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1966 Michigan State

9–⁠0–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Big Ten), coached by Duffy Daugherty, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1966, game by game: won vs. NC State 28–10; won vs. Penn State 42–8; won at Illinois 26–10; won vs. Michigan 20–7; won at Ohio State 11–8; won vs. No. 9 Purdue 41–20; won at Northwestern 22–0; won vs. Iowa 56–7; won at Indiana 37–19; tied vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 10–10+49Won 28–10 vs. NC State+18NC StateWon 42–8 vs. Penn State+34Penn StateWon 26–10 at Illinois+16IllinoisWon 20–7 vs. Michigan+13MichiganWon 11–8 at Ohio State+3Ohio StateWon 41–20 vs. No. 9 Purdue+21No. 9 PurdueWon 22–0 at Northwestern+22NorthwesternWon 56–7 vs. Iowa+49IowaWon 37–19 at Indiana+18IndianaTied 10–10 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame0No. 1 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 17vsNC StateW 28–⁠1073%
Sep 24vsPenn StateW 42–⁠870%
Oct 1atIllinoisW 26–⁠1066%
Oct 8vsMichiganW 20–⁠776%
Oct 15atOhio StateW 11–⁠867%
Oct 22vs9PurdueW 41–⁠2073%
Oct 29atNorthwesternW 22–⁠078%
Nov 5vsIowaW 56–⁠794%
Nov 12atIndianaW 37–⁠1987%
Nov 19vs1Notre DameT 10–⁠1059%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Tied Notre Dame 10–⁠10; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 5th-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: 1
  3. Wk 3: 1
  4. Wk 4: 1
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 2
  7. Wk 7: 2
  8. Wk 8: 2
  9. Wk 9: 2
  10. Wk 10: 2
  11. Wk 11: 2
  12. Wk 12: 2
  13. Final: 2

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 1966.

National championsa title the school claims

Big Ten champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationGene Washington: yards per catch (25.1)

3 consensus All-AmericansClinton Jones, RB; Bubba Smith, DE; George Webster, LB

Record
9–⁠0–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
293–⁠99
Coach
Duffy Daugherty
Elo
1768 +111 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
23.8 No. 3 of 119 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Clinton Jones and George Webster
Most valuable player
George Webster

Drafted in 1967

The 1967 draft
Rd 1Bubba Smith DEBaltimore Colts
Rd 1Clinton Jones RBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 1George Webster LBHouston Oilers
Rd 1Gene Washington WRMinnesota Vikings
Rd 6Jeff Richardson DENew York Jets

All-Big Ten

10 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

  • Jimmy Raye IIQBAP-2; UPI-2
  • John PrzybckiOTAP-2
  • Philip HoagDEAP-2
  • Pat GallinaghDTAP-2; UPI-2
  • Jeff RichardsonDTUPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1966 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1966 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan State7–⁠09–⁠0–⁠12
Purdue6–⁠19–⁠27
Michigan4–⁠36–⁠4
Illinois4–⁠34–⁠6
Minnesota3–⁠3–⁠14–⁠5–⁠1
Ohio State3–⁠44–⁠5
Wisconsin2–⁠4–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
Northwestern2–⁠4–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
Indiana1–⁠5–⁠11–⁠8–⁠1
Iowa1–⁠62–⁠8

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