American college football season
1966 Michigan State Spartans football Conference Big Ten Conference Coaches No. 2 AP No. 2 1966 record 9–0–1 (7–0 Big Ten) Head coach Duffy Daugherty (13th season)MVP George Webster Home stadium Spartan Stadium (c. 76,000 natural grass)Seasons
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
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 which is 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 claimed the AP and Coaches selections and earned a consensus title with a majority of selectors.[2]
Schedule [ ]
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance September 17 NC State * No. 2 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI W 28–1055,418
September 24 Penn State * No. 1 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry ) W 42–865,763
October 1 at Illinois No. 1 Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL W 26–1057,747
October 8 Michigan No. 1 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy ) W 20–778,833
October 15 at Ohio State No. 1 W 11–884,282
October 22 No. 9 Purdue No. 2 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI W 41–2078,004
October 29 at Northwestern No. 2 Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL W 22–044,304
November 5 Iowa No. 2 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI W 56–768,711
November 12 at Indiana No. 2 Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry )W 37–1930,096
November 19 No. 1 Notre Dame * No. 2 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry ) T 10–10 80,011
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Schedule Source: [3]
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
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
Date: October 8Location: Spartan Stadium , East Lansing, Michigan Game attendance: 78,833
Scoring summary 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
[4]
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 15Location: Ohio Stadium Game attendance: 84,282Game weather: Rain, wind SE 20-35, 69°F
Scoring summary 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
See also: 1966 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
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
Date: October 22Location: Spartan Stadium , East Lansing, Michigan Game attendance: 70,014
Scoring summary 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
See also: 1966 Purdue Boilermakers football team
[5]
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
Date: November 19Location: Spartan Stadium , East Lansing, Michigan Television network: ABC
Scoring summary 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
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.[6] 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.[7]
Team members in the NFL [ ]
In the 1967 NFL Draft , four of the top eight picks in the draft were players from Michigan State.
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
[8]
References [ ]
Bob Apisa
Clinton Jones
Jimmy Raye
Jeff Richardson
Bubba Smith
Gene Washington
George Webster
Head coach: Duffy Daugherty
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1936–1949 1950s 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
1970s
1970 : Nebraska (AP, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF)
1971 : Nebraska
1972 : USC
1973 : Notre Dame (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches)
1974 : Oklahoma (AP) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches)
1975 : Oklahoma
1976 : Pittsburgh
1977 : Notre Dame
1978 : Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches)
1979 : Alabama
1980–1991
1980 : Georgia
1981 : Clemson
1982 : Penn State
1983 : Miami (FL)
1984 : BYU
1985 : Oklahoma
1986 : Penn State
1987 : Miami (FL)
1988 : Notre Dame
1989 : Miami (FL)
1990 : Colorado (AP, FWAA, NFF, USAT /CNN ) / Georgia Tech (Coaches)
1991 : Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FWAA, UPI /NFF)
Western Conference Big Ten Big Nine Big Ten
Michigan (1950)
Illinois (1951)
Purdue & Wisconsin (1952)
Illinois & Michigan State (1953)
Ohio State (1954)
Ohio State (1955)
Iowa (1956)
Ohio State (1957)
Iowa (1958)
Wisconsin (1959)
Minnesota & Iowa (1960)
Ohio State (1961)
Wisconsin (1962)
Illinois (1963)
Michigan (1964)
Michigan State (1965)
Michigan State (1966)
Indiana , Minnesota , Purdue (1967)
Ohio State (1968)
Michigan & Ohio State (1969)
Ohio State (1970)
Michigan (1971)
Michigan & Ohio State (1972)
Michigan & Ohio State (1973)
Michigan & Ohio State (1974)
Ohio State (1975)
Michigan & Ohio State (1976)
Michigan & Ohio State (1977)
Michigan & Michigan State (1978)
Ohio State (1979)
Michigan (1980)
Iowa & Ohio State (1981)
Michigan (1982)
Illinois (1983)
Ohio State (1984)
Iowa (1985)
Michigan & Ohio State (1986)
Michigan State (1987)
Michigan (1988)
Michigan (1989)
Illinois , Iowa , Michigan , & Michigan State (1990)
Michigan (1991)
Michigan (1992)
Ohio State & Wisconsin (1993)
Penn State (1994)
Northwestern (1995)
Ohio State & Northwestern (1996)
Michigan (1997)
Michigan , Ohio State , & Wisconsin (1998)
Wisconsin (1999)
Michigan , Northwestern , & Purdue (2000)
Illinois (2001)
Ohio State & Iowa (2002)
Michigan (2003)
Iowa & Michigan (2004)
Ohio State & Penn State (2005)
Ohio State (2006)
Ohio State (2007)
Ohio State & Penn State (2008)
Ohio State (2009)
Michigan State & Wisconsin (2010)
Wisconsin (2011)
Wisconsin (2012)
Michigan State (2013)
Ohio State (2014)
Michigan State (2015)
Penn State (2016)
Ohio State (2017)
Ohio State (2018)
Ohio State (2019)
Ohio State (2020)
Michigan (2021)
National championships in bold