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1956 Michigan State

7–⁠2 (4–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Duffy Daugherty, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1956, game by game: won at No. 12 Stanford 21–7; won at No. 5 Michigan 9–0; won vs. Indiana 53–6; won at Notre Dame 47–14; lost at Illinois 13–20; won vs. Wisconsin 33–0; won vs. Purdue 12–9; lost at No. 17 Minnesota 13–14; won vs. Kansas State 38–17+47−7Won 21–7 at No. 12 Stanford+14No. 12 StanfordWon 9–0 at No. 5 Michigan+9No. 5 MichiganWon 53–6 vs. Indiana+47IndianaWon 47–14 at Notre Dame+33Notre DameLost 13–20 at Illinois-7IllinoisWon 33–0 vs. Wisconsin+33WisconsinWon 12–9 vs. Purdue+3PurdueLost 13–14 at No. 17 Minnesota-1No. 17 MinnesotaWon 38–17 vs. Kansas State+21Kansas State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 29at12StanfordW 21–⁠754%
Oct 6at5MichiganW 9–⁠052%
Oct 13vsIndianaW 53–⁠688%
Oct 20atNotre DameW 47–⁠1460%
Oct 27atIllinoisL 13–⁠2076%
Nov 3vsWisconsinW 33–⁠081%
Nov 10vsPurdueW 12–⁠977%
Nov 17at17MinnesotaL 13–⁠1461%
Nov 24vsKansas StateW 38–⁠1788%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Kansas State 38–⁠17; No. 9 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 2
  2. Wk 2: 3
  3. Wk 3: 2
  4. Wk 4: 2
  5. Wk 5: 2
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 3
  10. Wk 10: 10
  11. Wk 11: 9
  12. Final: 9

Players on this team

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 1956.

Record
7–⁠2
Conference
4–⁠2 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 1
Points
239–⁠87
Coach
Duffy Daugherty
Elo
1719 +63 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
23.3 No. 4 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
John Matsko
Most valuable player
James Hinsley

Drafted in 1957

The 1957 draft
Rd 1Clarence Peaks FBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 3Dennis Mendyk BNew York Giants
Rd 5Vic Zucco BChicago Bears
Rd 7Tom Saidock OTPhiladelphia Eagles

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 3 second team

First team

  • John MatskoCAP-1; UP-2

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1956 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1956 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Iowa5–⁠19–⁠13
Michigan5–⁠27–⁠27
Minnesota4–⁠1–⁠26–⁠1–⁠212
Michigan State4–⁠27–⁠29
Ohio State4–⁠26–⁠315
Northwestern3–⁠3–⁠14–⁠4–⁠1
Purdue1–⁠4–⁠23–⁠4–⁠2
Illinois1–⁠4–⁠22–⁠5–⁠2
Wisconsin0–⁠4–⁠31–⁠5–⁠3
Indiana1–⁠53–⁠6

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.