The 1955 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 wi ...

team that represented Michigan State University in the 1955 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third season playing in

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 ...

and their second 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 9–1 record (5–1 against Big Ten opponents), won the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 253 to 83. The team's sole loss was on the road and early in the season against

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

by a 14–7 score. In the final AP and UPI coaches polls, both released on November 28, 1955, Michigan State was ranked No. 2 behind No. 1 Oklahoma. In the UPI poll, the Sooners edged the Spartans by a narrow margin of 325 points to 309 points with seven of the coaches ranking Michigan State as the No. 1 team. In the AP poll, the Sooners tallied 3,581 points to 3,204 points for Michigan State. After the polls were finalized, the Spartans defeated No. 4

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

in the

1956 Rose Bowl The 1956 Rose Bowl was the 42nd edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 2. The Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference defeated the UCLA Bruins of the Pacific Coast C ...

. Neither the AP nor UPI conducted post-bowl polls in these years. Although most later rankings and analyses continued to recognize Oklahoma as the 1955 national champion, the Boand System recognized Michigan State as national champion. Two Michigan State players, quarterback

Earl Morrall Earl Edwin Morrall (May 17, 1934 – April 25, 2014) was an American football player who was a quarterback (and occasional punter) in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, both a starter and reserve. In the latter capacity, he be ...

and tackle

Norm Masters Norman Donald Masters (September 19, 1933 – April 19, 2011) was an American football offensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Masters graduated from its St. Mary of Redford High School, and played c ...

, were selected as consensus first-team players on the 1955 All-America college football team. Fullback Jerry Planutis was also selected as a first-teaam All-American by '' Jet'' magazine. Eight Michigan State players were 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. ne ...

(AP),

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 20t ...

(UP), or

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

(INS) on the 1955 All-Big Ten Conference football team: quarterback Morrall (AP-1, UP-1, INS-1); halfback

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 ...

(AP-2, UP-2); halfback Clarence Peaks (UP-3); fullback Planutis (AP-2, UP-1); end John Lewis (UP-3); tackle Masters (AP-1, UP-2, INS-1); guard Carl "Buck" Nystrom (AP-1, UP-2, INS-1); and center Joe Badaczewski (UP-3).

Schedule

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 Rose Bowl 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 ...

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