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The 2010 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of
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
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 ...
during the
2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The regular season began on September 2, 2010, and ended on ...
. Head coach
Mark Dantonio
Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is a former American football coach and player. He most recently served as the head football coach at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019, presiding over one of the most ...
was in his fourth season with the Spartans. Michigan State played their home games in
Spartan Stadium in
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 ...
.
In the hours following the Spartans' September 18, 2010 victory over
Notre Dame, Dantonio suffered a heart attack for which he was hospitalized, and received a
coronary stent
A coronary stent is a tube-shaped device placed in the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart, to keep the arteries open in the treatment of coronary heart disease. It is used in a procedure called percutaneous coronary intervention (PC ...
. His recovery was complicated by the subsequent development of a blood clot in his leg. While he recovered,
offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...
Don Treadwell
Don Treadwell (born June 10, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the interim head coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, having previously served as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach on Doc Gamble's inau ...
stepped in as acting head coach, leading the Spartans against
Northern Colorado
Northern Colorado is the name for a region in the state of Colorado and a proposed state in the northeastern portion of Colorado.
Region
Northern Colorado is a region in the northern portion of Colorado. It borders northwestern Colorado, nort ...
and
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. Dantonio resumed his head coaching duties for the sixth game of the season against
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 ...
, although he coached that game and the next week's game against
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
from the press box instead of the head coach's traditional place on the sidelines. He returned to the sidelines for MSU's road win against
Northwestern.
The Spartans finished the regular season with eleven wins (tied the most to date in school history), one loss, and secured their first share of the Big Ten Championship in twenty years.
Previous season
Roster
Coaching staff
*
Mark Dantonio
Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is a former American football coach and player. He most recently served as the head football coach at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019, presiding over one of the most ...
– ''Head Coach''
*
Don Treadwell
Don Treadwell (born June 10, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the interim head coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, having previously served as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach on Doc Gamble's inau ...
– ''Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers coach''
*Dave Warner – ''Quarterbacks coach''
*Brad Salem – ''Running backs coach''
*Mark Staten – ''Tight ends coach/Tackles/Recruiting Coordinator''
*
Dan Roushar – ''Offensive line coach''
*
Pat Narduzzi
Patrick Regan Narduzzi (born April 22, 1966) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh. He was formerly the defensive coordinator at Michigan State. He attended Youngstown State Universit ...
– ''Defensive Coordinator''
*Ted Gill – ''Defensive line coach''
*
Mike Tressel
Mike Tressel (born September 28, 1973) is an American football coach who is currently the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach for the Wisconsin Badgers. Tressel, the nephew of former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel, joined the ...
– ''Linebackers coach/Special Teams Coordinator''
*
Harlon Barnett – ''Secondary coach''
Schedule
Game summaries
Western Michigan
The Spartans rushing attack was the theme of the day. To open up the scoring, Edwin Baker scampered for 28 yards for a TD. WMU responded with 1-yd TD pass from Alex Carder to Juan Nunez on 4th down. The Spartans would strike early in the 2nd quarter when QB Kirk Cousins hit QB turned WR Keith Nichol on a 20-yd TD pass.
Both offenses then struggled until late in the 2nd quarter when true freshmen Le'Veon Bell broke a 75-yd run. The drive ended with a 7-yd Edwin Baker TD run and the following Spartan drive ended with a 2-yd TD run by Le'Veon Bell. MSU drove down the field at the beginning of the 3rd quarter which ended with an 18-yd TD run by Le'Veon Bell.
WMU would score once more with 2-yd touchdown reception Blake Hammond and that would be it offensively for the Broncos. The Spartans would add a field goal by Dan Conroy and walk away with a season opening win.
Le'Veon Bell became the first freshman running back at Michigan State to rush for more than 100 yards in his opening game. He finished with 141 yards on 10 carries and 2 TD's. Edwin Baker also had over 100 yards with 117 yards on 17 carries with 2 TD's.
Florida Atlantic
Notre Dame
The 2010 rendition of the Battle for the Megaphone Trophy proved to be one of the most memorable in the series, as Michigan State beat Notre Dame 34–31 in overtime.
The Fighting Irish were the first to score, with quarterback
Dayne Crist
Dayne Lawrence Crist (born October 9, 1989) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Notre Dame before transferring to the University of Kansas.
Early years
Crist attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, ...
completing a seven-yard touchdown pass to
Michael Floyd
Michael Floyd Jr. (born November 27, 1989) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Notre Dame from 2008 to 2011, finishing with 271 catches for 3,686 yards and 37 touchdowns, all school records. He was drafte ...
in the first quarter. After multiple drives ending in turnovers for both teams, the Spartans got on the board with 2:22 left in the first half via a six-yard touchdown pass from
Kirk Cousins
Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the team then known as the Washingto ...
to
Keshawn Martin
Keshawn Charles Martin (born March 15, 1990) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the fourth round with the 121st overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan State.
...
. The score was 7–7 at the half. Michigan State received the kick-off in the second half, and on their second play from scrimmage, running back
Edwin Baker scored a 56-yard touchdown run. Notre Dame's next possession also ended in a touchdown, with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Dayne Crist to tight end
Kyle Rudolph
Kyle Daniel Rudolph (born November 9, 1989) is an American football tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second ...
