Michigan State

Michigan State University Spartans

Michigan State has an impressive track- record of football excellence as the Spartans have won or shared a total of six National Championships and nine Big Ten Championships. The football program is known for placing some of the most talented players in the NFL.

The Big Ten finally admitted Michigan State as a full time member in 1953. Prior to that MSU was on their own but winning games and winning them in impressive fashion. MSU tied for the 1951 National Championship and went on to win it outright in 1952. As a Big Ten member in 1953, MSU went on to capture the league championship and beat UCLA in their first Rose Bowl game. After the 1953 season, Biggie Munn, the legendary Spartan coach, turned the team over to his protégé and future legendary coach, Duffy Daugherty. Duffy went on and won the Rose Bowl in 1954 and 1956. George Perles was the head coach when the Spartans defeated USC in the Rose Bowl in January of 1988. Nick Saban was the last great Michigan State coach. Saban was a media and fan favorite but left to pursue a National Championship with LSU and then to the NFL with the Miami Dolphins.

Michigan State's official colors are Green and White and they come out to Sparky and the MSU Fight Song. Today the football team competes at renovated Spartan Stadium that seats of 75,000 fans and is located in the center of campus. Michigan Stat's rivalry games are against in-state foe Michigan, Notre Dame, and Penn State. Each year the Spartans battle Michigan for the "Paul Bunyan Trophy", Notre Dame for the "Megaphone Trophy"and Penn State for the "Land Grant Trophy."

Michigan State Spartans 2007 Outlook

New coach Mark Dantonio arrives to an offense that will be led by a new quarterback and an offense that lost its top three receivers from 2006. The Spartans do have enough gas in the tank though to make some noise this year.

The Spartans have two very capable running backs in junior Javon Ringer and senior Jehuu Caulcrick. Ringer played in just eight games last year due to a knee injury. However, he returned late in the season, looking terriffic. At 5’9” 200 pounds, Ringer has speed and power to carry the load for an entire game, but Caulcrick showed last year that he can provide a change of pace. Caulcrick brings a 255- pound frame into the mix. Dantonio will bring a focus back to the running game with Ringer and Caulcrick that should help the development of quarterback Bryan Hoyer.

Look for the Spartans to improve on defense this year as Dantonio is a defensive minded coach. The defensive will have two key starters back from 2006 in senior DE Ervin Baldwin and junior DT Justin Kershaw. Baldwin led the team in sacks last season with four and Kershaw is valuable as he is interchangeable on the defensive line.

2007 Michigan State Schedule

Date OPPONENT TIME (ET) Location Result
Sat, Sep 1st, 2007 U-A-B 12:00 PM Spartan Stadium  
Sat, Sep 8th, 2007 Bowling_Green 12:00 PM Spartan Stadium  
Sat, Sep 15th, 2007 Pittsburgh 12:00 PM Spartan Stadium  
Sat, Sep 22nd, 2007 at Notre_Dame 03:30 PM Notre Dame Stadium  
Sat, Sep 29th, 2007 at Wisconsin 03:30 PM Camp Randall Stadium  
Sat, Oct 6th, 2007 Northwestern 03:30 PM Spartan Stadium  
Sat, Oct 13th, 2007 Indiana 07:00 PM Spartan Stadium  
Sat, Oct 20th, 2007 at Ohio_State 03:30 PM Ohio Stadium  
Sat, Oct 27th, 2007 at Iowa TBA Kinnick Stadium  
Sat, Nov 3rd, 2007 Michigan TBA Spartan Stadium  
Sat, Nov 10th, 2007 at Purdue TBA Ross-Ade Stadium  
Sat, Nov 17th, 2007 Penn_State TBA Spartan Stadium

Head Coach Profile

Mark Dantonio is returning to East Lansing. The former MSU defensive back was hired on November 27, 2006 and was tasked with rebuilding the Spartan program from the ground up. Dantonio steps into a difficult position as the new coach of the Spartans. Previous coach, John L. Smith, continually found ways to lose despite having high profile athletes.

Dantonio was previously the head coach at the University of Cincinnati where he compiled an 18-17 overall record including a 2004 Fort Worth Bowl win. Former MSU coach Nick Saban said that Dantonio, "Brings honesty and integrity to the Spartan football program." Dantonio may be the cure in East Lansing. Many predict that MSU will be a top Big Ten team once again and that this should happen within a few years.

Michigan State University- Key Departures/Players to Watch

MSU did loose one quarterback Drew Stanton and defensive tackle Cliff Ryan to the NFL but the Spartans are returning key players in Javon Ringer, Jehuu Caulcrick and defensive tackle Justin Kershaw.

Also, look for junior offensive linemen Jesse Miller and Roland Martin to have strong years opening up holes for Ringer and Cualcrick. The Spartan secondary is also returning senior Nehemiah Warrich and junior safety Otis Wiley.