CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2007 Michigan State

7–⁠6 (3–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Mark Dantonio.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2007, game by game: won vs. UAB 55–18; won vs. Bowling Green 28–17; won vs. Pittsburgh 17–13; won at Notre Dame 31–14; lost at No. 9 Wisconsin 34–37; lost vs. Northwestern 41–48; won vs. Indiana 52–27; lost at No. 1 Ohio State 17–24; lost at Iowa 27–34; lost vs. No. 15 Michigan 24–28; won at Purdue 48–31; won vs. Penn State 35–31; lost vs. No. 12 Boston College 21–24+37−7Won 55–18 vs. UAB+37UABWon 28–17 vs. Bowling Green+11Bowling GreenWon 17–13 vs. Pittsburgh+4PittsburghWon 31–14 at Notre Dame+17Notre DameLost 34–37 at No. 9 Wisconsin-3No. 9 WisconsinLost 41–48 vs. Northwestern-7NorthwesternWon 52–27 vs. Indiana+25IndianaLost 17–24 at No. 1 Ohio State-7No. 1 Ohio StateLost 27–34 at Iowa-7IowaLost 24–28 vs. No. 15 Michigan-4No. 15 MichiganWon 48–31 at Purdue+17PurdueWon 35–31 vs. Penn State+4Penn StateLost 21–24 vs. No. 12 Boston College-3No. 12 Boston College
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsUABW 55–⁠1864%
Sep 8vsBowling GreenW 28–⁠1765%
Sep 15vsPittsburghW 17–⁠1351%
Sep 22atNotre DameW 31–⁠1440%
Sep 29at9WisconsinL 34–⁠3724%
Oct 6vsNorthwesternL 41–⁠4870%
Oct 13vsIndianaW 52–⁠2755%
Oct 20at1Ohio StateL 17–⁠2415%
Oct 27atIowaL 27–⁠3450%
Nov 3vs15MichiganL 24–⁠2832%
Nov 10atPurdueW 48–⁠3129%
Nov 17vsPenn StateW 35–⁠3141%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs12Boston CollegeChamps Sports BowlL 21–⁠2436%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Boston College 24–⁠21 in the Champs Sports Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 51st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 7th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
430–⁠346
Coach
Mark Dantonio
Elo
1556 +102 this season
SP+ rating
10.0 No. 41 of 120; offense No. 37, defense No. 48, special teams No. 51
SRS
7.0 No. 37 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 53
Offensive coordinator
Don Treadwell
Defensive coordinator
Pat Narduzzi

How good, play by play

  • Offense41st of 119
  • Defense31st of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0641%0.9441st of 119
Defense0.0139%0.9531st of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 333% allowed
Defense0.0own 302% 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 2007 class

Mark Dell WR★★★★No. 135
Arthur Ray Jr. OG★★★No. 483
Andre Anderson APB★★★No. 816
Ryan Wheat DT★★★No. 879
Chase Dumphord OG★★★No. 1020

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

The 2007 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.830
Receivers33.00.829
Offensive line23.00.848
Defensive line33.00.821
Athletes and specialists13.00.807
Whole class113.00.829

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 2008

The 2008 draft
Rd 2Devin Thomas WRWashington Redskins
Rd 5Kellen Davis TEChicago Bears
Rd 7Ervin Baldwin DEChicago Bears

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 3 second team

First team

  • Jonal Saint-DicDLCoaches-2; Media-1

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2007 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2007 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠111–⁠25
Michigan6–⁠29–⁠418
Illinois6–⁠29–⁠420
Wisconsin5–⁠39–⁠424
Penn State4–⁠49–⁠4
Iowa4–⁠46–⁠6
Purdue3–⁠58–⁠5
Michigan State3–⁠57–⁠6
Indiana3–⁠57–⁠6
Northwestern3–⁠56–⁠6
Minnesota0–⁠81–⁠11

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