2011 Michigan State Spartans Additional Information

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2011 Michigan State Spartans Additional Information​

Coaching Staff

Head Coach:
Official School Bio - Mark Dantonio

Assistant Coaches:
Official School Bios - Assistant Coaches
Dan Roushar - Offensive Coordinator
Pat Narduzzi - Defensive Coordinator
Harlon Barnett - Secondary
Ted Gill - Defensive Line
Brad Salem - Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
Terrence Samuel - Wide Receivers
Mark Staten - Offensive Line
Mike Tressel - Linebackers/Special Teams
Dave Warner - Quarterbacks
Ken Mannie - Head Strength & Conditioning Coach
Tommy Hoke - Assoc. Head Strength & Conditioning Coach
Tim Allen - Director of Football Operations
Dino Folino - Director of Personnel/Player Development
Brad Lunsford - Director of Executive Football Operations
Archie Collins - Defensive Graduate Assistant
Nick Ruffing - Offensive Graduate Assistant
Ryan Manalac - Video Intern/Defense
Josh Rouse - Video Intern/Offense
​

Recruiting

2012 Verbal Commitments

Scout.com - #26 overall class - 2-4*, 12-3* - 3.14* average
Rivals.com - #30 overall class - 2-4*, 12-3* - 3.14* average

Riley Bullough LB 6-2 195 Traverse City, MI - 3*/3*
Aaron Burbridge WR 6-1 180 Farmington Hills, MI - 4*/4*
Jermaine Edmondson CB 6-0 170 Canton, OH - 3*/3*
Zach Higgins OG 6-5 305 Alliance, OH - 3*/3*
Evan Jones TE 6-6 240 West Lafayette, OH - 3*/3*
Kyle Kerrick WR 6-2.5 185 Coatesville, PA - 3*/3*
Kodi Kieler OT 6-5 275 Gibraltar, MI - 3*/3*
MacGarrett Kings RB 5-10 180 Fort Lauderdale, FL - 3*/3*
Jamal Lyles LB 6-3 215 Lathrup Village, MI - 3*/3*
Benny McGowan OG 6-4 285 Centerville, OH - 3*/3*
Tyler O'Connor QB 6-3 208 Lima, OH - 3*/3*
Se'von Pittman DE 6-4 200 Canton, OH - 4*/4*
Josiah Price TE 6-5 235 Greentown, IN - 3*/3*
Nick Tompkins RB 5-10 185 Snellville, GA - 3*/3*

2011 Recruiting Class

Scout.com - #29 overall class - 1-5*, 3-4*, 16-3*, 1-2* - 3.19* average
Rivals.com - #31 overall class - 0-5*, 2-4*, 17-3*, 2-2* - 3.00* average

Jack Allen C 6-2 275 Hinsdale, IL - 3*/3*
Juwan Caesar WR 6-4 190 Miami, FL - 3*/3*
Shilique Calhoun TE 6-4 230 Middletown, NJ - 3*/3*
Donavon Clark OG 6-4 300 Cincinnati, OH - 4*/3*
Brandon Clemons DT 6-4 265 Milford, PA - 3*/4*
Arjen Colquhoun S 6-0 187 Windsor, ON - 3*/3*
Connor Cook QB 6-4 190 Cuyahoga Falls, OH - 2*/3*
Ed Davis LB 6-3 208 Detroit, MI - 3*/3*
Fou Fonoti OT 6-5 295 Norwalk, CA - 3*/3* - JUCO
Darien Harris S 6-1 205 Hyattsville, MD - 3*/3*
Joel Heath DE 6-6 255 Cincinnati, OH - 4*/3*
Taiwan Jones LB 6-3 205 New Baltimore, MI - 3*/3*
Damon Knox DE 6-5 265 Muskegon, MI - 3*/3*
Paul Lang TE 6-5 237 Pittsburgh, PA - 3*/2*
[strike]Onaje Miller RB 5-10 180 Lansing, MI - 4*/3*[/strike]
Matt Ramondo DT 6-4 285 Las Cruces, NM - 3*/3*
Matt Scarpinato DT 6-3 250 Milwaukee, WI - 3*/3*
Andre Sims CB 5-9 170 Snellville, GA - 3*/3*
Lawrence Thomas DE 6-4 230 Detroit, MI - 5*/4*
Trae Waynes CB 6-0 170 Kenosha, WI - 3*/2*
Roger Williamson CB 6-2 180 Dayton, OH - 3*/3*


