1951 Michigan State Spartans football team

1951 Michigan State Spartans football
National champion (Billingsley, Helms, Poling)
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
Record9–0
Head coach
MVPDon Coleman
CaptainLeRoy R. Crane
Home stadiumMacklin Stadium
Seasons
← 1950
1952 →
Program for the 1951 season opener.
1951 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Michigan State     9 0 0
Xavier     9 0 1
Wabash     7 0 1
No. 13 Notre Dame     7 2 1
Dayton     7 3 0
Toledo     6 4 0
Washington University     5 4 0
Wayne     5 4 0
Bowling Green     4 4 1
Marquette     4 6 1
Baldwin–Wallace     3 5 0
John Carroll     3 6 0
Rose Poly     2 5 0
Youngstown     2 6 1
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1951 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State College as an independent during the 1951 college football season. In their fifth season under head coach Clarence Munn, the Spartans compiled a perfect 9–0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 270 to 114.[1][2] The Spartans played their home games at Macklin Stadium (now known as Spartan Stadium) in East Lansing, Michigan.

In the final AP and UPI coaches polls, both released on December 3, 1951, Michigan State was ranked No. 2 behind No. 1 Tennessee. Tennessee went on to lose to No. 3 Maryland in the 1952 Sugar Bowl. However, neither the AP nor UPI took post-bowl poll in this time period. In later rankings and analyses, Michigan State was recognized as the 1951 national champion by three NCAA-recognized selectors: Billingsley Report, Helms Athletic Foundation, and Poling System. Other selectors have designated Maryland as the national champion.[3]

Two Michigan State players, end Bob Carey and tackle Don Coleman, were recognized as consensus first-team players on the 1951 College Football All-America Team.[4] Two other Spartans were designated as first-team All-Americans by one or more selectors: Al Dorow (first-team defensive back selected by the International News Service) and Jim Ellis (first-team defensive back selected by the Chicago Tribune.[5][6]

  1. ^ "2016 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. pp. 146, 154. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  2. ^ "1951 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  3. ^ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. p. 113. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  4. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  5. ^ "Wheat, Lauricella, Daffer Named on INS All-America Team". Rome News-Tribune. INS. November 26, 1951.
  6. ^ Arch Ward (December 9, 1951). "Players Name 1951 All-American Teams: Football Stars Who Rate as Nation's Best Offensive Group". Chicago Daily Tribune. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2010.

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