1995 Michigan State Spartans football team

1995 Big Ten Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion; Rankings from AP Poll

1995 Michigan State Spartans football
1995 Michigan State Spartans football
Independence Bowl, L 26–45 vs. LSU
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1995 record	6–5–1 (4–3–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Nick Saban (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Gary Tranquill (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Pro set
Defensive coordinator	Dean Pees (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium (72,027)
	Seasons ← 1994 1996 →

The 1995 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of Michigan State University in the Big Ten Conference during the 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season. Head coach Nick Saban was in his first season with the Spartans. Michigan State played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. The Spartans went 6–4–1 overall and 4–3–1 in conference play during the regular season. The team played in the Independence Bowl on December 29, 1995, and were defeated 45–26 by Saban's future employer, LSU.

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 9	12:00 p.m.	No. 2 Nebraska*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ABC	L 10–50	73,891
September 16	12:00 p.m.	at Louisville*	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY		W 30–7	34,027
September 23	2:30 p.m.	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ABC	T 35–35	43,070
September 30	12:00 p.m.	Boston College*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ABC	W 25–21	72,981
October 7	12:00 p.m.	Iowa	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	Creative	L 7–21	73,732
October 14	12:00 p.m.	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	Creative	W 27–21	65,653
October 21	1:00 p.m.	Minnesota	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 34–31	70,123
October 28	12:00 p.m.	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	Creative	L 14–45	78,043
November 4	3:30 p.m.	No. 7 Michigan	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)	ABC	W 28–25	74,667
November 11	1:00 p.m.	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Brass Spittoon)		W 31–13	24,027
November 25	3:30 p.m.	No. 14 Penn State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (Land Grant Trophy)	ESPN	L 20–24	66,189
December 29	5:30 p.m.	vs. LSU*	Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA (Independence Bowl)	ESPN	L 26–45	48,835
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster[]

1995 Michigan State Spartans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`12`	Tony Banks
WR	`80`	Derrick Mason	Jr
WR	`1`	Muhsin Muhammad	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`22`	Reggie Garnett	Jr
DT	`96`	Chris Smith	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Nick Saban

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Gary Tranquill – Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks coach
Bobby Williams – Running backs coach
Charlie Baggett – Wide receivers coach
Jim Bollman – Offensive line coach
Dean Pees – Defensive coordinator/Inside linebackers coach
Mark Dantonio – Defensive back coach
Pat Shurmur – Special teams coach
Brad Salem – Graduate assistant
Mike Vorkapich – Graduate assistant
Glenn Pires – Assistant
Greg Colby – Assistant

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries[]

Nebraska[]

Nebraska Cornhuskers at Michigan State Spartans

	1	2	3	4	Total
Nebraska	10	10	16	14	50
Michigan State	7	0	3	0	10

at Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan

Date: September 9, 1995
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 73,891
Box score and Game recap

Game information

First quarter

NEB - FG K Brown 22
NEB - Phillips 2 run (K Brown kick)
MSU - Muhammad 16 pass from Banks (C Gardner kick)

Second quarter

NEB - Phillips 1 run (K Brown kick)
NEB - FG K Brown 47

Third quarter

NEB - FG K Brown 20
MSU - FG C Gardner 24
NEB - Phillips 1 run (two-point conversion failed)
NEB - Phillips 50 run (K Brown kick)

Fourth quarter

NEB - Green 57 run (K Brown kick)
NEB - Sims 80 run (Retzlaff kick)

Louisville[]

Michigan State Spartans at Louisville Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan State	3	10	9	8	30
Louisville	0	7	0	0	7

at Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky

Date: September 16, 1995
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 34,027
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

MSU - FG C Gardner 32

Second quarter

UL - Tyson 2 pass from Lowe (Akers kick)
MSU - S Greene 7 run (C Gardner kick)
MSU - FG C Gardner 37

Third quarter

MSU - Banks 19 run (two-point conversion failed)
MSU - FG C Gardner 27

Fourth quarter

MSU - S Greene 2 run (two-point conversion failed)
MSU - Safety, Arrington tackled in end zone

Purdue[]

Michigan State Spartans at Purdue Boilermakers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan State	14	6	8	7	35
Purdue	7	14	0	14	35

at Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Date: September 23, 1995
Game time: 2:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 43,070
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

MSU - Mason 43 pass from Banks (C Gardner kick)
PUR - Alford 29 pass from Reeves (Bobich kick)
MSU - S Greene 21 run (C Gardner kick)

Second quarter

PUR - Alford 69 pass from Alstott (Bobich kick)
PUR - Alstott 6 run (Bobich kick)
MSU - Mason 7 pass from Banks (kick failed)

Third quarter

MSU - S Greene 3 run (Banks run for two-point conversion)

Fourth quarter

PUR - Rogers 1 run (Bobich kick)
MSU - S Greene 70 run (C Gardner kick)
PUR - Rogers 4 run (Bobich kick)

Top Rushers

MSU - S Greene 17 rushes, 161 yards, 3 TDs
PUR - Alstott 20 rushes, 136 yards, 1 TD