. The Spartans and Irish once again traded touchdowns on the next two drives, with Michigan State's
Le'Veon Bell
Le'Veon Andrew Bell Sr. ( ; born February 18, 1992) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted 48th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 20 ...
scoring a 16-yard touchdown run, followed by Notre Dame scoring via a 15-yard pass from Crist to
Theo Riddick
Theo Riddick (born May 4, 1991) is a former American football running back of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has a ...
, after which the score was 21–21 at the end of the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, Dayne Crist completed another touchdown pass for the Irish, this time from 24 yards out, complete to Michael Floyd. The Spartans tied the game with 7:43 left in the game with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to
B.J. Cunningham. Both teams failed to move the ball for the remainder of the game, and the game was sent to overtime.
In overtime, Notre Dame received the ball first and kicked a 33-yard field goal on 4th and 1. On the Spartans' following possession, Kirk Cousins was sacked on 3rd and 5 for a loss of 9 yards, and the Spartans appeared to line up for a 46-yard field goal attempt to send the game to a second overtime. Instead, kick holder and punter Aaron Bates stood up to pass, and threw downfield to a wide open Charlie Gantt for the game-winning touchdown. Head coach Mark Dantonio divulged after the game that the play was called "Little Giants":
After the game, Mark Dantonio suffered a mild heart attack and was hospitalized. He had surgery and had a stent put in to relieve a blocked blood vessel leading to the heart. Offensive coordinator Don Treadwill was named acting head coach as Dantonio recovered.
Northern Colorado
Wisconsin
With Coach Dantonio out for a second week following his heart attack, Michigan State hosted eventual co-champs Wisconsin at Spartan Stadium in the conference opener. MSU rolled up 444 yards of offense on the Badgers in a 34–24 win. The Spartans took the lead for good with 8:11 left in the 2nd quarter when Keshawn Martin returned a punt 74 yards for a TD. A clock-draining 15-play TD drive late in the 4th quarter put MSU up by 10 and set the tone for the rest of the Big Ten season.
Michigan
In week 6, Michigan hosted their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans for the coveted
Paul Bunyan Trophy
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
. This year's meeting marked the 103rd game between the two schools. This was only the second time in the history of the rivalry that both teams enter the game undefeated.
The last time was in 1999 when MSU beat Michigan 34–31 in East Lansing. The only score of the first quarter was Michigan's 34-yard field goal. In the second quarter, Michigan State responded with a 61-yard rushing touchdown by
Edwin Baker. Michigan briefly took the lead minutes later with a 12-yard catch by
Martell Webb. The Spartans responded with a 41-yard run by
Le'Veon Bell
Le'Veon Andrew Bell Sr. ( ; born February 18, 1992) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted 48th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 20 ...
to take the lead for good. They added to their lead with a 38-yard field goal by
Dan Conroy just before halftime. MSU built on their lead in the third quarter with 2 touchdowns: first a 41-yard catch by
Mark Dell, and then an 8-yard rush by
Larry Caper. Michigan's only points of the second half came on a 4-yard rushing TD by
Denard Robinson
Denard Xavier Robinson (born September 22, 1990) is currently the Assistant Director of Player Personnel for the University of Michigan football program. Robinson is also a former American football running back who played for four seasons in th ...
. Michigan State capped their win with a 28-yard field goal midway through the fourth. Denard Robinson threw three interceptions and was held to only 84 yards rushing.
With this win, Michigan State has defeated Michigan three years in a row, the first time that Michigan State has accomplished that since 1965–67.
Illinois
Michigan State came back from a 3–6 deficit while not allowing any second half points to defeat the Illini by 20 points and advance to 7–0 for the first time since 1966, the year they won the national championship.
Northwestern
The Spartans found themselves down 17–0 late in the first half, before Kirk Cousins found Mark Dell for a touchdown with 2:34 to go in the second quarter to make it a 17–7 game at halftime. With a ten-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, the Spartans were situated with a 4th and 6 at the Northwestern 30 yd line, but out of field goal range because of a heavy wind. After calling a timeout and taking a delay of game, MSU went out in punt formation. After punter Aaron Bates received the snap, he faked the punt and threw a 15 yd pass to Bennie Fowler for a first down. During the post game interview, Coach Dantonio was asked about the play, when he replied "That's called Mousetrap, and we let 'em take the cheese." The Spartans scored on a Kirk Cousins pass on the next play to make it 24–21. After a Northwestern field goal, the Spartans drove 88 yards in five minutes to take the lead 28–27. The Wildcats went four and out on their next possession, but had another chance to tie the game after Edwin Baker ran for a 25 yd touchdown with a minute left to make it 35–27. However, Michigan State's Eric Gordon intercepted the ball two plays later to ice the game.
Iowa
Minnesota
Purdue
The Spartans overcame a 15-point deficit to secure their first 7 win undefeated home season.
Penn State
The Spartans secured a share of the Big Ten title, their first conference championship since 1990.
Alabama (Capital One Bowl)
Rankings
2011 NFL Draft
The following players were selected in the
2011 NFL Draft
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...
.
References
{{Big Ten Conference football champions
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
Big Ten Conference football champion 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 ...