CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1974 Michigan State

7–⁠3–⁠1 (6–⁠1–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Dennis Stolz, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1974, game by game: won vs. Northwestern 41–7; won vs. Syracuse 19–0; lost at UCLA 14–56; lost vs. No. 7 Notre Dame 14–19; lost at No. 4 Michigan 7–21; tied at Illinois 21–21; won vs. Purdue 31–7; won at No. 20 Wisconsin 28–21; won vs. No. 1 Ohio State 16–13; won at Indiana 19–10; won vs. Iowa 60–21+39−42Won 41–7 vs. Northwestern+34NorthwesternWon 19–0 vs. Syracuse+19SyracuseLost 14–56 at UCLA-42UCLALost 14–19 vs. No. 7 Notre Dame-5No. 7 Notre DameLost 7–21 at No. 4 Michigan-14No. 4 MichiganTied 21–21 at Illinois0IllinoisWon 31–7 vs. Purdue+24PurdueWon 28–21 at No. 20 Wisconsin+7No. 20 WisconsinWon 16–13 vs. No. 1 Ohio State+3No. 1 Ohio StateWon 19–10 at Indiana+9IndianaWon 60–21 vs. Iowa+39Iowa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 14vsNorthwesternW 41–⁠770%
Sep 21vsSyracuseW 19–⁠072%
Sep 28atUCLAL 14–⁠5635%
Oct 5vs7Notre DameL 14–⁠1936%
Oct 12at4MichiganL 7–⁠2117%
Oct 19atIllinoisT 21–⁠2138%
Oct 26vsPurdueW 31–⁠758%
Nov 2at20WisconsinW 28–⁠2142%
Nov 9vs1Ohio StateW 16–⁠1328%
Nov 16atIndianaW 19–⁠1072%
Nov 23vsIowaW 60–⁠2184%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Iowa 60–⁠21; No. 12 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 11: 15
  2. Wk 12: 14
  3. Wk 13: 14
  4. Wk 14: 14
  5. Final: 12
Record
7–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠1–⁠1 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 12
Points
270–⁠196
Coach
Dennis Stolz
Elo
1590 +87 this season
SP+ rating
14.1 No. 28 of 124; offense No. 21, defense No. 38
SRS
14.1 No. 20 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Andy MacDonald
Captains
Clarence Bullock and James Tauber
Most valuable player
Charlie Baggett

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Levi JacksonRBUPI-1
  • Otto SmithDL
  • James TaubertDL
  • Greg SchaumDL
  • Terrence McClowryLBAP-1; UPI-1

Second team

  • Charlie AneCAP-2
  • Tom GravesDBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1974 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1974 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠13
Ohio State7–⁠110–⁠24
Michigan State6–⁠1–⁠17–⁠3–⁠112
Wisconsin5–⁠37–⁠4
Illinois4–⁠3–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
Purdue3–⁠54–⁠6–⁠1
Minnesota2–⁠64–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠63–⁠8
Iowa2–⁠63–⁠8
Indiana1–⁠71–⁠10

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