2010 Recruiting Class

Scout.com - #32 overall class - 1-5*, 4-4*, 12-3*, 4-2*, 1-N/R - 3.05* average
Rivals.com - #30 overall class - 1-5*, 4-4*, 12-3*, 5-2*, 0-N/R - 3.05* average

LeVeon Bell RB 6-2 215 Groveport, OH - 2*/2*
[strike]Joe Boisture QB 6-6 200 Saline, MI - 3*/4*[/strike]
Max Bullough LB 6-3 235 Traverse City, MI - 4*/4*
Skylar Burkland (Schofner) OT 6-6 281 Sunbury, OH - 4*/4*
Taylor Calero DE 6-3 235 Southfield, MI - 3*/3*
Darqueze Dennard WR 5-11 165 Jeffersonville, GA - 2*/2*
Michael Dennis OT 6-7 260 Carey, OH - 3*/2*
Kurtis Drummond S 6-3 195 Hubbard, OH - 3*/3*
William Gholston DE 6-7 250 Detroit, MI - 5*/5*
Mylan Hicks CB 5-11 179 Detroit, MI - 4*/3*
Nick Hill RB 5-7 185 Chelsea, MI - 3*/3*
Travis Jackson OG 6-4 250 Columbus, OH - 3*/3*
Connor Kruse OG 6-4 280 Lowell, MI - N-R/2*
Jeremy Langford RB 6-0 185 Westland, MI - 3*/3*
Isaiah Lewis S 5-11 186 Indianapolis, IN - 4*/4*
Tony Lippett WR 6-3 180 Detroit, MI - 3*/3*
Keith Mumphrey WR 6-1 197 Vienna, GA - 3*/3*
Niko Palazeti FB 6-0 230 Redford, MI - 2*/2*
Marcus Rush DE 6-3 235 Cincinnati, OH - 3*/3*
Mike Sadler P 6-0 180 Grand Rapids, MI - 3*/3*
Anthony White DT 6-3 300 Ft. Scott, KS - 2*/3* - JUCO
[strike]Justin Wilson LB 6-0 217 Davie, FL - 3*/3*[/strike]


2009 Recruiting Class

Scout.com - #37 overall class - 3-4*, 12-3*, 7-2*, 1-N/R - 2.87* average
Rivals.com - #17 overall class - 10-4*, 10-3*, 3-2*, 0-N/R - 3.30* average

Denicos Allen LB 6-0 210 Hamilton, OH - 2*/3*
Edwin Baker RB 5-10 204 Oak Park, MI - 4*/4*
[strike]David Barrent OL 6-8 290 West Des Moines, IA - 3*/4*[/strike]
Larry Caper RB 5-10 215 Battle Creek, MI - 4*/4*
Henry Conway OT 6-6 300 Shaker Heights, OH - 3*/3*
Dana Dixon DB 6-2 171 Detroit, MI - 3*/3*
Denzel Drone LB 6-1 225 Plant CIty, FL - 2*/3*
Bennie Fowler WR 6-2 185 Detroit, MI - 2*/3*
Dan France DE 6-6 275 North Royalton, OH - 2*/3*
Corey Freeman DE 6-3 235 University Heights, OH - N-R/2*
Jeremy Gainer LB 6-2 210 Livonia, MI - 3*/4*
TyQuan Hammock LB 6-1 220 Fort Wayne, IN - 3*/3*
Derek Hoebing TE 6-6 245 Vermillion, OH - 2*/2*
Jairus Jones S 6-1 205 Tampa, FL - 3*/3*
Nate Klatt OL 6-4 286 Canal Fulton, OH - 3*/4*
Andrew Maxwell QB 6-3 192 Midland, MI - 3*/4*
Kevin Muma K 5-10 175 Troy, MI - 2*/2*
Chris Norman LB 6-2 207 Detroit, MI - 4*/4*
Micajah Reynolds OL 6-5 310 Lansing, MI - 2*/3*
Dion Sims TE 6-5 230 Orchard Lake, MI - 3*/4*
[strike]Donald Spencer WR 6-4 197 Ypsilanti, MI - 3*/4*[/strike]
Blake Treadwell OL 6-2 270 East Lansing, MI - 3*/4*
[strike]Patrick White WR 5-11 172 Pickerington, OH - 3*/3*[/strike]

