1966 Michigan State Spartans football team

American college football season

1966 Michigan State Spartans football
National champion (Football Research) Co-national champion (Helms, NFF, Poling) Big Ten champion
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	9–0–1 (7–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Duffy Daugherty (13th season)
MVP	George Webster
Captain	Clinton Jones, George Webster
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium
Seasons ← 1965 1967 →

1966 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Michigan State $	7	–	0	–	0	9	–	0	–	1
No. 7 Purdue	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Michigan	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Illinois	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	3	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Ohio State	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	4	–	1	3	–	6	–	1
Wisconsin	2	–	4	–	1	3	–	6	–	1
Indiana	1	–	5	–	1	1	–	8	–	1
Iowa	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1966 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1966 Big Ten Conference football season. Michigan State lodged a 9–0–1 record, with a season-concluding tie against Notre Dame in the "game of the century", considered among the greatest games in college football history.

The College Football Researchers Association selected Michigan State as national champion, while the Helms Athletic Foundation, National Football Foundation (NFF), and Poling System selected them as co-national champion.^[1]^: 113 Notre Dame was selected as national champion by the AP and Coaches polls.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 17	NC State*	No. 2	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 28–10	55,418	^[3]
September 24	Penn State*	No. 1	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	W 42–8	65,763
October 1	at Illinois	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 26–10	57,747
October 8	Michigan	No. 1	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	W 20–7	78,833
October 15	at Ohio State	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 11–8	84,282
October 22	No. 9 Purdue	No. 2	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 41–20	78,004
October 29	at Northwestern	No. 2	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 22–0	44,304
November 5	Iowa	No. 2	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 56–7	68,711
November 12	at Indiana	No. 2	Seventeenth Street Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)	W 37–19	30,096
November 19	No. 1 Notre Dame*	No. 2	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	T 10–10	80,011
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[4]

Personnel

1966 Michigan State Spartans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
FB	`45`	Robert Apisa	Jr
RB	`25`	Regis Cavender	So
RB	`26`	Clinton Jones	Sr
RB	`34`	Dwight Lee	Jr
OT	`57`	Joe Przybycki	Jr
QB	`16`	James Raye	Jr
WR	`84`	Gene Washington	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DL	`61`	Charles Bailey	So
DL	`55`	Pat Gallinagh
S		Jess Phillips	Jr
DE		Jeff Richardson	Sr
DL	`95`	Bubba Smith	Sr
DB	`20`	James Summers	Sr
DB	`41`	Charlie Thornhill	Sr
LB	`90`	George Webster	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`42`	Dick Kenney	Sr

Head coach

Duffy Daugherty

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Rankings

Game summaries

NC State

Penn State

At Illinois

Michigan

Michigan at Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolverines	0	0	0	7	7
• No. 1 Spartans	7	0	0	13	20

Date: October 8
Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan
Game attendance: 78,833

Scoring summary

Q1	MSU	Raye 5 yard run (Kenney kick)	MSU 7–0

Q4	MSU	Apisa 7 yard run (kick failed)	MSU 13–0

Q4	MSU	Washington 25 yard pass from Raye (Kenney kick)	MSU 20–0

Q4	MICH	Detwiler 15 yard pass from Vidmer (Sygar kick)	MSU 20–7

^[5]

At Ohio State

Michigan State at Ohio State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Spartans	0	0	3	8	11
Buckeyes	2	0	0	6	8

Date: October 15
Location: Ohio Stadium
Game attendance: 84,282
Game weather: Rain, wind SE 20-35, 69 °F (21 °C)

Scoring summary

Q1	8:09	OSU	Safety, center pass through end zone	OSU 2–0

Q3	6:02	MSU	Kenny 27-yard field goal	MSU 3–2

Q4	14:53	OSU	Long 47-yard pass to Anders (kick failed)	OSU 8–3

Q4	7:09	MSU	Apisa 1-yard run (Kenney pass to Wedemeyer)	MSU 11–8

Purdue

Purdue at Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 9 Boilermakers	0	0	7	13	20
• No. 2 Spartans	7	14	14	6	41

Date: October 22
Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan
Game attendance: 70,014
TV announcers: ABC

