1966 Michigan State Spartans football team


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 Helms, NFF, and Poling selected them as co-national champion. Notre Dame claimed the AP and Coaches selections and earned a consensus title with a majority of selectors.

Schedule

Personnel

Rankings

Game summaries

NC State

Penn State

at Illinois

Michigan

at Ohio State

Purdue

at Northwestern

Iowa

at Indiana

Notre Dame

The 1966 Michigan State vs. Notre Dame football game remains one of the greatest, and most controversial, games in college football history. 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.

Team members in the NFL

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL franchise
Bubba SmithDefensive end11Baltimore Colts
Clinton JonesRunning back12Minnesota Vikings
George WebsterLinebacker15Houston Oilers
Gene WashingtonWide receiver18Minnesota Vikings
Jeff RichardsonDefensive end6146New York Jets
James SummersDefensive back9217Denver Broncos
Charlie ThornhillDefensive back9232Boston Patriots
Dick KenneyKicker14358Philadelphia Eagles