Michigan State and Penn State have 39 meetings on file, the first in 1914; Penn State leads the series 20–18–1 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Penn State 6–4, and Penn State has won the last 3. The winner takes home the Land Grant Trophy, played for since about 1993. Penn State has held it since the 2022 game. Share
Scheduled2027 at Penn State; 2028 at Michigan State. As the programs’ Wikipedia articles list them (CC BY-SA).
Who holds it comes from the games on file: the winner of the latest regular-season meeting since about 1993 (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: Penn State leads, 19–10. From Wikipedia’s list of rivalry games and the rivalry’s article (CC BY-SA). More on the Land Grant Trophy.
Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Michigan State’s side (Saban 2–3 against Paterno). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.
Both programs through the years
Michigan State Penn StateTicks under the axis: each meeting, in the winner’s color
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.
From the newspapers
1914 · Evening public ledger, Philadelphia [Pa.], Nov 13, 1914
1951 · Evening star, District of Columbia, Oct 21, 1951
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.
On television
ESPN’s College GameDay has broadcast from this game once: 2005.
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