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Indiana vs. Michigan State

Indiana and Michigan State have 72 meetings on file, the first in 1922; officially, Michigan State leads 49–⁠20–⁠2; as played, 51–⁠19–⁠2 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s even at 5–⁠5, and Indiana has won the last 2. The winner takes home the Old Brass Spittoon, played for since about 1952. Indiana has held it since the 2024 game. The NCAA vacated Michigan State’s win (2023); it doesn’t count officially. Michigan State forfeited the 1994 game. This page counts every game as it was played.

Official series
Michigan State leads 49–⁠20–⁠2
Indiana wins on file
19
Michigan State wins on file
51
Ties
2
Earliest on file
1922
Longest streak
8 Michigan State
Current streak
2 Indiana
Last 10 meetings
even at 5–⁠5
Most recent
2025

The series at a glance

’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1920s2–⁠0
1930s0–⁠0–⁠1
1940s1–⁠0
1950s1–⁠9
1960s4–⁠6
1970s0–⁠6–⁠1
1980s2–⁠7
1990s2–⁠7
2000s2–⁠6
2010s1–⁠8
2020s4–⁠2
Both ranked
2 meetings: Indiana 1, Michigan State 1
Average margin
18.1 points; 22 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Indiana
11–⁠24–⁠1 Indiana’s record at home
At Michigan State
27–⁠8–⁠1 Michigan State’s record at home
Shutouts
11

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Old Brass Spittoon

Played for since
about 1952
Held by
Indiana since the 2024 game
Games for it on file
66 Indiana 16, Michigan State 49, 1 tied

Who holds it comes from the games on file: the winner of the latest regular-season meeting since about 1952 (bowl rematches aren’t played for it); a tie leaves it with the holder (the usual rule; the article doesn’t say). The rivalry’s article counts the games for it: Michigan State leads, 49–⁠16–⁠1. From Wikipedia’s list of rivalry games and the rivalry’s article (CC BY-SA). More on the Old Brass Spittoon.

Games that tell the story

  1. Indiana’s biggest win2024: Indiana 47, Michigan State 10by 37 points
  2. Michigan State’s biggest win1957: Michigan State 54, Indiana 0by 54 points
  3. Upset2022: Indiana 39, Michigan State 31Indiana had a 19% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  4. Upset2001: Indiana 37, Michigan State 28Indiana had a 25% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  5. Upset1986: Indiana 17, Michigan State 14Indiana had a 28% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  6. Ranked showdown1987: Michigan State 27, Indiana 3No. 16 Indiana at No. 13 Michigan State
  7. Ranked showdown1993: Indiana 10, Michigan State 0No. 22 Michigan State at No. 23 Indiana

Coach against coach

YearsIndianaSeriesMichigan State
1954–⁠1956Bernie Crimmins0–⁠3Duffy Daugherty
1958–⁠1964Phil Dickens2–⁠5Duffy Daugherty
1965–⁠1970John Pont3–⁠3Duffy Daugherty
1973–⁠1975Lee Corso0–⁠3Dennis Stolz
1976–⁠1978Lee Corso0–⁠2–⁠1Darryl Rogers
1984–⁠1994Bill Mallory3–⁠8George Perles
2011–⁠2016Kevin Wilson1–⁠5Mark Dantonio
2017–⁠2019Tom Allen0–⁠3Mark Dantonio
2020–⁠2022Tom Allen2–⁠1Mel Tucker

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Indiana’s side (Crimmins 0–⁠3 against Daugherty). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of Indiana and Michigan State, 1922 on130015001700190019401960198020002020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

Stars of the series

Biggest days

Ty Fryfogle Indiana11 catches, 200 yards, 2 TD2020 Receiving

Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on).

From the newspapers

  • The The Nome nugget's story of the 1940 game: Football Scores

    1940 · The Nome nugget, Alaska, Nov 15, 1940

  • The Evening star's story of the 1950 game: Michigan State Paced BY GrandeIius in Rout OF Indiana by $50

    1950 · Evening star, Washington, D.C., Nov 5, 1950

  • The Evening star's story of the 1956 game: PURDUE 80 NOTRE DAME : State Adds Passes 10 Crush Indiana

    1956 · Evening star, Washington, D.C., Oct 14, 1956

  • The Evening star's story of the 1959 game

    1959 · Evening star, Washington, D.C., Oct 28, 1959

  • The Evening star's story of the 1962 game

    1962 · Evening star, Oct 28, 1962

Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.

