Kaiser's 41-Yard Kick in Final Seven Seconds Decides Rose Bowl". Los Angeles Times. January 3, 1956. pp. IV-1, IV-3 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  22. ^ "1955 Michigan State Spartans". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2016.


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