The 1933 Michigan State Spartans football team represented

Michigan State College Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

as an independent during the

1933 college football season The 1933 college football season saw the Michigan Wolverines repeat as winners of the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy as national champion under the Dickinson System. The unofficial east–west championship game, the Rose Bowl, was between Stanford ...

. In their first season under head coach Charlie Bachman, the Spartans compiled a 4–2–2 record and lost their annual rivalry game with

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

by a 20 to 6 score. In inter-sectional play, the team defeated Syracuse (27-3) and played scoreless ties with Kansas State and Carnegie Mellon. Tackle

Art Buss Arthur T. Buss (July 14, 1911 – March 23, 1998) was a professional American football tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played four seasons for the Chicago Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles. In 1936, Buss was traded by the Bear ...

was selected by the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...

(NEA) as a second-team player and by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

(AP) and '' Collier's Weekly'' as a third-team player on the

1933 College Football All-America Team The 1933 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1933. The eight selectors recognized by th ...

Schedule

Game summaries

Michigan

On October 7, 1933, the Spartans opened their season against Michigan. Michigan won the game, 20–6, on "a misty, soggy field, with occasional misty rain" at Michigan Stadium. Michigan scored all of its points in the first quarter. Early in the game, Whitey Wistert downed the ball at the Spartans' two-yard line after a long punt by

John Regeczi John M. Regeczi (July 19, 1912 – July 16, 2003) was an American football player. He played at the fullback, halfback positions for the University of Michigan teams from 1932 to 1934, including the undefeated national championship teams of ...

. The Spartans punted the ball back to Michigan, and Michigan got the ball at Michigan State's 18-yard line.

Herman Everhardus Herman "Flying Dutchman" Everhardus (September 11, 1912 – July 1980) was an American football player who played halfback for the University of Michigan teams from 1931 to 1933. He was an All-Big Ten halfback who led the conference in scorin ...

ran for a touchdown, and

Ted Petoskey Frederick Lee "Ted" Petoskey (January 5, 1911 – November 30, 1996) was a three-sport athlete at the University of Michigan, a Major League Baseball player, a collegiate coach in three sports and an athletic director. At the University of Michi ...

's extra point kick was unsuccessful. Eight minutes into the game, Michigan scored again. A 37-yard punt return by Everhardus gave Michigan the ball at the Spartans' 19-yard line. On second down, Jack Heston ran for the touchdown, and Everhardus kicked the extra point. Later in the quarter,

John Kowalik John F. Kowalik, Sr. (May 10, 1910 – January 7, 1978) was an American football player. Kowalik was born in 1910. He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1931 to 1933. During Kowalik's three seasons as a starter, th ...

recovered a Michigan State fumble at the Spartans' 23-yard line. Everhardus ran for his second touchdown of the quarter and followed with his second extra point kick.1934 Michiganensian, Michigan State game summary, page 108. Neither team scored in the second or third quarters. Early in the final period, with Michigan leading 20–0, Michigan State completed an 86-yard drive with a touchdown on a short pass from Muth to Kurt Warmbein. The touchdown was the first scored by Michigan State against Michigan in 15 years. Charlie Bachman, in his first game as Michigan State's head coach, used a passing game to attempt a comeback. The Spartans completed five of 18 passes for 74 yards. The Wolverines completed one of four passes. After the game, Bachman told reporters: "I am pleased with the outcome of the game, despite the loss, because we got rid of that inferiority complex with Michigan. My two sophomore backs... played as if they never heard of Michigan. To them, Michigan was just another football team."

References

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Michigan State Spartans football seasons Michigan State Spartans football {{Michigan-sport-team-stub