2008 Recruiting Class

Scout.com - #56 overall class - 1-4*, 8-3*, 12-2* - 2.48* average
Rivals.com - #47 overall class - 1-4*, 13-3*, 7-2* - 2.71* average

Johnny Adams DB 5-11 157 Akron, OH -3*/3*
[strike]Charles Burrell DB 6-0 204 Detroit, MI -2*/3*[/strike]
John Deyo OL 6-6 270 Richland, MI - 2*/2*
Steve Gardiner LB 6-1 205 Dublin, OH - 3*/3*
Tyler Hoover DE 6-7 265 Novi, MI - 3*/3*
Zach Hueter OL 6-7 295 North Branch, MI - 2*/2*
[strike]Cameron Jude DE 6-4 235 Midlothian, VA - 2*/2*[/strike]
Keshawn Martin WR 6-0 180 Westland, MI - 2*/3*
Chris McDonald OL 6-5 260 Sterling Heights, MI - 2*/3*
[strike]Caulton Ray RB 5-9 185 Birmingham, MI - 3*/3*[/strike]
Trenton Robinson DB 5-10 171 Bay City, MI - 2*/2*
[strike]David Rolf LB 6-3 220 Piqua, OH - 2*/3*[/strike]
Ethan Ruhland OL 6-4 262 Lake Orion, MI - 3*/3*
[strike]Fred Smith WR 6-2 207 Detroit, MI - 4*/4*[/strike]
Drew Stevens LB 6-4 203 Lewis Center, OH - 2*/2*
[strike]Brynden Trawick DB 6-2 213 Marietta, GA - 3*/3*[/strike]
Myles White WR 6-0 151 Livonia, MI - 2*/2*
[strike]Jamiihr Williams LB 6-2 224 Trotwood, OH - 3*/2*[/strike]
[strike]Glenn Winston ATH 6-1 213 Detroit, MI - 3*/3*[/strike]
[strike]Anthony Woods OL 6-4 305 Melvindale, MI - 2*/3*[/strike]
Jerel Worthy DT 6-2 288 Huber Heights, OH - 2*/3*


2007 Recruiting Class

Scout.com - #51 overall class - 1-4*, 8-3*, 13-2* - 2.45* average
Rivals.com - #42 overall class - 3-4*, 12-3*, 7-2* - 2.82* average