Top Passers

MSU - Banks 16/25, 208 yards, 1 INT
PUR - Alstott 1/1, 69 yards, 1 TD
PUR - Trefzger 9/15, 110 yards
PUR - Reeves 9/16, 122 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs

Top Recevers

MSU - Mason 7 receptions, 150 yards, 2 TDs
PUR - Olivadotti 5 receptions, 73 yards
PUR - Alford 4 receptions, 113 yards, 2 TDs

Boston College[]

Boston College Eagles at Michigan State Spartans

	1	2	3	4	Total
Boston College	0	15	6	0	21
Michigan State	3	6	13	3	25

at Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan

Date: September 30, 1995
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 72,981
Box score and Game recap

Game information

First quarter

MSU - FG C Gardner 27

Second quarter

BC - Watson 38 run (Mcguire kick)
MSU - Muhammad 34 pass from Schultz (kick failed)
BC - Harding 4 pass from Hartsell (Hemmert reception for two-point conversion)

Third quarter

BC - Hemmert 4 pass from Hartsell (two-point conversion failed)
MSU - Chapman 3 pass from Schultz (C Gardner kick)
MSU - S Greene 1 run (two-point conversion failed)

Fourth quarter

MSU - FG C Gardner 19

Iowa[]

Iowa Hawkeyes at Michigan State Spartans

	1	2	3	4	Total
Iowa	0	6	8	7	21
Michigan State	0	7	0	0	7

at Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan

Date: October 7, 1995
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 73,732
Box score and Game recap

Game information

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

IOWA - Bromert 37-yard field goal
MSU - S. Greene 2-yard run (C Gardner kick)
IOWA - Hurley 50-yard field goal

Third quarter

IOWA - Dwight 11-yard pass from Sherman (S Shaw reception for two-point conversion)

Fourth quarter

IOWA - S Shaw 7-yard run (Bromert kick)

Illinois[]

Michigan State Spartans at Illinois Fighting Illini

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan State	7	6	6	8	27
Illinois	7	0	7	7	21

at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois

Date: October 14, 1995
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 65,653
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

MSU - S. Greene 16-yard run (Gardner kick)
ILL - Douthard 1-yard run (Scheuplein kick)

Second quarter

MSU - S. Greene 3-yard run (kick failed)

Third quarter

ILL - Holcombe - 25-yard run (Scheuplein kick)
MSU - S. Greene 3-yard run (Gardner kick)

Fourth quarter

MSU - S. Greene 1-yard run (S. Greene run)
ILL - Dulick 14-yard pass from J. Johnson (Scheuplein kick)

Minnesota[]

Minnesota Golden Gophers at Michigan State Spartans

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota	7	10	14	0	31
Michigan State	14	7	0	13	34

at Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan

Date: October 21, 1995
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 70,123
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

MIN - 10:23-Atwell 58 pass from Sauter (Chalberg kick)
MSU - 6:39-Renaud 9 run (Gardner kick)
MSU - 0:25-Renaud 18 run (Gardner kick)

Second quarter

MIN - 11:56-Chalberg 45 FG
MSU - 6:52-Carter 33 pass from Banks (Gardner kick)
MIN - 3:45-Duerr 1 pass from Sauter (Chalberg kick)

Third quarter

MIN - 4:12-Thelwell 8 pass from Sauter (Chalberg kick)
MIN - 2:33-Thelwell 21 pass from Sauter (Chalberg kick)

Fourth quarter

MSU - 14:11-Gardner 27 FG
MSU - 9:55-Mason 65 pass from Banks (Gardner kick)
MSU - 4:50-Gardner 24 FG

Wisconsin[]

Michigan State Spartans at Wisconsin Badgers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan State	7	0	0	7	14
Wisconsin	7	17	14	7	45

at Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin

Date: October 28, 1995
Game time: 11:30 a.m. CST
Game attendance: 78,447
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

WIS - C. Martin 5-yard run (J. Hall kick)
MSU - S. Greene 2-yard run (C. Gardner kick)

Second quarter

WIS - J. Hall 43-yard FG
WIS - C. Martin 5-yard run (J. Hall kick)
WIS - Nyquist 7-yard pass from Bevell (J. Hall kick)

Third quarter

WIS - T. Simmons 1-yard pass from Bevell (J. Hall kick)
WIS - Nyquist 2-yard pass from Bevell (J. Hall kick)

Fourth quarter

MSU - Mason 31-yard pass from Banks (C. Gardner kick)
WIS - Waerig 12-yard run (J. Hall kick)

Top Rushers

MSU - Crenshaw 5 rushes, 41 yards
WIS - C. McCullough 19 rushes, 91 yards

Top Passers

MSU - Banks 17/30, 207 yards, 3 INTs
WIS - Bevell 17/27, 265 yards

Top Receivers

MSU - Muhammad 6 receptions, 83 yards
WIS - T Simmons 5 receptions, 70 yards

Michigan[]

Michigan Wolverines at Michigan State Spartans

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan	3	0	8	14	25
Michigan State	0	14	0	14	28

at Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan

Date: November 4, 1995
Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 74,667
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

