Last November–at the end of a miserable 3-9 year–I predicted that MSU football would rebound…fast. Why? History … 1955, to be specific.
THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED ORIGINALLY ON NOVEMBER 16, 2016 UNDER THE TITLE, “SPARTANS WILL PARTY LIKE IT’S 1955.”
Even the very best college football programs–those that have had long periods of sustained success–experience hiccups from time to time. Take the University of Michigan. The Wolverines have won more games than any other school in the history of the sport. Yet, UM has have had down years, too. From the time Lloyd Carr left Ann Arbor to the time Jim Harbaugh arrived (2008-2014) Michigan’s football record was 46-42.
The pattern at Alabama is the same. Historically (since 1892) ‘Bama has won about 75% games of its games. Yet the Tide was 26-24 in the four years prior to Nick Saban’s arrival in Tuscaloosa. Ten of those wins were later forfeited via NCAA probation.
Michigan State is in a football downturn after experiencing an epic run of wins and championships. State was 90-40 in ten years under head coach Mark Dantonio. In three of those years–from 2013-2015–MSU won two Big Ten Championships, earned a spot in the coveted College Football Playoff, and notched victories in the Rose Bowl (Stanford) and Cotton Bowl (Baylor).
But the 2016 Spartans have hit the wall. Now the big question is: What will happen next year?
I’ve looked at history and believe the Spartans will get back to winning football…and soon. The 1954-55 Spartans are my points of reference.
Michigan State finished 3-6 in 1954–a miserable season, much like this one. And that downturn came on the heels of phenomenal success–just like this year. Michigan State had won 28 straight games from 1950-53, a span that still stands as one the longest winning streaks in college football history. Biggie Munn’s 1953 team went 9-1 (5-1 conference), beat UCLA in The Rose Bowl, and ended up ranked #3 nationally.
Then the bottom fell out in 1954.
But what happened immediately after that should give hope to Spartans everywhere. MSU bounced back in 1955. State went 9-1, won the Big Ten championship, and beat UCLA in the Rose Bowl. The Spartans finished the year ranked #2 in both the AP and Coaches polls.
But there’s more to the story. Over the next decade (’55-65) the Spartans were a spectacular 70-24-4 (even with two losing seasons thrown in the mix). And, in 1966, the Spartans were 9-0-1 and a win away from capturing the national championship.
MSU’s John Hannah saw football as a major instrument in gaining national attention for what had been a small Midwestern college.
Why did Michigan State have so much success back then?
There are many reasons, but one big reason is leadership. John Hannah, who viewed football as an institutional building block, was president. Biggie Munn, who engineered football success as head coach in the early ’50s, was athletic director. Duffy Daugherty, who with Magic Johnson is one of the most recognizable names in Spartan sports history, was the head football coach.
The Spartans had leadership. And it wasn’t leadership from just one person. It was aligned and coordinated leadership. You need that kind of leadership–as a precondition–to achieve long-term success.
The good news is that MSU has that kind of leadership now. So take heart, Spartan fans.
State will be back … and soon.
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The 2017 Spartans flipped the script from 2016, finishing the regular season at 9-3. They’ll play the Washington State Cougars in this year’s Holiday Bowl, Th. Dec. 28, 9 p.m, Eastern, on FS1.
