Michigan State Football: 14th Best Program Over Last Decade
Sporting News ranked college football's 25 best programs over the last decade, and according to them, Michigan State did enough to be slotted at No. 14.
Here are the categories they used to determine the most successful teams in college football.
- National Championships: 10 points each
- National title game appearances: 5 points each
- College Football Player appearances: 5 points each
- New Year's Day Six/BCS bowl appearances: 3 points each
- Heisman Trophy Winners: 2 points each
"Overall winning percentage, All-Americans and NFL Draft first-round picks were awarded with a poll style 15-1 score. Ties were broken by the team with the best overall record since 2010."
After 13 seasons at Michigan State, Mark Dantonio finished his career as the all-time winningest coach in school history. He compiled a record of 114-57 in East Lansing and 132-74 overall.
Additionally, Dantonio won more Big Ten Championships (3) and bowl games (6) than any other coach at Michigan State, including bowl appearances (12).
He retired as one of seven Big Ten coaches to win 10-games in a season at least six times and one of four people with five 11-win seasons. When you look at win totals, the 2010s was the greatest decade in Spartan history, as MSU won 69.7% of their games from 2010-19 (92-40).
Sporting News gave Michigan State 15 points and said, "The Spartans were more of a power in the front half of the 2010s under Mark Dantonio, and that peaked with a College Football Playoff appearance in 2015. Michigan State's challenge in the next decade will be dealing with Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State. Dantonio had a .500 record against those schools. How will Mel Tucker fare?"
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