1966 Michigan State Spartans football
National champion (Football Research)
Co-national champion (Helms, NFF, Poling)
Big Ten champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
Record9–0–1 (7–0 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPGeorge Webster
CaptainClinton Jones, George Webster
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
Seasons
← 1965
1967 →
1966 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Michigan State $ 7 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 1
No. 7 Purdue 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Michigan 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Illinois 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Minnesota 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Ohio State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Northwestern 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
Wisconsin 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
Indiana 1 – 5 – 1 1 – 8 – 1
Iowa 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

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

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 17NC State*No. 2
W 28–1055,418[3]
September 24Penn State*No. 1
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
W 42–865,763
October 1at IllinoisNo. 1
W 26–1057,747
October 8MichiganNo. 1
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
W 20–778,833
October 15at Ohio StateNo. 1
W 11–884,282
October 22No. 9 PurduedaggerNo. 2
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 41–2078,004
October 29at NorthwesternNo. 2
W 22–044,304
November 5IowaNo. 2
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 56–768,711
November 12at IndianaNo. 2
W 37–1930,096
November 19No. 1 Notre Dame*No. 2
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
T 10–1080,011
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[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 Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Rankings

Main article: 1966 NCAA University Division football rankings

Game summaries

NC State

See also: 1966 NC State Wolfpack football team

Penn State

See also: 1966 Penn State Nittany Lions football team and Michigan State–Penn State football rivalry

At Illinois

See also: 1966 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

Michigan

Michigan at Michigan State
1 234Total
Wolverines 0 007 7
• No. 1 Spartans 7 0013 20
Scoring summary
Q1MSURaye 5 yard run (Kenney kick)MSU 7–0
Q4MSUApisa 7 yard run (kick failed)MSU 13–0
Q4MSUWashington 25 yard pass from Raye (Kenney kick)MSU 20–0
Q4MICHDetwiler 15 yard pass from Vidmer (Sygar kick)MSU 20–7

See also: 1966 Michigan Wolverines football team and Paul Bunyan Trophy

[5]

At Ohio State

Michigan State at Ohio State
1 234Total
• Spartans 0 038 11
Buckeyes 2 006 8
  • Date: October 15
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game attendance: 84,282
  • Game weather: Rain, wind SE 20-35, 69 °F (21 °C)
Scoring summary
Q18:09OSUSafety, center pass through end zoneOSU 2–0
Q36:02MSUKenny 27-yard field goalMSU 3–2
Q414:53OSULong 47-yard pass to Anders (kick failed)OSU 8–3
Q47:09MSUApisa 1-yard run (Kenney pass to Wedemeyer)MSU 11–8

See also: 1966 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

Purdue

Purdue at Michigan State
1 234Total
No. 9 Boilermakers 0 0713 20
• No. 2 Spartans 7 14146 41
Scoring summary
Q1MSULee 3 yard run (Kenney kick)MSU 7–0
Q2MSURaye 16 yard run (Kenney kick)MSU 14–0
Q2MSUApisa 6 yard pass from Raye (Kenney kick)MSU 21–0
Q3MSUApisa 2 yard run (Kenney kick)MSU 28–0
Q3PURGriese 6 yard run (Griese kick)MSU 28–7
Q3MSUApisa 10 yard run (Kenney kick)MSU 35–7
Q4PURHurst 2 yard run (kick failed)MSU 35–13
Q4MSUCavender 2 yard run (pass failed)MSU 41–13
Q4PURGriese 2 yard run (Griese kick)MSU 41–20

See also: 1966 Purdue Boilermakers football team

[6]

At Northwestern

See also: 1966 Northwestern Wildcats football team

Iowa

See also: 1966 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

At Indiana

See also: 1966 Indiana Hoosiers football team and Old Brass Spittoon

Notre Dame

Notre Dame at Michigan State
1 234Total
No.1 Fighting Irish 0 703 10
No. 2 Spartans 0 1000 10
Scoring summary
2MSUCavender 4-yard run (Kenney kick)MSU 7-0
2MSUKenney 47-yard field goalMSU 10-0
2NDGladieux 34-yard pass from O'Brien (Azzaro kick)MSU 10-7
4NDAzzaro 28-yard field goalTied 10-10

Main article: 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game

See also: 1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Megaphone Trophy, and Game of the Century (college football)

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

Player Position Round Pick NFL franchise
Bubba Smith Defensive end 1 1 Baltimore Colts
Clinton Jones Running back 1 2 Minnesota Vikings
George Webster Linebacker 1 5 Houston Oilers
Gene Washington Wide receiver 1 8 Minnesota Vikings
Jeff Richardson Defensive end 6 146 New York Jets
James Summers Defensive back 9 217 Denver Broncos
Charlie Thornhill Defensive back 9 232 Boston Patriots
Dick Kenney Kicker 14 358 Philadelphia Eagles

[9]

References

  1. ^ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Jones, Apisa, Raye spark MSU, 28–10". Battle Creek Enquirer. September 18, 1966. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Football Statistics Summary for 1966". msuspartans.com. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "Spartans Win Easily Over Purdue, 41-20." Palm Beach Post. 1966 Oct 23.
  7. ^ Celzic, Mike (1992). The Biggest Game of Them All: Notre Dame, Michigan State and the Fall of 1966. ISBN 978-0-671-75817-2.
  8. ^ Jenkins, Dan (November 28, 1966). "An Upside-Down Game". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  9. ^ "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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