[strike]Andre Anderson RB 5-8 186 Barrington, IL 2*/3*[/strike]
[strike] Aaron Bates K 6-0 190 New Concord, OH 2*/2*[/strike]
Garrett Celek TE 6-6 228 Cincinnati, OH 2*/2*
Kirk Cousins QB 6-2 171 Holland, MI 2*/3*
B.J. Cunningham WR 6-0 193 Westerville, OH - 3*/3*
[strike]Mark Dell WR 6-1 177 Farmington Hills, MI - 3*/4*[/strike]
[strike]Chase Dumphord OL 6-4 313 Paris, KY -3*/2* [/strike]
[strike]David Duran TE 6-5 240 Marietta, GA - 2*/2*[/strike]
[strike]Nick Foles QB 6-5 235 Austin, TX - 3*/3*[/strike]
Joel Foreman OL 6-3 293 Highland, MI - 2*/2*
Antonio Jeremiah DT 6-4 280 Hilliard, OH - 4*/4*
[strike]Ishmyl Johnson DE 6-5 250 New Berlin, NY - 3*/3*[/strike]
[strike]Greg Jones LB 6-0 210 Cincinnati , OH - 3*/3*[/strike]
[strike]Michael Jordan DE 6-6 300 Thatcher, AZ - 2*/4* - JUCO[/strike]
[strike]Ashton Leggett RB 5-11 225 Muskegon, MI - 2*/3*[/strike]
Jared McGaha OL 6-6 280 Powell, TN - 2*/3*
Kevin Pickelman LB 6-3 212 Marshall, MI - 2*/2*
Arthur Ray Jr. OL 6-2 297 Chicago, IL - 3*/3*
[strike]Chris Rucker DB 6-1 185 Warren , OH - 2*/3*[/strike]
Chris Rucker ATH 5-8 163 Detroit, MI - 2*/2*
[strike]Ryan Wheat DT 6-4 298 Flint, MI - 3*/3*[/strike]
[strike]Oren Wilson DT 6-2 273 Cincinnati, OH - 2*/3*[/strike]

Name Pos Ht Wt Hometown Scout/Rivals Rating
Unranked players given 2* for averaging purposes
Bold indicates starter
[strike]No longer on team [/strike]​

Behind the Numbers

It's the Ohio State-Michigan State game and one of the teams leads or is second in the conference in every defensive category. Most years that sort of lead-in to a story would leave Buckeye fans shaking their heads because the writer was belaboring the obvious. This year, those same fans are shaking their heads in frustration because they know that the lead-in does not refer to the Buckeyes this year, but rather to the Spartans.

While the lack of identity on offense is by far the bigger problem for the Buckeyes, many Ohio State fans are more frustrated by the loss of identity by the Silver Bullets. While the defensive numbers aren't horrible, they are way down from what they've typically been for the last 10 years.

From 2001-2010, the Buckeyes held opponents to 54% as many points as they usually scored. This was by far the best in the nation. The Spartans on the other hand surrendered 101.5% as many points as their opponent usually scored. This year those same Spartans minus Greg Jones and Eric Gordon (arguably the best pair of linebackers in the conference) are leading the nation in Total Defense.

Granted, a large part of that Spartan supremacy comes from having played teams that rank 49, 114 and 120 in Total Offense (avg rk = 94.3). They did play a team that ranks 9th in Total offense, but that was Youngstown State and their rank in the Football Championship Subdivision.

The green invaders from East Lansing are not the only team to have played a group of bad offenses, however. Ranking number 1 in Total Defense only happens if a team is stout on that side of the ball, and Buckeye fans well know that any team with Mark Dantonio at the helm can be expected to have solid stop troops.

In a desperate search for a reason to be optimistic, one might point out that the Buckeyes now have a quarterback who poses a significant running threat; and Sparty has not faced such a team this year. Indeed, among Michigan State's opponents, only the Penguin QB Kurt Hess has posted positive rushing yards on the year (57); while the 3 FBS opponents' quarterbacks have a combined -39 rushing yards for 2011.

This line of reasoning assumes that the departed all-conference linebackers took the running-quarterback-stopping-skills with them. Recall that in both 2009 and 2010, a Wolverine quarterback won the mythical "September Heisman" before being exposed by the Spartans in early October. While athletic linebackers are certainly a plus in stopping a mobile QB; Michigan State's replacements for last year's dynamic duo are doing well enough to dominate the conference defensive stats thus far.

If it weren't bad enough that the Silver Bullets trail MSU's defense by over 100 yards per game; the Ohio State offense (the unit that has to face the Spartan defense) is dead last in the conference in total offense. With numbers like these, it might seem that Saturday afternoon is a lost cause for Buckeye fans. But this is not about the numbers; it's about what's behind them.

The suspension depleted Ohio State offense has struggled to find an identity this year; but seemed to start putting it together last week. Similarly, there is reason to believe that the uncharacteristic lapses on defense may be behind us.

As for the offense: The poor numbers on offense are borne of a lack of execution by inexperienced skill position players; not of poor offensive line play as in years past. The upshot here is that execution can be fixed. It may not be completely fixed this week, especially considering the Spartans also lead the nation in pass defense; but expect a more competent effort.

The most encouraging sign from the offense is seen in the rushing numbers. While it is true that there are only 4 conference teams with fewer yards per rush than the Buckeyes; it should be noted that the running game has been staring down the barrel of 8 man fronts all year because of the lack of a competent passing game. In spite of this, the offensive line has given up few negative plays. Opposing defenses are averaging 5 and 1/2 tackles for loss this year against everyone else, while the Buckeyes are only giving up 3 tackles for loss per game. This is a clear sign that the potential is there for more production in the near future. With the development of the young backs and the continued emergence of Braxton Miller and Devin Smith, Buckeye fans can expect improvement in the offense even though they are facing their toughest test of the young season.

The factors behind the uncharacteristically not-great (only good) numbers on defense come not from generally poor play, but from a lack of consistency. Break downs, the like of which Ohio State fans have rarely had to endure, have been frequent. The coaches hinted at a solution this week when they talked about paring down what the players are asked to do so that they can stop thinking and just make plays. While numbers cannot tell us whether the coaches are right; what happens Saturday will. Look for an early score from Kirk Cousins and the Spartan offense; then look for the adjustments. If the coaches have correctly assessed what's behind the numbers; the Buckeyes will quickly take their place atop the defensive statistics.

Mark Dantonio is bringing a fine football team back to his old stomping grounds on Saturday, and the numbers say he should win easily. What's behind the numbers says that it will be a good day for the home team.​

The Lighter Side

Some of you will recall that this section was omitted last week, so an explanation is in order. I'm not really sure what happened to me. I was at a party on South Beach on a Friday night about 2 weeks ago, and somebody asked if I wanted to check out this yacht, and I said "sure". There were a lot of fine-looking professional women on board, and as usual they tended to go to the bathroom in groups. When they returned it looked like some of them had been eating powdered donuts or something.

There was a short dude that seemed to be the guy that was throwing the party, and he was trying to get people to give him money to invest in something. He had pictures of himself hanging out with Shaq and D-Wade, and he was promising huge rates of return, so I knew it was too good to be true and I held onto my wallet and didn't sign anything. But then a couple of his 'investment counselors' in bikinis asked me if I wanted a private tour of the bedrooms on the yacht. Deep down I knew this was also too good to be true, but I'd had a few adult beverages by then and some other deep down feeling told me to go with them. I figured that if there was a problem and we had to go overboard, they'd be handy to be around since they seemed to have built-in flotation devices.

Well, the next thing I remember is waking up with sand on one side of my face and sunburn on the other, and I no longer had my wallet that had my airline and Buckeyes-vs-Canes tickets. So I spent the next couple of hours talking to some cops, but I didn't know the name of the yacht or the little guy giving the party, so they told me I was like this Mexican beer:

Well, I wasn't sure what they meant but what they said made me thirsty. So when I left the cops I decided to find out about Sol beer with the $40 I had hidden inside my shoe. I wasn't born yesterday - I had some extra cash tucked away for such an emergency.

I found a bar that was willing to sell its Sol to me, and sampled enough to give my kidneys a workout, and after a while I headed to the men's room. Since this was South Florida, there were about a dozen old guys in front of me. Most of them were riding scooters and taking forever in trying to get lined up with the urinal. And when they got there they tried to aim upwards, with limited success. I had never seen a vehicular traffic jam in a bathroom before, but the area in front of the porcelain wall-mounts was in a state of total gridlock, like a Dick Dastardly demolition derby in a swamp of urine.

