We are in the midst of G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All-Time) week here at SpartansWire and across our sister sites. We covered the Greatest Michigan State Football Coach of All-Time yesterday, and today we will be taking a look at the best team in Michigan State history.
I decided to do something a little different for this ranking. I decided to make the list based on the last 40 years only. The reason for this? Well, Michigan State Football has 6 National Titles in their history, so those seasons would, and should, dominate this list. However, most of our readers probably didn’t watch the 1951 team play. So, instead, I wanted to cover teams that people still remember. Let’s begin.
#5 2015 Season, Coached by Mark dantonio (12-2)
This was an amazing season from Dantonio and his team/staff, and probably had the highest highs of any season that I experienced on this list.
Of course, this is the season where Jalen Watts-Jackson made the fabled punt return over Michigan.
Michigan State was also able to knock off Ohio State on the road without Connor Cook in one of my favorite all-time Michigan State games. We also got the Geiger gif out of that game:
Then, of course, there was the Iowa win in the Big Ten Championship. One of the gutsiest, most physical games I’ve seen in college football, ending with LJ Scott going beast mode:
So, with all those insane moments, why didn’t I make this season higher on my list? Well, sadly, the other seasons ended in bowl wins while this season ended in a 38-0 beatdown by Alabama in the Cotton Bowl (and College Football Playoff) in what was probably the most devastating loss in MSU sports history.
Yeah.
#4 1987 Season, Coached by George Perles (9-2-1)
In George Perles’ best year with the Spartans, MSU was able to go 9-2-1, and eventually beat USC in the Rose Bowl under George Perles. This was also Nick Saban’s 5th year as defensive coordinator for the Spartans. Saban’s defense only gave up over two touchdowns in a game twice during the year.
Of course, this team featured one of the Michigan State’s best running backs ever, Lorenzo White. White rushed for 1,572 yards and 16 touchdowns in the season. Andre Rison was also at the peak of his powers that year, catching 5 touchdowns and racking up 785 yards.
#3 1999 Season, Coached by Nick Saban (10-2)
Yep, I’m going there. On my list, Michigan State’s 1999 season under head coach Nick Saban (for most of the year…) is their 4th best season in the last 40 years.
I mean look, this team had Plaxico Burress, T.J. Duckett, Julian Peterson, and Renaldo Hill. They had 7 players drafted that season including Burress and Peterson who went in the first round. They were stacked.
The team would go on to beat Florida in the Citrus Bowl on a last-second field goal by Paul Edinger. Of course, Saban wasn’t at the game because he had signed with LSU immediately after the regular season. Bobby Williams took over for Saban for the Bowl win.
#2 2014 Season, Coached by Mark Dantonio (11-2)
This season is special to a lot of Spartan fans because of the crazy Bowl game that concluded the season.
Down 20 to Baylor at the end of the third quarter in the Cotton Bowl (can we also talk someday about how some teams like Baylor and USC get to play high-level Bowl games in their backyard?), I had honestly given up hope. Then, Michigan State came out of nowhere, behind a dominant performance from Connor Cook, Jeremy Langford, Keith Mumphrey, and the Defense and went on a 21-0 run to win the game.
#1 2013 Season, Coached by Mark Dantonio (13-1*)
This is technically an undefeated season from the Spartans, and even if it wasn’t, it’s still the Greatest Team of All-Time (not actually of all-time, of the last 40 years, but stay with me) in my eyes because Michigan State should have won that game against Notre Dame anyway, and it still haunts me that Dantonio put in a cold Andrew Maxwell to go four and out in the final drive.. *For those wondering, I say this is technically an undefeated season because Notre Dame had to vacate all of their wins from the 2013 season.
Notre Dame loss aside, this was a magical year from Dantonio and the Spartans. They beat the #2 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship game before knocking off #5 Stanford in the Rose Bowl.
The team was led by a young Connor Cook and Jeremy Langford, along with Tony Lippett, Macgarrett Kings, and Bennie Fowler at wide receiver. This was also, I believe, the most talented defense Dantonio ever had. Just look at the names on that side of the ball: Max Bullough, Taiwan Jones, Kurtis Drumond, Trae Waynes, Darqueze Dennard, RJ Williamson, and Shilique Calhoun. That’s just insane.
Go Green.