Scoring summary

Q1	MSU	Lee 3 yard run (Kenney kick)	MSU 7–0

Q2	MSU	Raye 16 yard run (Kenney kick)	MSU 14–0

Q2	MSU	Apisa 6 yard pass from Raye (Kenney kick)	MSU 21–0

Q3	MSU	Apisa 2 yard run (Kenney kick)	MSU 28–0

Q3	PUR	Griese 6 yard run (Griese kick)	MSU 28–7

Q3	MSU	Apisa 10 yard run (Kenney kick)	MSU 35–7

Q4	PUR	Hurst 2 yard run (kick failed)	MSU 35–13

Q4	MSU	Cavender 2 yard run (pass failed)	MSU 41–13

Q4	PUR	Griese 2 yard run (Griese kick)	MSU 41–20

^[6]

At Northwestern

Iowa

At Indiana

Notre Dame

Notre Dame at Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No.1 Fighting Irish	0	7	0	3	10
No. 2 Spartans	0	10	0	0	10

Date: November 19
Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan
TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson

Scoring summary

2	MSU	Cavender 4-yard run (Kenney kick)	MSU 7-0

2	MSU	Kenney 47-yard field goal	MSU 10-0

2	ND	Gladieux 34-yard pass from O'Brien (Azzaro kick)	MSU 10-7

4	ND	Azzaro 28-yard field goal	Tied 10-10

The 1966 Michigan State vs. Notre Dame football game ("The Game of the Century") remains one of the greatest, and most controversial, games in college football history.^[7] The game was played in Michigan State's Spartan Stadium on November 19, 1966. Michigan State entered the contest 9–0 and ranked #2, while Notre Dame entered the contest 8–0 and ranked #1. Notre Dame elected not to try to score on its final series, thus the game ended in a 10–10 tie with both schools receiving national champion selections.^[8]

Team members in the NFL

In the 1967 NFL Draft, four of the top eight picks in the draft were players from Michigan State.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL franchise
Bubba Smith	Defensive end	1	1	Baltimore Colts
Clinton Jones	Running back	1	2	Minnesota Vikings
George Webster	Linebacker	1	5	Houston Oilers
Gene Washington	Wide receiver	1	8	Minnesota Vikings
Jeff Richardson	Defensive end	6	146	New York Jets
James Summers	Defensive back	9	217	Denver Broncos
Charlie Thornhill	Defensive back	9	232	Boston Patriots
Dick Kenney	Kicker	14	358	Philadelphia Eagles

^[9]

References

^ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
^ "Past Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I FBS) National Champions (formerly called Division I-A)". ncaa.org. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2009.
^ "Jones, Apisa, Raye spark MSU, 28–10". Battle Creek Enquirer. September 18, 1966. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Football Statistics Summary for 1966". msuspartans.com. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
^ Jack Saylor (October 9, 1966). "Spartans Explode on U-M: Finish Strong in 20–7 Romp". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 7C – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Spartans Win Easily Over Purdue, 41-20." Palm Beach Post. 1966 Oct 23.
^ Celzic, Mike (1992). The Biggest Game of Them All: Notre Dame, Michigan State and the Fall of 1966. ISBN 978-0-671-75817-2.
^ Jenkins, Dan (November 28, 1966). "An Upside-Down Game". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
^ "1967 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2018.

v t e 1966 Michigan State Spartans football—NFF national co-champions
Bob Apisa Clinton Jones Jimmy Raye Jeff Richardson Bubba Smith Gene Washington George Webster Head coach: Duffy Daugherty Assistant coaches: Dan Boisture Hank Bullough Vince Carillot Al Dorow Cal Stoll

v t e Michigan State Spartans football
Venues	Old College Field (1902–1922) Spartan Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Indiana Michigan Notre Dame Penn State
Culture & lore	Sparty "Victory for MSU" Marching band Zeke the Wonder Dog 1966 "Game of the Century" 2001 Michigan game 2006 Northwestern game 2015 Michigan game
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e College football national champions (poll era)
1936–1949	1936: Minnesota (AP) 1937: Pittsburgh 1938: TCU 1939: Texas A&M 1940: Minnesota 1941: Minnesota 1942: Ohio State 1943: Notre Dame 1944: Army 1945: Army (AP) / Oklahoma A&M (Coaches) 1946: Notre Dame 1947: Notre Dame 1948: Michigan 1949: Notre Dame
1950s	1950: Oklahoma (AP, Coaches) 1951: Tennessee 1952: Michigan State 1953: Maryland 1954: Ohio State (AP) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches) 1955: Oklahoma 1956: Oklahoma 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, FWAA) 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches) / Iowa (FWAA) 1959: Syracuse (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1960s	1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA) 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA) 1962: USC 1963: Texas 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF) 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF) 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF) 1967: USC 1968: Ohio State 1969: Texas
1970s	1970: Nebraska (AP, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF) 1971: Nebraska 1972: USC 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches) 1974: Oklahoma (AP) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches) 1975: Oklahoma 1976: Pittsburgh 1977: Notre Dame 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches) 1979: Alabama
1980–1991	1980: Georgia 1981: Clemson 1982: Penn State 1983: Miami (FL) 1984: BYU 1985: Oklahoma 1986: Penn State 1987: Miami (FL) 1988: Notre Dame 1989: Miami (FL) 1990: Colorado (AP, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches) 1991: Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FWAA, UPI/NFF)