A brief listen and a quick whiff from the stalls told me that there was no relief in my near future behind any of those doors. I decided to head outside to water some plants behind the dumpsters in the back alley. Physically, this move was a winning one, as the pure relief of emptying my Sol was probably the highlight of my trip to South Florida. But that didn't exactly solve my problems.

My visit to the back alley coincided with the periodic check of green cards for the workers in that restaurant. Since I was sunburned, grimy, and without identification, I was rounded up and taken back to the police station. Instead of spending my Saturday evening at [strike] Joe Robbie [/strike] [strike] Pro Player [/strike] [strike] Dolphins [/strike] [strike] Land Shark [/strike] Sun Life Stadium, I spent it in a holding cell with a bunch of guys who looked like they came from a casting call for a remake of Scarface.

After 24 hours, they determined that I wasn't worth keeping around any more. I decided I needed to get out of the Sunshine state, and that my best option was to hitch-hike my way back north. This delay in returning prevented "The Lighter Side" from being written last week. I thought I was going to go 2 weeks without being able to participate, but on the way back I stopped in Tuscaloosa and Nick Saban got it reduced to just 1 week.
​

Traditions & Opponent Perspective

Starting as a club sport in 1884, football gained varsity status in 1896. In the 1950s, MSU led the nation in desegregation, allowing black athletes in all sports.

MSU's traditional archrival is the University of Michigan, against whom they compete for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. MSU is traditionally the underdog, with a 31-67-5 record in the annual game, but ever since Bike Hart made a comment about Sparty being the "Little Brother" after TSUN's comeback from 10-point 4th quarter deficit in the 2007 game:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6455_8FsJOM"]Hart Calls MSU Little Brother - YouTube[/ame]
​

Sparty has owned a 3-0 record against their in-state rival, and Coach Dantonio plans on keeping it that way.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgPSFVeaUco"]Dantonio on Mike Hart's "Little Brother" Comments - YouTube[/ame]
​

Prior to the "Little Brother" comments, the last Michigan State victory was in 2001 in Spartan Stadium, a game that has since been called Clockgate. (The game ended on a controversial last-second play where Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker threw a touchdown pass to T. J. Duckett to win the game. The Wolverines had contended that the clock had run out of time before the last play of the game took place; video evidence of this is disputed. This led to a Big Ten rule change that control of the game clock would be held by a game official instead of a school representative.)

MSU's other trophy games include:

Land Grant Trophy - Penn State. Started in 1993, this game is played during last week of B1G Conference play. The trophy was designed by former Michigan State coach, George Perles. Penn State and Michigan State University are the nation's oldest land-grant universities, hence the name for the trophy.

Megaphone Trophy - Notre Dame. Michigan State is one of three B1G teams to have an annual non-conference football game against Notre Dame. MSU's record against the Fighting Irish is 28-46-1 after the loss in South Bend a couple of weeks ago.)

Old Brass Spittoon - Indiana Hoosiers (Started in 1950)

Sparty is MSU's mascot, albeit a fairly recent addition to MSU sports history (he was introduced for the first time in 1989). In the fall of 1995, Sparty leaped into national celebrity in the same dramatic fashion that gymnast Kerri Strug vaulted into Olympian history at the Atlanta games. It happened when ESPN showed Sparty holding Strug "Beauty and the Beast" style in its national advertising campaign for "SportsCenter." That same year Sparty won the "leadership" award from his peers at the nation's largest mascot camp in Milwaukee, WI.

Standing at the entrance way to Michigan State's athletic establishment is "The Spartan," a huge statue which symbolizes the university's athletic teams. Popularly known as "Sparty," the statue was dedicated in June of 1945. It stands ten feet-six inches, and is mounted on a brick-and-concrete base five feet-four inches high. "The Spartan" weighs three tons and is one of the largest free standing ceramic figures in the world.

Every home game against Michigan the band participates in "Sparty Watch" where the statue of Sparty is guarded 24 hours a day for the week before the game by band members.

