1955 Michigan State
9–1 (5–1 Big Ten), coached by Duffy Daugherty, finished No. 2 in the AP poll. Share
Schedule and results
- Best winBeat No. 4 UCLA 17–14Jan 2
Over the best-ranked team it beat, at a neutral site.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24 | at Indiana | W 20–13 | 61% |
| Oct 1 | at Michigan | L 7–14 | 41% |
| Oct 8 | vs Stanford | W 38–14 | 66% |
| Oct 15 | vs Notre Dame | W 21–7 | 37% |
| Oct 22 | vs Illinois | W 21–7 | 71% |
| Oct 29 | at Wisconsin | W 27–0 | 44% |
| Nov 5 | at Purdue | W 27–0 | 59% |
| Nov 12 | vs Minnesota | W 42–14 | 82% |
| Nov 19 | vsMarquette | W 33–0 | 88% |
| Jan 2Bowls & playoff | vs 4UCLARose Bowl | W 17–14 | 42% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat UCLA 17–14 in the Rose Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 5: 13
- Wk 6: 6
- Wk 7: 5
- Wk 8: 4
- Wk 9: 3
- Wk 10: 3
- Wk 11: 2
- Final: 2
Players on this team
Earl MorrallQuarterback
Tom SaidockOffensive tackle- Walt KowalczykRunning back
- Norm MastersOffensive tackle
- 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 1955.
National championsa title the school claims
Heisman voteEarl Morrall, fourth
- Record
- 9–1
- Conference
- 5–1 2nd in Big Ten
- AP final
- No. 2 peak No. 2
- Points
- 253–83
- Coach
- Duffy Daugherty
- Elo
- 1735 +170 this season
- SP+ rating
- —
- SRS
- 25.2 No. 2 of 110 major-college teams
- Recruiting class
- —
- Captain
- Carl Nystrom
- Most valuable player
- Carl Nystrom
Drafted in 1956
The 1956 draft| Rd 1 | Earl Morrall QB | San Francisco 49ers |
| Rd 2 | Norm Masters OT | Chicago Cardinals |
| Rd 3 | Bill Quinlan E | Cleveland Browns |
| Rd 5 | Gary Lowe B | Washington Redskins |
All-Big Ten
6 first teamFirst team
Norm MastersOTAP-1; UP-2; INS-1- Carl NystromOGAP-1; UP-2; INS-1
- Earl MorrallQB
- Walt KowalczykRB
- Clarence PeaksRB
- Jerry PlanutisFB
From Wikipedia’s 1955 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
1955 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ohio State | 6–0 | 7–2 | 5 |
| Michigan State | 5–1 | 9–1 | 2 |
| Michigan | 5–2 | 7–2 | 12 |
| Purdue | 4–2–1 | 5–3–1 | |
| Illinois | 3–3–1 | 5–3–1 | |
| Wisconsin | 3–4 | 4–5 | |
 Iowa | 2–3–1 | 3–5–1 | |
| Minnesota | 2–5 | 3–6 | |
| Indiana | 1–5 | 3–6 | |
 Northwestern | 0–6–1 | 0–8–1 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.