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2017 Michigan State

10–⁠3 (7–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Mark Dantonio, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2017, game by game: won vs. Bowling Green 35–10; won vs. Western Michigan 28–14; lost vs. Notre Dame 18–38; won vs. Iowa 17–10; won at No. 7 Michigan 14–10; won at Minnesota 30–27; won vs. Indiana 17–9; lost at Northwestern 31–39; won vs. No. 7 Penn State 27–24; lost at No. 11 Ohio State 3–48; won vs. Maryland 17–7; won at Rutgers 40–7; won vs. No. 21 Washington State 42–17+33−45Won 35–10 vs. Bowling Green+25Bowling GreenWon 28–14 vs. Western Michigan+14Western MichiganLost 18–38 vs. Notre Dame-20Notre DameWon 17–10 vs. Iowa+7IowaWon 14–10 at No. 7 Michigan+4No. 7 MichiganWon 30–27 at Minnesota+3MinnesotaWon 17–9 vs. Indiana+8IndianaLost 31–39 at Northwestern-8NorthwesternWon 27–24 vs. No. 7 Penn State+3No. 7 Penn StateLost 3–48 at No. 11 Ohio State-45No. 11 Ohio StateWon 17–7 vs. Maryland+10MarylandWon 40–7 at Rutgers+33RutgersWon 42–17 vs. No. 21 Washington State+25No. 21 Washington State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsBowling GreenW 35–⁠1063%
Sep 9vsWestern MichiganW 28–⁠1443%
Sep 23vsNotre DameL 18–⁠3852%
Sep 30vsIowaW 17–⁠1047%
Oct 7at7MichiganW 14–⁠1022%
Oct 14atMinnesotaW 30–⁠2746%
Oct 21vsIndianaW 17–⁠968%
Oct 28atNorthwesternL 31–⁠3946%
Nov 4vs7Penn StateW 27–⁠2436%
Nov 11at11Ohio StateL 3–⁠4828%
Nov 18vsMarylandW 17–⁠777%
Nov 25atRutgersW 40–⁠770%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs21Washington StateHoliday BowlW 42–⁠1749%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Washington State 42–⁠17 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 21
  2. Wk 8: 18
  3. Wk 9: 16
  4. Wk 10: 24
  5. Wk 11: 13
  6. Wk 12: 22
  7. Wk 13: 21
  8. Wk 14: 19
  9. Wk 15: 18
  10. Final: 15
Record
10–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 13
Points
319–⁠260
Coach
Mark Dantonio
Elo
1645 +144 this season
SP+ rating
13.8 No. 23 of 128; offense No. 72, defense No. 11, special teams No. 24
SRS
12.5 No. 20 of 130 in FBS
Returning
19% of last season’s EPA, No. 125 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 36 roster talent No. 30 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Dave Warner and Jim Bollman
Defensive coordinators
Harlon Barnett and Mike Tressel
Captains
Brian Allen and Chris Frey
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense75th of 130
  • Defense25th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted54th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted25th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0743%1.1275th of 130
Defense-0.0138%1.1925th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.00 def		44% off
38% def		—54th off
25th 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
Offense3.0own 3115% allowed
Defense3.0own 3018% caused

CORE rating 11.8, 19th of 130 (offense 1.9, defense -9.9).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsBrian Lewerke QB2,793 yds
Passing touchdownsBrian Lewerke QB20 TD
Rushing yardsL.J. Scott RB898 yds
Rushing touchdownsL.J. Scott RB8 TD
Receiving yardsFelton Davis III WR776 yds
Receiving touchdownsFelton Davis III WR9 TD
TacklesJoe Bachie LB94 tkl
SacksKenny Willekes DE6.5 sacks
InterceptionsDavid Dowell S5 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Kevin Jarvis OG★★★★No. 221
Matt Dotson TE★★★★No. 278
Antjuan Simmons OLB★★★★No. 309
Hunter Rison WR★★★★No. 310
Jordan Reid OG★★★No. 365

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.867
Running backs13.00.866
Receivers63.20.861
Offensive line53.00.856
Defensive line33.00.852
Linebackers43.00.828
Defensive backs43.00.840
Athletes and specialists42.80.816
Whole class283.00.845

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 4Brian Allen CLos Angeles Rams

Roster 101

The 2017 roster

101 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin9–⁠013–⁠17
Ohio State8–⁠112–⁠25
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠28
Northwestern7–⁠210–⁠317
Michigan State7–⁠210–⁠315
Michigan5–⁠48–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠58–⁠5
Purdue4–⁠57–⁠6
Rutgers3–⁠64–⁠8
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Minnesota2–⁠75–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Maryland2–⁠74–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠92–⁠10

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