UM - Hamilton 35-yard field goal

Second quarter

MSU - Mason 70-yard punt return (Gardner kick)
MSU - Greene 7-yard run (Gardner kick)

Third quarter

UM - W. Carr 3-yard run (Campbell pass from Griese)

Fourth quarter

UM - Biakabutuka 5-yard run (Hamilton kick)
MSU - Greene 1-yard run (Gardner kick)
UM - Hayes 22-yard pass from Griese (Hamilton kick)
MSU - Carter 25-yard pass from Banks (Gardner kick)

Indiana[]

Michigan State Spartans at Indiana Hoosiers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan State	21	0	10	0	31
Indiana	7	0	6	0	13

at Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana

Date: November 11, 1995
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game attendance: 24,027
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

MSU - Renaud 59-yard run (Gardner kick)
MSU - Greene 76-yard punt return (Gardner kick)
IND - Smith 5-yard run (Horn kick)
MSU - Mason 87-yard kickoff return (Gardner kick)

Second quarter

No scoring

Third quarter

MSU - Gardner 23-yard field goal
IND - Eloms 31-yard interception return (kick failed)
MSU - Chapman 4-yard pass from Banks (Gardner kick)

Fourth quarter

No scoring

Penn State[]

Penn State Nittany Lions at Michigan State Spartans

	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn State	0	7	3	14	24
Michigan State	0	10	0	10	20

at Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan

Date: November 25, 1995
Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 66,189
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

PSU - Milne 1-yard run (Conway kick)
MSU - Gardner 32-yard field goal
MSU - Greene 3-yard run (Gardner kick)

Third quarter

PSU - Conway 42-yard field goal

Fourth quarter

MSU - Greene 16-yard run (Gardner kick)
PSU - Engram 53-yard pass from Richardson (Conway kick)
MSU - Gardner 28-yard field goal
PSU - Engram 4-yard pass from Richardson (Conway kick)

1995 Independence Bowl[]

Michigan State Spartans vs. LSU Tigers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan State	7	17	0	2	26
LSU	7	14	21	3	45

at Independence Stadium, Shreveport, Louisiana

Date: December 29, 1995
Game attendance: 48,835
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

MSU - Muhammad 78 pass from Banks (C Gardner kick)
LSU - Cleveland 6 run (A Lafleur kick)

Second quarter

MSU - S Greene 3 run (kick failed)
LSU - Kennison 92 kickoff return (A Lafleur kick)
MSU - Mason 100 kickoff return (S Greene run for two-point conversion)
LSU - Faulk 51 run (A Lafleur kick)
MSU - FG C Gardner 37

Third quarter

LSU - Faulk 5 run (A Lafleur kick)
LSU - Northern 37 fumble return (A Lafleur kick)
LSU - Kennison 47 pass from Tyler (A Lafleur kick)

Fourth quarter

LSU - FG Richey 48
MSU - Safety, Kessler tackled in end zone

Rushing

LSU - Faulk 25-234-2, Cleveland 13-23-1, Toomer 4-13-0, Kennison 1-6-0, Tyler 4-(-1)-0, Kessler 1--3-0
MSU - Renaud 16-79-0, Greene 8-48-1, Crenshaw 1-1-0, Banks 10--28-0

Passing

LSU - Tyler 10-20-1-164 1TD
MSU - Banks 22-44-3-348 1TD

Receiving

LSU - Kennison 5-124-1, LaFleur 2-31-0, Toomer 1-9-0, Cleveland 1-(-4)-0, Faulk 1-4-0
MSU - Muhammed 9-171-1, Mason 6-74-0, Renaud 2-47-0, Carter 2-16-0, Outlaw 2-24-0, Keur 1-16-0

Punting

LSU - Kessler 4 punts, 44.5 yard avg.
MSU - Salani 6 punts, 37.5 yard avg.

1996 NFL Draft[]

The following players were selected in the 1996 NFL Draft.

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL Team
Tony Banks	2	42	Quarterback	St. Louis Rams
Muhsin Muhammad	2	43	Wide Receiver	Carolina Panthers
Scott Greene	6	193	Running Back	Carolina Panthers

References[]

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v t Michigan State Spartans football
Venues	Old College Field (1902–1922) Spartan Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Indiana (Old Brass Spittoon) Michigan (Paul Bunyan Trophy) Notre Dame (Megaphone Trophy) Penn State (Land Grant Trophy)
Culture & lore	Sparty "Victory for MSU" Marching band Zeke the Wonder Dog 1966 "Game of the Century" Clockgate 2006 Northwestern game
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
National championship seasons in bold

1995 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8 Northwestern $	8	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 6 Ohio State	7	–	1	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
No. 13 Penn State	5	–	3	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Michigan	5	–	3	–	0	9	–	4	–	0
Michigan State	4	–	3	–	1	6	–	5	–	1
No. 25 Iowa	4	–	4	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Illinois	3	–	4	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Wisconsin	3	–	4	–	1	4	–	5	–	2
Purdue	2	–	5	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Minnesota	1	–	7	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Indiana	0	–	8	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll