The 1956 Michigan State Spartans football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in the 1956 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third season under head coach

Duffy Daugherty Hugh Duffy Daugherty (September 8, 1915 – September 25, 1987) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Michigan State University from 1954 to 1972, compiling a record of 109–69–5. His 1965 and 1966 teams won ...

, the Spartans compiled a 7–2 overall record (4–2 against

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

opponents) and were ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll and No. 10 in the final Coaches Poll. Center John Matsko was selected 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 ...

as a first-team player on the 1956 All-Big Ten Conference football team. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Pat Wilson with 414 passing yards, Dennis Mendyk with 495 rushing yards, and Tony Kolodziej with 221 receiving yards.

Schedule

Preseason

In the final AP Poll of the 1955 season,

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 ...

had been ranked No. 2. In the 1956 pre-season AP Poll, Michigan State remained ranked at No. 2.

Game summaries

On September 29, 1956, Michigan State (ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll) defeated Stanford (ranked No. 12), 21–7, before a crowd of 55,000 at Stanford Stadium in

Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University. The population was 21,150 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. Stanford is ...

. The game was tied at the end of the third quarter, and Michigan State scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Dennis Mendyk rushed for 72 yards on 14 carries. On October 6, Michigan State (ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll) defeated Michigan (ranked No. 5), 9–0, before a crowd of 101,001 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Michigan dominated the game in the first half but was unable to score. Michigan State was hampered by an ankle injury to its leading rusher (

Walt Kowalczyk Walter Joseph Kowalczyk (April 17, 1935 – November 7, 2018) was an American football defensive back and fullback in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. He also played in the American Football League ...

) and a passing game that failed to complete a single pass. In the third quarter, the Spartans kicked a field goal after Arch Matsos intercepted a pass at Michigan's 38-yard line. John Matsko, who had not attempted a field goal in high school or in three years of college ball, kicked the field goal. In the fourth quarter,

John Herrnstein John Ellett Herrnstein (March 31, 1938 – October 3, 2017) was an American baseball and football player. He played Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1966 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Atlanta Braves. He also played co ...

fumbled at Michigan's 21-yard line, setting up a touchdown run by Dennis Mendyk. On October 13, Michigan State (ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll) defeated Indiana, 53–6, before a crowd of 58,858 at

Macklin Stadium Spartan Stadium (formerly College Field, Macklin Field, and Macklin Stadium), opened in 1923 in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It is primarily used for football, and is the home field of the Michigan State University Spartans. After the ...

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. The Spartans gained 264 rushing yards and 204 passing yards.

Clarence Peaks Clarence Earl Peaks (September 23, 1935 – March 31, 2007) was a professional American football fullback in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at Michigan Stat ...

also returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown. Michigan State played backups for much of the second half with a total of 50 Spartans seeing game action. The outcome was Indiana's worst defeat since 1948. On October 20, Michigan State (ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll) defeated Notre Dame, 47–14, before a crowd of 59,378 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend. Michigan State gained 521 yards, 396 on the ground and 171 in the air. Dennis Mendyk led the Spartans attack with 157 rushing yards, including touchdown runs of 62 and 68 yards in the third quarter. After the game, Michigan State rose to No. 1 in the following week's AP and UPI polls. On October 20, Illinois defeated Michigan State, 20–13, before a homecoming crowd of 71,119 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Michigan State was ranked No. 1 before the game and had its national championship hopes, and a 12-game winning streak, dashed by the defeat. The Spartans led, 13–0, at halftime, but

Abe Woodson Abraham Benjamin Woodson (February 15, 1934 – February 8, 2014) was an American football cornerback and kick returner who played nine seasons in the National Football League, mainly with the San Francisco 49ers. He also spent two years with ...

, the Big Ten's indoor sprint champion, led the Illini to 20 unanswered points in the second half. Woodson scored all three Illinois touchdowns: a 70-yard touchdown run, an 82-touchdown reception, and a short touchdown run. Woodson had 116 rushing yards and total gains of 198 yards. On November 3, Michigan State (ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll) defeated Wisconsin, 33–0, before a crowd of 53,647 at Macklin Stadium in East Lansing. Michigan State totaled 352 rushing yards and 168 passing yards. The result was Wisconsin's worst defeat since 1949. On November 10, Michigan State (ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll) defeated Purdue, 12–9, before a crowd of 56,431 at Macklin Stadium in East Lansing. Purdue was a three touchdown underdog without

Len Dawson Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Aft ...

but scored on a touchdown run by Mel Dillard and a safety triggered by Fletcher tackling Martin in the end zone. Michigan State scored two touchdowns, a 27-yard pass from

Jim Ninowski James Ninowski, Jr. (born March 26, 1936), aka "Nino", is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints. He played college football ...

to Harold Dukes, and a fumble recovery by Tony Kolodziej in Purdue's end zone. On November 17, Minnesota (ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll) defeated Michigan State (ranked No. 3), 14–13, before a crowd of 62,478 at Memorial Stadium in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. Bobby Cox led the way for Minnesota. On November 24, Michigan State (ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll) defeated Kansas State, 38–17, before a crowd of 34,115 at

in East Lansing. Michigan State set a modern school record with 12 fumbles in the game. Despite the victory, Hal Middlesworth of the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'' wrote: "But down on the frozen turf of Macklin Stadium, it was a fumbling, bumbling performance which will find no place among State's galaxy of great games."

Rankings and awards

On December 3, 1956, both the

(AP) and

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

(UP) released their final college football polls. Both organizations ranked undefeated

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

at the No. 1 spot. The AP ranked the Spartans at No. 9, and the UP ranked them at No. 10 Only one Michigan State player, center John Matsko, was picked by the

(AP) and/or the

(UP) as a first-team player on the 1956 All-Big Ten Conference football team. Matsko received first-team honors from the AP. Three other Spartans received second-team all-conference honors: halfback

(AP-2, UP-2), guard

Dan Currie Daniel George Currie (June 27, 1935 – September 11, 2017) was an American football player in the National Football League (NFL). He played linebacker for nine seasons with the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams. Early years Born and raise ...

(AP-2, UP-2), and tackle Joel Jones (AP-2, UP-2). No Michigan State players received first-team All-American honors in 1956, though Matsko and Currie received second-team honors. James Hinsley received the team's most valuable player award.

1957 NFL Draft

The following Michigan State players were among the first 100 picks in the

1957 NFL Draft The 1957 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on November 26, 1956, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia and its final twenty-six rounds on January 31, 1957 at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel also in Philadelphia. This was ...

References

{{Michigan State Spartans football navbox

Michigan State Spartans football seasons

Michigan State Spartans football The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University (MSU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Spartans are members of the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State claims a ...