Every game

Oct 18, 20253Indiana 38, Michigan State 13at Indiana
Nov 2, 202413Indiana 47, Michigan State 10at Michigan State
Nov 18, 2023Michigan State 24, Indiana 21vacatedat Indiana
Nov 19, 2022Indiana 39, Michigan State 31at Michigan State
Oct 16, 202110Michigan State 20, Indiana 15at Indiana
Nov 14, 202010Indiana 24, Michigan State 0at Michigan State
Sep 28, 201925Michigan State 40, Indiana 31at Michigan State
Sep 22, 201824Michigan State 35, Indiana 21at Indiana
Oct 21, 201718Michigan State 17, Indiana 9at Michigan State
Oct 1, 2016Indiana 24, 17Michigan State 21at Indiana
Oct 24, 20157Michigan State 52, Indiana 26at Michigan State
Oct 18, 20148Michigan State 56, Indiana 17at Indiana
Oct 12, 2013Michigan State 42, Indiana 28at Michigan State
Oct 6, 2012Michigan State 31, Indiana 27at Indiana
Nov 19, 201112Michigan State 55, Indiana 3at Michigan State
Sep 27, 2008Michigan State 42, Indiana 29at Indiana
Oct 13, 2007Michigan State 52, Indiana 27at Michigan State
Oct 28, 2006Indiana 46, Michigan State 21at Indiana
Oct 29, 2005Michigan State 46, Indiana 15at Michigan State
Sep 25, 2004Michigan State 30, Indiana 20at Indiana
Oct 4, 200325Michigan State 31, Indiana 3at Michigan State
Nov 9, 2002Michigan State 56, Indiana 21at Indiana
Nov 10, 2001Indiana 37, 22Michigan State 28at Michigan State
Oct 10, 1998Michigan State 38, Indiana 31at Michigan State
Oct 11, 199711Michigan State 38, Indiana 6at Indiana
Nov 9, 1996Michigan State 38, Indiana 15at Michigan State
Nov 11, 1995Michigan State 31, Indiana 13at Indiana
Oct 29, 1994Michigan State 27, Indiana 21forfeitedat Michigan State
Oct 30, 199323Indiana 10, 22Michigan State 0at Indiana
Oct 3, 1992Michigan State 42, Indiana 31at Michigan State
Oct 5, 1991Indiana 31, Michigan State 0at Indiana
Nov 3, 1990Michigan State 45, Indiana 20at Michigan State
Nov 4, 1989Michigan State 51, Indiana 20at Indiana
Nov 12, 1988Michigan State 38, Indiana 12at Indiana
Nov 14, 198713Michigan State 27, 16Indiana 3at Michigan State
Nov 8, 1986Indiana 17, Michigan State 14at Michigan State
Nov 9, 1985Michigan State 35, Indiana 16at Indiana
Oct 13, 1984Michigan State 13, Indiana 6at Michigan State
Oct 15, 1983Indiana 24, Michigan State 12at Indiana
Oct 30, 1982Michigan State 22, Indiana 14at Indiana
Oct 31, 1981Michigan State 26, Indiana 3at Michigan State
Oct 21, 1978Michigan State 49, Indiana 14at Michigan State
Oct 15, 1977Indiana 13, Michigan State 13at Indiana
Nov 6, 1976Michigan State 23, Indiana 0at Michigan State
Nov 8, 1975Michigan State 14, Indiana 6at Indiana
Nov 16, 197415Michigan State 19, Indiana 10at Indiana
Nov 17, 1973Michigan State 10, Indiana 9at Michigan State
Oct 31, 1970Michigan State 32, Indiana 7at Indiana
Nov 1, 1969Indiana 16, Michigan State 0at Michigan State
Nov 9, 1968Indiana 24, 17Michigan State 22at Michigan State
Nov 11, 19676Indiana 14, Michigan State 13at Michigan State
Nov 12, 19662Michigan State 37, Indiana 19at Indiana
Nov 13, 19651Michigan State 27, Indiana 13at Michigan State
Oct 17, 1964Indiana 27, Michigan State 20at Indiana
Oct 19, 1963Michigan State 20, Indiana 3at Michigan State
Oct 27, 196210Michigan State 26, Indiana 8at Indiana
Oct 28, 1961Michigan State 35, Indiana 0at Michigan State
Oct 22, 196013Michigan State 35, Indiana 0at Indiana
Oct 24, 1959Michigan State 14, Indiana 6at Michigan State
Nov 8, 1958Indiana 6, Michigan State 0at Indiana
Sep 28, 19574Michigan State 54, Indiana 0at Michigan State
Oct 13, 19562Michigan State 53, Indiana 6at Michigan State
Sep 24, 1955Michigan State 20, Indiana 13at Indiana
Oct 9, 1954Michigan State 21, Indiana 14at Indiana
Oct 17, 19532Michigan State 47, Indiana 18at Michigan State
Nov 8, 19521Michigan State 41, Indiana 14at Indiana
Nov 17, 19511Michigan State 30, Indiana 26at Indiana
Nov 4, 195013Michigan State 35, Indiana 0at Michigan State
Nov 9, 1940Indiana 20, Michigan State 0at Indiana
Nov 18, 1939Michigan State 7, Indiana 7at Michigan State
Nov 5, 1927Indiana 33, Michigan State 7at Indiana
Oct 28, 1922Indiana 14, Michigan State 6at Indiana

Every game is listed as played on the field; a win the NCAA later vacated is marked “vacated”, and a game one side later forfeited is marked “forfeited”; the official series above counts them the NCAA’s way.