CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Michigan State

6–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Mark Dantonio.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2009, game by game: won vs. Montana State 44–3; lost vs. Central Michigan 27–29; lost at Notre Dame 30–33; lost at Wisconsin 30–38; won vs. No. 22 Michigan 26–20; won at Illinois 24–14; won vs. Northwestern 24–14; lost vs. No. 7 Iowa 13–15; lost at Minnesota 34–42; won vs. Western Michigan 49–14; won at Purdue 40–37; lost vs. No. 13 Penn State 14–42; lost vs. Texas Tech 31–41+41−28Won 44–3 vs. Montana State+41Montana StateLost 27–29 vs. Central Michigan-2Central MichiganLost 30–33 at Notre Dame-3Notre DameLost 30–38 at Wisconsin-8WisconsinWon 26–20 vs. No. 22 Michigan+6No. 22 MichiganWon 24–14 at Illinois+10IllinoisWon 24–14 vs. Northwestern+10NorthwesternLost 13–15 vs. No. 7 Iowa-2No. 7 IowaLost 34–42 at Minnesota-8MinnesotaWon 49–14 vs. Western Michigan+35Western MichiganWon 40–37 at Purdue+3PurdueLost 14–42 vs. No. 13 Penn State-28No. 13 Penn StateLost 31–41 vs. Texas Tech-10Texas Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsMontana StateW 44–⁠386%
Sep 12vsCentral MichiganL 27–⁠2969%
Sep 19atNotre DameL 30–⁠3344%
Sep 26atWisconsinL 30–⁠3838%
Oct 3vs22MichiganW 26–⁠2056%
Oct 10atIllinoisW 24–⁠1455%
Oct 17vsNorthwesternW 24–⁠1464%
Oct 24vs7IowaL 13–⁠1542%
Oct 31atMinnesotaL 34–⁠4256%
Nov 7vsWestern MichiganW 49–⁠1471%
Nov 14atPurdueW 40–⁠3758%
Nov 21vs13Penn StateL 14–⁠4242%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvsTexas TechAlamo BowlL 31–⁠4133%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas Tech 41–⁠31 in the Alamo Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The tied 59th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

Consensus All-AmericanGreg Jones, LB

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
386–⁠342
Coach
Mark Dantonio
Elo
1546 −26 this season
SP+ rating
8.7 No. 38 of 120; offense No. 34, defense No. 51, special teams No. 25
SRS
3.7 No. 49 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 22
Offensive coordinator
Don Treadwell
Defensive coordinator
Pat Narduzzi

How good, play by play

  • Offense58th of 120
  • Defense74th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted63rd of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted65th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0441%0.9258th of 120
Defense0.0642%0.9374th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.05 def		41% off
40% def		—63rd off
65th def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 312% allowed
Defense0.1own 322% 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsKirk Cousins QB2,680 yds
Passing touchdownsKirk Cousins QB19 TD
Rushing yardsLarry Caper RB468 yds
Rushing touchdownsLarry Caper RB6 TD
Receiving yardsBlair White WR990 yds
Receiving touchdownsBlair White WR9 TD
InterceptionsAndre Anderson RB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

David Barrent OT★★★★No. 57
Edwin Baker RB★★★★No. 99
Chris Norman OLB★★★★No. 155
Andrew Maxwell PRO★★★★No. 185
Dion Sims TE★★★★No. 305
Donald Spencer WR★★★★No. 335

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

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.922
Running backs23.00.861
Receivers33.70.867
Offensive line43.30.894
Defensive line33.00.831
Linebackers23.50.877
Defensive backs13.00.843
Athletes and specialists23.00.838
Whole class183.30.866

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 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 7Jeremy Ware CBOakland Raiders

Roster 105

The 2009 roster

105 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 31 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

4 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 2009 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2009 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠111–⁠25
Iowa6–⁠211–⁠27
Penn State6–⁠211–⁠29
Wisconsin5–⁠310–⁠316
Northwestern5–⁠38–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠46–⁠7
Purdue4–⁠45–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠56–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠63–⁠9
Michigan1–⁠75–⁠7
Indiana1–⁠74–⁠8

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