The 1957 Michigan State Spartans football team 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 1957 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fourth 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 an 8–1 overall record (5–1 against Big Ten opponents), finished in second place 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 ...

, and were ranked No. 3 in both the final AP Poll and the final Coaches Poll. Michigan State was named national champion by

Dunkel System The Dunkel System, also known as the Dunkel College Football Index, is a college football rating system developed in 1929 by Richard C. "Dick" Dunkel, Sr. (1906–1975), to determine a national champion. Dunkel rated college football teams from 192 ...

, an NCAA-designated major selector. Six Spartans were selected as first-team players on the

1957 All-Big Ten Conference football team The 1957 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press (UP) as the best players at their positions during the 1957 Big Ten Conference football season. The UP team ...

: quarterback

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 ...

(AP-1, UP-1); fullback

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-1, UP-1); center

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-1, UP-1); tackle

Pat Burke Patrick John Burke (born December 14, 1973) is an Irish former professional basketball player. Burke (whose family moved from Tullamore, Ireland, to Cleveland, Ohio, when he was three years old) competed in the National Basketball Association ...

(AP-1, UP-1); end Sam Williams (UP-1); and guard Ellison Kelly (UP-1). The 1957 Spartans won all three of their annual rivalry games. In the annual

Indiana–Michigan State football rivalry The Indiana–Michigan State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Indiana Hoosiers and Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The s ...

game, the Spartans defeated the Hoosiers by a 54 to 0 score. In the Notre Dame rivalry game, the Spartans defeated the

Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

by a 34 to 6 score. And, in the annual

Michigan–Michigan State football rivalry The Michigan–Michigan State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the University of Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State University Spartans. The teams first played in 1898 and have met 114 times. The game has ...

game, the Spartans defeated the Wolverines by a 35 to 6 score. In non-conference play, the Spartans also defeated

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, 19–0, and

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, 27–9.

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

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 ...

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