CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2001 Michigan State

7–⁠5 (3–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Bobby Williams.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2001, game by game: won vs. Central Michigan 35–21; won at Notre Dame 17–10; lost at No. 16 Northwestern 26–27; won vs. Iowa 31–28; lost at Minnesota 19–28; won at Wisconsin 42–28; won vs. No. 6 Michigan 26–24; lost vs. Indiana 28–37; lost at Purdue 14–24; lost vs. Penn State 37–42; won vs. Missouri 55–7; won vs. No. 20 Fresno State 44–35+48−10Won 35–21 vs. Central Michigan+14Central MichiganWon 17–10 at Notre Dame+7Notre DameLost 26–27 at No. 16 Northwestern-1No. 16 NorthwesternWon 31–28 vs. Iowa+3IowaLost 19–28 at Minnesota-9MinnesotaWon 42–28 at Wisconsin+14WisconsinWon 26–24 vs. No. 6 Michigan+2No. 6 MichiganLost 28–37 vs. Indiana-9IndianaLost 14–24 at Purdue-10PurdueLost 37–42 vs. Penn State-5Penn StateWon 55–7 vs. Missouri+48MissouriWon 44–35 vs. No. 20 Fresno State+9No. 20 Fresno State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vsCentral MichiganW 35–⁠2177%
Sep 22atNotre DameW 17–⁠1039%
Sep 29at16NorthwesternL 26–⁠2743%
Oct 13vsIowaW 31–⁠2870%
Oct 20atMinnesotaL 19–⁠2858%
Oct 27atWisconsinW 42–⁠2841%
Nov 3vs6MichiganW 26–⁠2437%
Nov 10vsIndianaL 28–⁠3775%
Nov 17atPurdueL 14–⁠2441%
Nov 24vsPenn StateL 37–⁠4258%
Dec 1vsMissouriW 55–⁠770%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs20Fresno StateSilicon Valley Football ClassicW 44–⁠3533%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Fresno State 44–⁠35 in the Silicon Valley Football Classic; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 50th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 23
  2. Wk 12: 22

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 2001.

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 8th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 22
Points
374–⁠311
Coach
Bobby Williams
Elo
1572 +37 this season
SP+ rating
8.6 No. 43 of 117; offense No. 27, defense No. 57
SRS
7.6 No. 34 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 44
Offensive coordinator
Morris Watts
Defensive coordinator
Bill Miller

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 34— allowed
Defense0.0own 33— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2001 class

Robert Strickland WR★★★★No. 114

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2001 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers14.00.965

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2002

The 2002 draft
Rd 1T.J. Duckett RBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 3Chris Baker TENew York Jets
Rd 5Herb Haygood WRDenver Broncos
Rd 5Josh Shaw DTSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 6Craig Jarrett PSeattle Seahawks

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 4 second team

First team

  • Josh ThornhillLBCoaches-1; Media-1

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2001 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2001 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Illinois7–⁠110–⁠212
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠420
Ohio State5–⁠37–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠5
Purdue4–⁠46–⁠6
Penn State4–⁠45–⁠6
Indiana4–⁠45–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠57–⁠5
Wisconsin3–⁠55–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠64–⁠7
Minnesota2–⁠64–⁠7

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