The 1939 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

1939 college football season The 1939 college football season concluded with the Aggies of The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M) being named as the national champions by the voters in the Associated Press writers' poll. Led by consensus All-American ...

. In their seventh season under head coach Charlie Bachman, the Spartans compiled a 4–4–1 record and lost their annual rivalry game with Michigan by a 26 to 13 score. In inter-sectional play, the team defeated

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(14–2) and Temple (18–7) and lost to Santa Clara (6–0). Michigan State was ranked at No. 74 (out of 609 teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1939.

Schedule

Game summaries

Michigan

On October 7, 1939, the Aggies opened their season with a 26 to 13 victory over Michigan. The game, the 34th played between the two programs, was played at Michigan Stadium before 68,618 spectators that '' The New York Times'' called "a howling throng." Michigan took a 26 to 0 lead at halftime. The Wolverines' first points came on three-yard run around the right end by

Paul Kromer Paul S. Kromer (September 24, 1917 – February 8, 2008) was an American football player. A native of Lorain, Ohio, Kromer enrolled at the University of Michigan where he played halfback for the Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1938 to 19 ...

, with blocking by Tom Harmon and Forest Evashevski, capping a 65-yard touchdown drive. On the opening play of the second quarter, Harmon scored on a two-yard run, capping a drive that started at Michigan State's 33-yard line. On the ensuing Michigan State drive,

Archie Kodros Archie John Kodros (January 20, 1918 – June 4, 1990) was an American football player and coach. He played for the University of Michigan football team from 1937 to 1939 and was selected as a first-team All-American and team captain in his senio ...

intercepted a pass at the Spartans' 20-yard line, and after a 15-yard penalty was assessed, Michigan took over on the five-yard line. From there, Harmon threw a touchdown pass to Evashevski. Michigan's final score followed a second interception by Kodros, with Kodros catching the ball at the 45-yard line and returning it 17 yards to the 28-yard line. On fourth down from the four-yard line, Harmon threw his second touchdown pass to Evashevski. In the third quarter, Bill Batchelor of Michigan State intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, the Spartans scored again on a 71-yard pass play from Bill Kennedy to Wyman Davis. Harmon and William Melzow each kicked one point after touchdown (PAT) in the game.

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 {{collegefootball-1939-season-stub