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1999 Michigan State

10–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Nick Saban, then Bobby Williams (bowl game), finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1999, game by game: won vs. Oregon 27–20; won vs. Eastern Michigan 51–7; won at No. 24 Notre Dame 23–13; won at Illinois 27–10; won vs. Iowa 49–3; won vs. No. 3 Michigan 34–31; lost at No. 20 Purdue 28–52; lost at No. 17 Wisconsin 10–40; won vs. No. 20 Ohio State 23–7; won at Northwestern 34–0; won vs. No. 13 Penn State 35–28; won vs. No. 10 Florida 37–34+46−30Won 27–20 vs. Oregon+7OregonWon 51–7 vs. Eastern Michigan+44Eastern MichiganWon 23–13 at No. 24 Notre Dame+10No. 24 Notre DameWon 27–10 at Illinois+17IllinoisWon 49–3 vs. Iowa+46IowaWon 34–31 vs. No. 3 Michigan+3No. 3 MichiganLost 28–52 at No. 20 Purdue-24No. 20 PurdueLost 10–40 at No. 17 Wisconsin-30No. 17 WisconsinWon 23–7 vs. No. 20 Ohio State+16No. 20 Ohio StateWon 34–0 at Northwestern+34NorthwesternWon 35–28 vs. No. 13 Penn State+7No. 13 Penn StateWon 37–34 vs. No. 10 Florida+3No. 10 Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsOregonW 27–⁠2054%
Sep 11vsEastern MichiganW 51–⁠780%
Sep 18at24Notre DameW 23–⁠1342%
Sep 25atIllinoisW 27–⁠1062%
Oct 2vsIowaW 49–⁠382%
Oct 9vs3MichiganW 34–⁠3144%
Oct 16at20PurdueL 28–⁠5246%
Oct 23at17WisconsinL 10–⁠4036%
Nov 6vs20Ohio StateW 23–⁠750%
Nov 13atNorthwesternW 34–⁠076%
Nov 20vs13Penn StateW 35–⁠2848%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs10FloridaCitrus BowlW 37–⁠3444%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Florida 37–⁠34 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 19
  2. Wk 6: 14
  3. Wk 7: 11
  4. Wk 8: 5
  5. Wk 9: 11
  6. Wk 10: 19
  7. Wk 11: 19
  8. Wk 12: 17
  9. Wk 13: 15
  10. Wk 14: 11
  11. Wk 15: 10
  12. Wk 16: 9
  13. Final: 7

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 1999.

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 5
Points
378–⁠245
Coach
Nick Saban, then Bobby Williams (bowl game)
Elo
1694 +139 this season
SP+ rating
23.0 No. 8 of 114; offense No. 10, defense No. 15
SRS
18.2 No. 9 of 114 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Morris Watts
Defensive coordinator
Bill Miller
Most valuable player
Aric Morris

Drafted in 2000

The 2000 draft
Rd 1Plaxico Burress WRPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 1Julian Peterson LBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 4Gari Scott WRPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 4Greg Robinson-Randall OTNew England Patriots
Rd 5Aric Morris DBTennessee Titans
Rd 6Paul Edinger KChicago Bears
Rd 6Robaire Smith DETennessee Titans

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1999 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1999 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin7–⁠110–⁠24
Michigan State6–⁠210–⁠27
Michigan6–⁠210–⁠25
Penn State5–⁠310–⁠311
Minnesota5–⁠38–⁠418
Illinois4–⁠48–⁠424
Purdue4–⁠47–⁠525
Ohio State3–⁠56–⁠6
Indiana3–⁠54–⁠7
Northwestern1–⁠73–⁠8
Iowa0–⁠81–⁠10

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