Michigan State vs. USC
Michigan State and USC have 9 meetings on file, the first in 1963; USC leads the series 5–4 in the games on file. Over the last 9 meetings it’s USC 5–4. Share
2028 at Michigan State. As the programs’ Wikipedia articles list them (CC BY-SA).
- Michigan State wins
- 4
- USC wins
- 5
- Ties
- 0
- Earliest on file
- 1963
- Longest streak
- 3 USC
- Current streak
- 1 USC
- Last 10 meetings
- USC 5–4
- Most recent
- 2025
The series at a glance
| ’0 | ’1 | ’2 | ’3 | ’4 | ’5 | ’6 | ’7 | ’8 | ’9 | W–L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1–2 | ||||||||||
| 1970s | 0–2 | ||||||||||
| 1980s | 2–0 | ||||||||||
| 1990s | 1–0 | ||||||||||
| 2020s | 0–1 |
- Both ranked
- 2 meetings: Michigan State 2, USC 0
- Average margin
- 12.8 points; 4 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
- At Michigan State
- 2–1 Michigan State’s record at home
- At USC
- 4–0 USC’s record at home
- Neutral sites
- 2–0 Michigan State first
Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.
Games that tell the story
- Michigan State’s biggest win1987: Michigan State 27, USC 13by 14 points
- USC’s biggest win1972: USC 51, Michigan State 6by 45 points
- Ranked showdown1987: Michigan State 20, USC 17No. 8 Michigan State at No. 16 USC
- Ranked showdown1990: Michigan State 17, USC 16No. 21 USC at No. 22 Michigan State
Coach against coach
| Years | Michigan State | Series | USC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963–1972 | Duffy Daugherty | 1–3 | John McKay |
| 1987–1990 | George Perles | 3–0 | Larry Smith |
Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Michigan State’s side (Daugherty 1–3 against McKay). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.
Both programs through the years
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
Named most valuable
| Courtney Hawkins Michigan State | 1990 |
| Percy Snow Michigan State | 1987 |
Most valuable: as the games’ Wikipedia articles name them (CC BY-SA).
On television
| 2025 | FOX | 2.1 million viewers |
Viewers: Nielsen, as compiled by nschultz7’s ratings tracker.
Every game
| Sep 20, 2025 | 25USC 45, Michigan State 31 | at USC | ||
| Dec 31, 1990 | 22Michigan State 17, 21USC 16 | Neutral site | John Hancock Bowl | |
| Jan 1, 1988 | 8Michigan State 20, 16USC 17 | Neutral site | Rose Bowl | |
| Sep 7, 1987 | Michigan State 27, 19USC 13 | at Michigan State | ||
| Sep 29, 1978 | 3USC 30, Michigan State 9 | at USC | ||
| Sep 30, 1972 | 1USC 51, Michigan State 6 | at USC | ||
| Sep 30, 1967 | 2USC 21, Michigan State 17 | at Michigan State | ||
| Oct 3, 1964 | Michigan State 17, 2USC 7 | at Michigan State | ||
| Oct 4, 1963 | 8USC 13, Michigan State 10 | at USC |
Every game is listed as played on the field.