v t e Big Ten Conference football champions
Western Conference	Wisconsin (1896) Wisconsin (1897) Michigan (1898) Chicago (1899) Iowa & Minnesota (1900) Michigan & Wisconsin (1901) Michigan (1902) Michigan, Minnesota, & Northwestern (1903) Michigan & Minnesota (1904) Chicago (1905) Michigan, Minnesota, & Wisconsin (1906) Chicago (1907) Chicago (1908) Minnesota (1909) Illinois & Minnesota (1910) Minnesota (1911) Wisconsin (1912) Chicago (1913) Illinois (1914) Illinois & Minnesota (1915) Ohio State (1916)
Big Ten	Ohio State (1917) Illinois, Michigan, & Purdue (1918) Illinois (1919) Ohio State (1920) Iowa (1921) Chicago, Iowa, & Michigan (1922) Illinois & Michigan (1923) Chicago (1924) Michigan (1925) Michigan & Northwestern (1926) Illinois & Minnesota (1927) Illinois (1928) Purdue (1929) Michigan & Northwestern (1930) Purdue, Michigan & Northwestern (1931) Michigan & Purdue (1932) Michigan & Minnesota (1933) Minnesota (1934) Minnesota & Ohio State (1935) Northwestern (1936) Minnesota (1937) Minnesota (1938) Ohio State (1939) Minnesota (1940) Minnesota (1941) Ohio State (1942) Michigan & Purdue (1943) Ohio State (1944) Indiana (1945)
Big Nine	Illinois (1946) Michigan (1947) Michigan (1948) Michigan & Ohio State (1949)
Big Ten	Michigan (1950) Illinois (1951) Purdue & Wisconsin (1952) Illinois & Michigan State (1953) Ohio State (1954) Ohio State (1955) Iowa (1956) Ohio State (1957) Iowa (1958) Wisconsin (1959) Minnesota & Iowa (1960) Ohio State (1961) Wisconsin (1962) Illinois (1963) Michigan (1964) Michigan State (1965) Michigan State (1966) Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue (1967) Ohio State (1968) Michigan & Ohio State (1969) Ohio State (1970) Michigan (1971) Michigan & Ohio State (1972) Michigan & Ohio State (1973) Michigan & Ohio State (1974) Ohio State (1975) Michigan & Ohio State (1976) Michigan & Ohio State (1977) Michigan & Michigan State (1978) Ohio State (1979) Michigan (1980) Iowa & Ohio State (1981) Michigan (1982) Illinois (1983) Ohio State (1984) Iowa (1985) Michigan & Ohio State (1986) Michigan State (1987) Michigan (1988) Michigan (1989) Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, & Michigan State (1990) Michigan (1991) Michigan (1992) Ohio State & Wisconsin (1993) Penn State (1994) Northwestern (1995) Ohio State & Northwestern (1996) Michigan (1997) Michigan, Ohio State, & Wisconsin (1998) Wisconsin (1999) Michigan, Northwestern, & Purdue (2000) Illinois (2001) Ohio State & Iowa (2002) Michigan (2003) Iowa & Michigan (2004) Ohio State & Penn State (2005) Ohio State (2006) Ohio State (2007) Ohio State & Penn State (2008) Ohio State (2009) Michigan State & Wisconsin (2010) Wisconsin (2011) Wisconsin (2012) Michigan State (2013) Ohio State (2014) Michigan State (2015) Penn State (2016) Ohio State (2017) Ohio State (2018) Ohio State (2019) Ohio State (2020) Michigan (2021) Michigan (2022) Michigan (2023)
National championships in bold