1999 Michigan State Spartans football team

Last updated

1999 Michigan State Spartans football
Michigan State Spartans script.svg
Florida Citrus Bowl champion
Florida Citrus Bowl, W 37–34 vs. Florida
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 7
Record10–2 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Morris Watts (1st season)
Defensive coordinator Bill Miller (1st season)
MVP Aric Morris
Home stadium Spartan Stadium (c. 72,027 AstroTurf)
Seasons
  1998
2000  
1999 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 4 Wisconsin $  7 1   10 2  
No. 7 Michigan State  6 2   10 2  
No. 5 Michigan  %  6 2   10 2  
No. 11 Penn State  5 3   10 3  
No. 18 Minnesota  5 3   8 4  
No. 24 Illinois  4 4   8 4  
No. 25 Purdue  4 4   7 5  
Ohio State  3 5   6 6  
Indiana  3 5   4 7  
Northwestern  1 7   3 8  
Iowa  0 8   1 10  
  • $ BCS representative as conference champion
  • % BCS at-large representative
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1999 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth and final year under head coach Nick Saban, the Spartans compiled a 10-2 record (6-2 in conference games), outscored opponents by a total of 341 to 211, tied for second place in the Big Ten, and were ranked No. 7 in the final AP and UPI polls. [1] The Spartans' two losses came at the hands of Heisman Trophy finalists. In their loss to Purdue, Drew Brees passed for 509 yards, [2] and in their loss one week later to Wisconsin, Heisman winner Ron Dayne rushed for 214 yards. [3]

Contents

Saban announced on November 30 that he was leaving to take the head coaching job at LSU. [4] Bobby Williams took over as interim head coach [5] and led the Spartans to a 37–34 victory over Florida in the Citrus Bowl, winning on a last second, game-winning field goal by kicker Paul Edinger.

The Spartans averaged 134.6 rushing yards and 200.3 passing yards per game. On defense, they held opponents to 70.6 rushing yards and 203.5 passing yards per game. [6] The team's individual leaders included:

Safety Aric Morris was selected as the team's most valuable player. Linebacker Julian Peterson received first-team All-America honors from Football News . Eight Michigan State players received honors on the 1999 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Burress (Coaches-1, Media-1); Peterson (Coaches-2, Media-1); Edinger (Coaches-2, Media-2); Morris (Coaches-2, Media-2); defensive lineman Robaire Smith (Coaches-1, Media-1); defensive back Amp Campbell (Coaches-1, Media-1); punter Craig Jewett (Coaches-1, Media-2); tight end Chris Baker; and offensive guard Shaun Mason (Coaches-2, Media-2).

The Spartans played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 28:00 p.m. Oregon * ESPN W 27–2072,923 [7]
September 111:00 p.m. Eastern Michigan *
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 51–772,569 [8]
September 181:30 p.m.at No. 24 Notre Dame * NBC W 23–1380,012 [9]
September 253:30 p.m.at Illinois No. 19W 27–1052,417 [10]
October 212:10 p.m. Iowa Dagger-14-plain.pngNo. 14
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ESPN Plus W 49–373,629 [11]
October 912:00 p.m.No. 3 Michigan No. 11
ABC W 34–3176,895 [12] [13]
October 163:30 p.m.at No. 20 Purdue No. 5ABCL 28–5268,216 [2]
October 2312:10 p.m.at No. 16 Wisconsin No. 11 ESPN2 L 10–4078,469 [3]
November 612:10 p.m.No. 20 Ohio State No. 19
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ESPNW 23–774,639 [14]
November 131:00 p.m.at Northwestern No. 17W 40–030,045 [15]
November 203:30 p.m.No. 13 Penn State No. 15
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
ABCW 35–2874,231 [16]
January 1, 20001:00 p.m.vs. No. 10 Florida *No. 9ABCW 37–3454,866 [17] [18]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP RVRVRVRV19141151119191715111097
Coaches Poll RVRV*RVRV21141171320191714111097
BCS Not released15131211109Not released

Game summaries

Oregon

Oregon at Michigan State
1234Total
Oregon7100320
Michigan State70101027

Michigan

#3 Michigan at #11 Michigan State
1234Total
Michigan01002131
Michigan State7614734

Bill Burke threw for a school-record 400 yards and two touchdowns while Plaxico Burress set a new mark with 255 yards receiving. Burke broke Ed Smith's record of 369 against Indiana in 1979 while Burress surpassed Andre Rison's 252 yards against Georgia in 1989. Michigan State was now 6–0 for the first time since the 1966 national championship season. [19] Michigan quarterbacks Tom Brady and Drew Henson combined for 396 passing yards, but the Michigan State defense held the Wolverines to six rushing yards for the game.

