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2012 Michigan State

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

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2012, game by game: won vs. No. 24 Boise State 17–13; won at Central Michigan 41–7; lost vs. No. 20 Notre Dame 3–20; won vs. Eastern Michigan 23–7; lost vs. No. 14 Ohio State 16–17; won at Indiana 31–27; lost vs. Iowa 16–19; lost at No. 23 Michigan 10–12; won at Wisconsin 16–13; lost vs. No. 21 Nebraska 24–28; lost vs. Northwestern 20–23; won at Minnesota 26–10; won vs. TCU 17–16+34−17Won 17–13 vs. No. 24 Boise State+4No. 24 Boise StateWon 41–7 at Central Michigan+34Central MichiganLost 3–20 vs. No. 20 Notre Dame-17No. 20 Notre DameWon 23–7 vs. Eastern Michigan+16Eastern MichiganLost 16–17 vs. No. 14 Ohio State-1No. 14 Ohio StateWon 31–27 at Indiana+4IndianaLost 16–19 vs. Iowa-3IowaLost 10–12 at No. 23 Michigan-2No. 23 MichiganWon 16–13 at Wisconsin+3WisconsinLost 24–28 vs. No. 21 Nebraska-4No. 21 NebraskaLost 20–23 vs. Northwestern-3NorthwesternWon 26–10 at Minnesota+16MinnesotaWon 17–16 vs. TCU+1TCU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vs24Boise StateW 17–⁠1347%
Sep 8atCentral MichiganW 41–⁠775%
Sep 15vs20Notre DameL 3–⁠2064%
Sep 22vsEastern MichiganW 23–⁠788%
Sep 29vs14Ohio StateL 16–⁠1760%
Oct 6atIndianaW 31–⁠2774%
Oct 13vsIowaL 16–⁠1967%
Oct 20at23MichiganL 10–⁠1237%
Oct 27atWisconsinW 16–⁠1331%
Nov 3vs21NebraskaL 24–⁠2856%
Nov 17vsNorthwesternL 20–⁠2364%
Nov 24atMinnesotaW 26–⁠1060%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsTCUBuffalo Wild Wings BowlW 17–⁠1646%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat TCU 17–⁠16 in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 33rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 13
  2. Wk 2: 11
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 21
  5. Wk 5: 20
Record
7–⁠6
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 7th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 10
Points
260–⁠212
Coach
Mark Dantonio
Elo
1623 −15 this season
SP+ rating
12.4 No. 33 of 124; offense No. 101, defense No. 2, special teams No. 19
SRS
5.7 No. 43 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 34
Offensive coordinator
Dan Roushar
Defensive coordinator
Pat Narduzzi
Captains
Max Bullough, Andrew Maxwell and Chris Norman
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense78th of 124
  • Defense1st of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted73rd of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted1st of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0438%0.9278th of 124
Defense-0.0832%1.021st of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
-0.04 def		39% off
33% def		—73rd off
1st 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-0.3own 292% allowed
Defense0.0own 293% 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 yardsAndrew Maxwell QB2,606 yds
Passing touchdownsAndrew Maxwell QB13 TD
Rushing yardsLe’Veon Bell RB1,793 yds
Rushing touchdownsLe’Veon Bell RB12 TD
Receiving yardsKeith Mumphery WR515 yds
Receiving touchdownsAaron Burbridge WR2 TD
InterceptionsDarqueze Dennard CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Aaron Burbridge WR★★★★No. 88
Demetrious Cox S★★★★No. 192
Monty Madaris WR★★★★No. 248
Jamal Lyles OLB★★★★No. 328
Tyler O’Connor PRO★★★No. 414

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

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.885
Running backs12.00.795
Receivers63.20.871
Offensive line33.00.863
Defensive line13.00.819
Linebackers23.50.879
Defensive backs33.30.865
Athletes and specialists12.00.700
Whole class183.10.854

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 2013

The 2013 draft
Rd 2Le’veon Bell RBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 4Dion Sims TEMiami Dolphins
Rd 4William Gholston DETampa Bay Buccaneers

Roster 114

The 2012 roster

114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 30 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2012 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2012 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠012–⁠03
Nebraska7–⁠110–⁠425
Penn State6–⁠28–⁠4
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠524
Northwestern5–⁠310–⁠317
Wisconsin4–⁠48–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠57–⁠6
Purdue3–⁠56–⁠7
Minnesota2–⁠66–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠64–⁠8
Iowa2–⁠64–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠82–⁠10

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