2001 Michigan State Spartans football team

2001 Michigan State Spartans football
Silicon Valley Football Classic champion
Silicon Valley Football Classic, W 44–35 vs. Fresno State
Conference	Big Ten Conference
2001 record	7–5 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bobby Williams
Defensive coordinator	Bill Miller
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium (c. 71,007 snarf grass)

2001 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#12 Illinois $		7	–	1					10	–	2
#20 Michigan		6	–	2					8	–	4
Ohio State		5	–	3					7	–	5
Iowa		4	–	4					7	–	5
Purdue		4	–	4					6	–	6
Penn State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Indiana		4	–	4					5	–	6
Michigan State		3	–	5					7	–	5
Wisconsin		3	–	5					5	–	7
Minnesota		2	–	6					4	–	7
Northwestern		2	–	6					4	–	7
$ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 2001 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Spartans played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. This was the second year for head coach Bobby Williams, who led the Spartans to a 6-6 record and a 44–35 victory in the 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic over the Fresno State Bulldogs of the Western Athletic Conference.

The controversial final play of the home game against Michigan on November 3 led to a change in the official timekeeping policy of the Big Ten Conference. Beginning in 2002, a neutral official appointed by the Big Ten keeps track of the game time on the field.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 8	1:00 PM	Central Michigan*		Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI		W 35–21	73,879
September 22	2:30 PM	at No. 23 Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Megaphone Trophy)	NBC	W 17–10	80,795
September 29	3:30 PM	at No. 16 Northwestern	No. 23	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	ABC	L 26–27	40,103
October 13	12:00 PM	Iowa		Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	W 31–28	73,680
October 20	12:00 PM	at Minnesota		H. H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN		L 19–28	47,385
October 27	12:00 PM	at Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	ESPN+	W 42–28	79,108
November 3	3:30 PM	No. 6 Michigan		Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)	ABC	W 26–24	75,262
November 10	12:00 PM	Indiana	No. 22	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Old Brass Spittoon)		L 28–37	73,990
November 17	12:00 PM	at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	ESPN2	L 14–24	55,660
November 24	3:30 PM	Penn State		Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Land Grant Trophy)	ESPN	L 37–42	72,658
December 1	11:00 AM	Missouri*		Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	W 55–7	72,823
December 31	3:00 PM	vs. No. 20 Fresno State*		Spartan Stadium • San Jose, CA (Silicon Valley Football Classic)	FSN	W 44–35	30,456[1]
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

• NOTE: Missouri game originally scheduled for Sept 15 rescheduled to Dec 1 because of 9/11 attacks

Game summaries

Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan 3 14 0 7 24 • Michigan State 7 7 3 9 26 Date: November 3 Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI Game attendance: 75,262 TV announcers (ABC

AFB game box end): Brent Musburger (Play-by-play), Gary Danielson (Color) & Jack Arute (Sideline) [2] References "Michigan State vs. Fresno State Box Score". Michigan State University Department of Athletics. December 31, 2001. Retrieved January 2, 2012. "Michigan vs. Michigan State". USA Today. November 3, 2001. Retrieved January 6, 2014. Scoring summary Q1 MSU Rogers 17 yard pass from Smoker (Rayner kick) MSU 7–0 Q1 MICH Epstein 57 yard field goal MSU 7–3 Q2 MICH Walker 14 yard pass from Navarre (Epstein kick) MICH 10–7 Q2 MSU Duckett 2 yard run (Rayner kick) MSU 14–10 Q2 MICH Walker 32 yard pass from Navarre (Epstein kick) MICH 17–14 Q3 MSU Rayner 27 yard field goal Tie 17–17 Q4 MSU Rayner 26 yard field goal MSU 20–17 Q4 MICH Gonzales 20 yard pass from Navarre (Epstein kick) MICH 24–20 Q4 0:00 MSU Duckett 2 yard pass from Smoker MSU 26-20 Michigan State Spartans football Venues Old College Field (1902–1922) Spartan Stadium (1923–present) Bowls & rivalries Bowl games Indiana (Old Brass Spittoon) Michigan (Paul Bunyan Trophy) Notre Dame (Megaphone Trophy) Penn State (Land Grant Trophy) Culture & lore Sparty "Victory for MSU" Marching band Zeke the Wonder Dog Winged football helmet 1966 "Game of the Century" Clockgate 2006 Northwestern 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 National championship seasons in bold