Roster

1999 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
TE 83 Chris Baker So
QB 16Bill BurkeSr
WR 4 Plaxico Burress Jr
C 51Brian GrantJr
FB 00Ericson RicoSo
OT 74 Tupe Peko Jr
OT 76 Greg Randall Sr
WR 86 Gari Scott Sr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
CB 3Amp CampbellSr
LB 8 T. J. Duckett Fr
CB 15 Renaldo Hill Jr
DB 9 Aric Morris Sr
LB 98 Julian Peterson Sr
DT 95 Josh Shaw So
DE 91 Robaire Smith Sr
LB 50 Josh Thornhill So
LB 35 T. J. Turner Jr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 1 Paul Edinger Sr
P 12 Craig Jarrett So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

2000 NFL draft

The following players were selected in the 2000 NFL draft.

PlayerRoundPickPositionNFL team
Plaxico Burress 18Wide receiver Pittsburgh Steelers
Julian Peterson 116Linebacker San Francisco 49ers
Gari Scott 499Wide receiver Philadelphia Eagles
Greg Randall 4127Tackle New England Patriots
Aric Morris 5135Strong safety Tennessee Titans
Paul Edinger 6174Kicker Chicago Bears
Robaire Smith 6197Defensive tackle Tennessee Titans

References

  1. "1999 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Tom Kubat (October 17, 1999). "Brees, Daniels haunt MSU: Purdue QB throws for 509 yards, receiver catches 21 passes for 301 yards". Journal and Courier. pp. B1, B2 via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 Tom Mulhern (October 24, 1999). "Rush to judgment: Badgers look good; Dayne, defense dominate Spartans". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. 1D, 9D via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Goodbye Here, Hello There". Lansing State Journal. December 1, 1999. p. 1C via Newspapers.com.
  5. Tim Martin (December 1, 1999). "So long, Saban: Veteran MSU assistant to lead team to bowl". Lansing State Journal. p. 1B via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "1999 Michigan State Spartans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  7. Larry Lage (September 3, 1999). "Happy returns: Big plays by Campbell, Scott help Michigan State overcome Oregon". Lansing State Journal. p. 1C via Newspapers.com.
  8. Larry Lage (September 12, 1999). "Take That, MAC: Michigan State manhandles Eastern Michigan". Lansing State Journal. pp. 1C, 2C via Newspapers.com.
  9. "No Irish QB dilemma". South Bend Tribune. September 19, 1999. pp. C1, C6 via Newspapers.com.
  10. Dye, Dave (September 26, 1999). "Spartans' defense shuts down Illini". Detroit Free Press . p. 1E. Retrieved October 6, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  11. Larry Lage (October 3, 1999). "Perfect Showdown: MSU moves to 5-0 in dominant fashion". Lansing State Journal. pp. 1D, 2D via Newspapers.com.
  12. Gary Ahern (October 10, 1999). "State of perfection: MSU 6-0 and rising after win over U-M". The Lansing State Journal. pp. 1A, 8A via Newspapers.com.
  13. Larry Lage (October 10, 1999). "State Champs: Record-setting passing day propels Spartans past Michigan". Lansing State Journal. p. 1C, 2C via Newspapers.com.
  14. Larry Lage (November 7, 1999). "Buckeye Bashing: Spartans back on track after defense dismantles Ohio State, 23-7". Lansing State Journal. pp. 1D, 2D via Newspapers.com.
  15. Bill Jauss (November 14, 1999). "Spartans answer Saban's request". Chicago Tribune. p. 8 (section 3) via Newspapers.com.
  16. Larry Lage (November 21, 1999). "MSU Rides T.J. Train: Duckett's 4 touchdowns spark 35-28 win, probable New Year's Day bowl bid". Lansing State Journal. pp. 1C, 4C via Newspapers.com.
  17. Chris Harry (January 2, 2000). "UFrustration: Last-second field goal gives Michigan State win". The Orlando Sentinel. pp. C1, C10 via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Michigan State KO's Florida on final play". The Flint Journal. January 2, 2000. Retrieved October 19, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  19. "NCAA Football - Michigan vs. Michigan State". USA Today .