The MSU Marching Band holds a pregame warm-up concert on the Abbot Field about 1.5 to 2 hours before the game, then marches past the Spartan statue to the stadium.

MSU's band is very similar to TBDBITL in instrumentation all brass, percussion, and saxophones. No squeaky-squawky flutes, etc.

The Spartan Marching Band coming onto the field is a big tradition. They run onto the field doing a "kickstep" with the percussion playing, and the drum majors lean way back and touch their heads to the ground (much like TBDBITL).

Entering the stadium, the MSU band is flanked on both sides by 12 members who bear flags, one representing each team in the B1G. Some fans contend that on the day of the MSU/Michigan game, the band member who bears the Michigan flag flies it upside-down, as a jab to their in-state rivals. Others contend that the flag is turned upside-down for the entire week of practice, up through the morning practice on Saturday, but that it is fixed prior to the march to the stadium.

Before the game, the football team always walks from the Kellogg Center to the stadium. They run out onto the field to "Thunderstruck."

The visiting Director of Bands directs the home band in the "National Anthem."

When the Spartans get a first down, the fans yell "1-2-3 FIRST DOWN BIOTCH!" (a relatively new tradition).

One of the fraternities rings a bell after every point they score.

"Zeke the Wonder Dog," a black lab, catches Frisbees at halftime, and sometimes during TV timeouts and at the end of quarters. He has been around MSU since the 1970s (obviously in different incarnations).

According to our own VprHis, "Lou the Deer" is a favorite topic/pseudomascot for the Red Cedar Message Board (SpartanTailgate.com) crowd. It's a plastic deer that someone mounted on a pole for the College Gameday show. He wears an MSU helmet and MSU flag as a cape.

​

Here's a video of Lou in the background at College Gameday in 2005, when they visited East Lansing for the Penn State game.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJZN3ODNAOg&NR=1"]Lou in the pit Gameday 2005 vs Penn State - YouTube[/ame]
​

Historical Data

Michigan State University (East Lansing, Michigan) Founded in 1855

Football 1st Season: 1886
Stadium: Spartan Stadium
Constructed: 1923
Seating Capacity: 75,005
Playing Surface: Natural Grass
Conference: Big Ten Conference since 1953 (1896-1906 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, 1907-1952 Independent)
Colors: Green & White
Mascot: Spartan (Sparty)
College Classification: D-IA (or equivalent) since 1937 (first year of NCAA classification)
Conference Championships: 7 Big Ten Titles: 1953*, 1965, 1966, 1978*, 1987, 1990*, 2010* (*=Co-Champions), in addition to 2 MIAA titles in 1903 & 1905
Consensus All-Americans: 29 (25 different players as of 2010)
College Hall-of-Famers: 10, including Gene Washington in the 2011 class that will be inducted in December
Pro Hall-of-Famers: 2 (Herb Adderley, Joe DeLamielleure)
Award Winners: 2 AFCA COY, 1 Robinson COY, 1 Bryant COY, 1 Outland, 1 Maxwell, 1 Butkus, 1 Lombardi, 1 Biletnikoff, 1 Walter Camp
National Championships: 8 Total Championships, 3 Recognized Championships (1952 both AP & UPI/Coaches, 1965 UPI/Coaches, 1966 NFF)
Number of AP/Coaches final rankings: AP-22 years, Coaches-21 years
​

Records

All Time: 632-432-44 (.590) - losses include 5 forfeits in 1994
Bowl Games: 7-14-0 (.333) Most recently a 7-49 loss to Alabama in the 2011 Capital One Bowl
All Time vs the B1G: 260-249-15 (.510)
All Time vs the Ohio State Buckeyes: 12-27-0 (.308), last meeting a 7-45 loss in East Lansing in 2008
Coach's Record: Mark Dantonio, 2007-current, 36-20-0 (.643), 2004-2006 at Cincinnati 18-17-0 (.514), combined 54-37-0 (.593)​

