1953 Michigan State
9–1 (5–1 Big Ten), coached by Biggie Munn, finished No. 3 in the AP poll. Share
Schedule and results
- Best winBeat No. 5 UCLA 28–20Jan 1
Over the best-ranked team it beat, at a neutral site.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26 | at Iowa | W 21–7 | 76% |
| Oct 3 | at Minnesota | W 21–0 | 73% |
| Oct 10 | vs TCU | W 26–19 | 80% |
| Oct 17 | vs Indiana | W 47–18 | 90% |
| Oct 24 | at Purdue | L 0–6 | 78% |
| Oct 31 | vs Oregon State | W 34–6 | 90% |
| Nov 7 | at 16Ohio State | W 28–13 | 56% |
| Nov 14 | vs Michigan | W 14–6 | 78% |
| Nov 21 | vsMarquette | W 21–15 | 78% |
| Jan 1Bowls & playoff | vs 5UCLARose Bowl | W 28–20 | 49% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat UCLA 28–20 in the Rose Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.
In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 2
- Wk 2: 2
- Wk 3: 2
- Wk 4: 2
- Wk 5: 2
- Wk 6: 6
- Wk 7: 5
- Wk 8: 4
- Wk 9: 3
- Wk 10: 3
- Final: 3
Players on this team
Earl MorrallQuarterback
Hank BulloughGuard
Leroy BoldenBack
Bert ZagersBack- Norm MastersOffensive tackle
- Don DohoneyEnd
- Billy WellsBack
- Vic ZuccoBack
Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1953.
Big Ten champions5–1 in the conference, shared with Illinois
- Record
- 9–1
- Conference
- 5–1 shared first in Big Ten
- AP final
- No. 3 peak No. 2
- Points
- 240–110
- Coach
- Biggie Munn
- Elo
- 1775 +76 this season
- SP+ rating
- —
- SRS
- 21.2 No. 4 of 110 major-college teams
- Recruiting class
- —
- Captain
- Don Dohoney
- Most valuable player
- Leroy Bolden
Drafted in 1954
The 1954 draft| Rd 2 | Jim Neal C | Detroit Lions |
| Rd 5 | Don Dohoney E | Chicago Cardinals |
| Rd 5 | Billy Wells B | Washington Redskins |
All-Big Ten
2 first team, 3 second teamFirst team
Don DohoneyEAP-1; UP-1- Leroy BoldenBAP-1; UP-1
Second team
- Randy SchrecengostOTUP-2
- Ferris HallmarkOGAP-2
- Tom YewcicBAP-2
From Wikipedia’s 1953 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
1953 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 5–1 | 9–1 | 3 |
 Illinois | 5–1 | 7–1–1 | 7 |
 Wisconsin | 4–1–1 | 6–2–1 | 15 |
| Ohio State | 4–3 | 6–3 | |
| Michigan | 3–3 | 6–3 | 20 |
| Iowa | 3–3 | 5–3–1 | 9 |
| Minnesota | 3–3–1 | 4–4–1 | |
| Purdue | 2–4 | 2–7 | |
| Indiana | 1–5 | 2–7 | |
 Northwestern | 0–6 | 3–6 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.