Once upon a time, bowl games and Michigan State agreed with one another.
But that hasn’t been the case lately for the Spartans.
Looking to avoid a seventh straight bowl defeat, Michigan State tussles with SEC East champ Georgia in the Outback Bowl at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, just off Dale Mabry Highway, on Monday. Kickoff time will be at 1:00 p.m. (ET) with ABC providing the TV coverage.
A quick check of the Don Best odds screen notes that Georgia (10-3 straight up, 8-5 against the spread; No. 12 in latest Don Best Linemakers poll) is priced as a 3½-point favorite at most Las Vegas wagering outlets entering the weekend, with the total hovering between 50 and 51 points, depending upon the outlet.
While postseason adventures have been difficult for the Spartans lately, there was a time when bowl games were a celebratory time for Michigan State (10-3 SU, 9-4 ATS; No. 10 in Don Best Linemakers Poll). But we have to go all the way back to the 1950s, and the eras of Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty, to recall the glory.
The Spartans, added to the Big Ten in the early 1950s, made their first bowl visit a memorable one when beating Red Sanders’ UCLA, 28-20, in the 1954 Rose Bowl. A block of a Paul Cameron punt by Spartans halfback Ellis Duckett and resultant TD on the recovery got MSU back in the game before halftime after falling behind 14-0. The Spartans rallied in the second half and finally sewed up the win on Billy Wells’ 62-yard punt return TD in the fourth quarter.
Two years later, Michigan State and UCLA got together in another Rose Bowl thriller. By this time, Munn had retired as coach to concentrate on Athletic Director duties, and former aide Daugherty had been promoted to the top spot. With future NFL stars Earl Morrall at QB and Clarence Peaks in the backfield, MSU fought the Bruins on even terms until Dave Kaiser, normally an end, barely connected on a 41-yarder, the first field goal attempt of his career, to give the Spartans a thrilling 17-14 win.
Regular PK Gerald Planutis had earlier missed a 41-yard try, prompting Kaiser’s attempt at the game-winner in the final seconds. That kick was set up by a series of controversial events, including an intentional grounding call on the Bruins that set the ball back to their one-yard line on their previous possession, plus three consecutive penalties against UCLA, including interference on the subsequent punt.
The tables were turned on the Spartans in their next Rose Bowl visit 10 years later, when Daugherty’s top-ranked and unbeaten Michigan State, featuring George Webster and Bubba Smith, was upset by Tommy Prothro’s upstart UCLA, 14-12, in the 1966 Rose Bowl. Bruin soph QB Gary Beban, who would go on to win the Heisman Trophy, scored twice on short TD plunges, although UCLA would not secure the win until DB Bob Stiles made a heroic stop of bruising MSU FB Bob Apisa’s two-point conversion run in the final 30 seconds.
So much for MSU’s ancient bowl history, but we recall those games because it has been a long time since the Spartans won a bowl. The last such success came in the January 1, 2000 Florida Citrus Bowl at Orlando, which was the first Spartan game following Nick Saban’s departure for LSU. Under new coach Bobby Williams, MSU beat Steve Spurrier’s Florida, 37-34, but hasn’t won in six bowl tries since, including losses each of the past four years.
One of those defeats came against Georgia in the Capital One Bowl three years ago when the Bulldogs prevailed by a 24-12 count. Georgia and MSU also met in the 1988 Gator Bowl, in Vince Dooley’s final game as Georgia coach. The Bulldogs won that one too, 34-27.
It is safe to say that the SEC was dominant in the three New Year’s Day Florida bowl games vs. the Big Ten a year ago, winning and covering each, with the Spartans particularly humiliated in a 49-7 Capital One Bowl loss to Alabama.
But it is also fair to speculate whether the SEC, at least beyond LSU and Alabama, was down a notch or two this season. It is a legitimate argument, considering some of the shortcomings demonstrated throughout the season by others, including Georgia, which was humbled by Boise State, 35-21 in Atlanta, in its only severe non-conference test.
That loss to the Broncos, which preceded another to South Carolina the following week, had Bulldogs coach Mark Richt under the gun in September. At the time, SEC sources wondered if Richt’s chances were even better than 50-50 to last beyond the season. Richt, however, was able to straighten out the Bulldogs, who proceeded to win their next 10 games and claim the SEC East crown before falling to top-ranked LSU in the conference title game. Richt now stands on much firmer footing in Athens.
Along the way, soph QB Aaron Murray developed into a true gunslinger and the SEC’s top signal caller, and ended up tossing 33 TD passes. The potent Georgia no-huddle offense, which scored 34 ppg, also welcomes back rugged RB Richard Samuel, who missed the last few games due to injury, although the status of flashy true frosh RB Isaiah Crowell (ankle) remains up in the air.
Georgia’s defense also was formidable, allowing under 20 ppg and featuring a couple of likely NFL-bound performers in LB Jarvis Jones and S Baccari “Stallone” Rambo (7 picks). But acknowledging the dearth of top-notch QBs in this year’s SEC, and the fact Boise’s Kellen Moore picked apart the Georgia defense in the opener, it is fair to speculate how the Dawgs might cope with MSU’s quality QB, Kirk Cousins.
Cousins was certainly efficient this season, completing 65% of his passes for 24 TDs. Long-striding wideouts B.J. Cunningham and Keshawn Martin combined for 132 catches, while LeVeon Bell (900 yards rushing) and Edwin Baker (another 655 rush yards) provide a substantive infantry diversion.
Moreover, Michigan State had what was considered to be the Big Ten’s top defense, as coordinator Pat Narduzzi’s stop unit allowed only 18 ppg and a mere 2.9 yards per carry.
The resiliency of both sides will be tested after each faltered in conference title games, although the Spartans could be excused for feeling a bit more deflated after allowing a potential win to slip through their fingers vs. Wisconsin. How MSU coach Mark Dantonio rallies his troops will go a long way to determining if the Spartans end their bowl drought and reverse last year’s New Year’s trend that favored the SEC in a big way over Big Ten foes in Sunshine State bowl action.