2010 Season: 11-2 (.846)
Sep 04 - W vs W. MIchigan, 38-14
Sep 11 - W at Florida Atlantic, 30-17
Sep 18 - W vs Notre Dame, 34-31, OT
Sep 25 - W vs Northen Colorado, 45-7
Oct 02 - W vs Wisconsin, 34-24
Oct 09 - W at Michigan, 34-17
Oct 16 - W vs Illinois, 26-6
Oct 23 - W at Northwestern, 35-27
Oct 30 - L at Iowa, 6-37
Nov 06 - W vs Minnesota, 31-8
Nov 20 - W vs Purdue, 35-31
Nov 27 - W at Penn State, 28-22
Jan 01 - L vs Alabama, 7-49, Capital One Bowl

2011 Schedule (all times ET)
Sep 02 - W vs Youngstown St, 28-6
Sep 10 - W vs Florida Atlantic, 44-0
Sep 17 - L at Notre Dame, 13-31
Sep 24 - W Vs Central Michigan, 45-7
Oct 01 - at Ohio State, 3:30 p.m.
Oct 08 - BYE
Oct 15 - Michigan, TBA
Oct 22 - Wisconsin, 8:00 p.m.
Oct 29 - at Nebraska, TBA
Nov 05 - Minnesota, TBA
Nov 12 - at Iowa, TBA
Nov 19 - Indiana, TBA
Nov 26 - at Northwestern, TBA​

Links

Official Sites:
Official School Site - Michigan State University
Official Alumni Site - MSU Alumni Association
Student Newspaper - The State News
Official Athletic Site - MSU Spartans
Official Conference Site - Big Ten Conference

Message Boards & Team Pages:
Message Boards - Go Spartans (Scout)
Message Boards - Spartan Mag (Rivals)
Message Boards - Spartan Tailgate (Independent)
Message Boards - The Enlightened Spartan (Independent)

Blog - Grinz on Green (MLive)
Blog - Spartan Blog
Blog - Sparty MSU Blog
Blog - Smash Mouth Football (Spartan Bob)
Blog - The Only Colors
Blog - Joe Rexrode
Team Page - NCAA
Team Page - ESPN
Team Page - USA Today
Team Page - Fox Sports
Team Page - CNN/SI
Team Page - CFN
Team Page - CBS Sportsline
Team Page - Yahoo Sports
Team Page - Sporting News
Team Page - Covers
Team Page - Athlon

Local News Sources:
Detroit Free Press - Local News
Detroit News - Local News
MLive - Local News
Lansing State Journal (Green & White) - Local News
The State News - Local News
Macomb Daily - Local News

Team Previews and Breakdowns:
Game Notes (PDF) - Ohio State Buckeyes
Game Notes (PDF) - MSU Spartans
2011 Media Guide (Link to PDFs) - MSU Spartans
2011 Roster - MSU Spartans
2011 Schedule - MSU Spartans
2011 News - MSU Spartans
2011 Stats - MSU Spartans

2011 MSU SPARTANS PREVIEW - OZone
2011 MSU Schedule, Picks, Results - College Football Poll
2011 MSU SPARTANS PREVIEW - BigTen-Fans
2011 MSU SPARTANS PREVIEW - Athlon
2011 MSU SPARTANS PREVIEW - Bleacher Report
2011 MSU SPARTANS PREVIEW - Mlive
2011 MSU SPARTANS PREVIEW - Cleveland.com

Big Ten:
2011 Video Highlights - BigTen
2011 Schedule and Results - BigTen
2011 BigTen Overall Stats - BigTen
Big Ten Conference - CNN/Si
2011 BigTen Football Preview - CollegeSports-Fans
2011 BigTen Football Preview - College Football Poll

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Note: Statistical data was complied using a variety of sources, including:
Stassen (Chris Stassen) - Data
College Football Data Warehouse - Data
American College Football-RSFC (Dave Wilson) - Data
D1A Football (Formerly WALJ 10 College Football) - Data
National Champs.net - Data

Link to 2011 Michigan State Spartans Game Preview​