2010 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 2010 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of Michigan State University in the Big Ten Conference during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Head coach Mark Dantonio was in his fourth season with the Spartans. Michigan State played their home games in Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

2010 Michigan State Spartans football
Big Ten co-champion
Capital One Bowl, L 7–49 vs. Alabama
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
AP	No. 14
Record	11–2 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Mark Dantonio (4th season; first 3 games, final 8 games) Don Treadwell (games 4–5)
Offensive coordinator	Don Treadwell (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Pat Narduzzi (4th season)
Captain	Aaron Bates Kirk Cousins Greg Jones
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium (Capacity: 75,005)
Seasons ← 2009 2011 →

2010 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 14 Michigan State +		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 7 Wisconsin $+		7	–	1					11	–	2
Iowa		4	–	4					8	–	5
Illinois		4	–	4					7	–	6
Penn State		4	–	4					7	–	6
Michigan		3	–	5					7	–	6
Northwestern		3	–	5					7	–	6
Purdue		2	–	6					4	–	8
Minnesota		2	–	6					3	–	9
Indiana		1	–	7					5	–	7
No. 5 Ohio State† %		0	–	1					0	–	1
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions † – Ohio State (12–1, 7–1) self-vacated all of their wins^[1] Rankings from AP Poll^[2]^[3]

Michigan State vs. Minnesota

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. His recovery was complicated by the subsequent development of a blood clot in his leg. While he recovered, offensive coordinator Don Treadwell stepped in as acting head coach, leading the Spartans against Northern Colorado and Wisconsin. Dantonio resumed his head coaching duties for the sixth game of the season against Michigan, although he coached that game and the next week's game against Illinois 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.

Roster

(as of 12/06/2010) ^[4]
Quarterbacks 6 Joe Boisture – Freshman 8 Kirk Cousins – Junior 10 Andrew Maxwell –   Freshman 12 Peter Badovinac – Sophomore Wide receivers 2 Mark Dell – Senior 3 B. J. Cunningham – Junior 7 Keith Nichol – Junior 13 Bennie Fowler –   Freshman 15 Donald Spencer –   Freshman 17 Kyle Nichol –   Freshman 18 Jordan Benton –   Freshman 21 Josh Perryman – Freshman 23 Eddie Reed -   Sophomore 25 Keith Mumphrey – Freshman 33 Jeremy Langford – Freshman 81 Brad Sonntag – Junior 82 Keshawn Martin – Junior 87 Milton Colbert – Sophomore 89 Cam Martin – Junior Running backs 4 Edwin Baker – Sophomore 20 Nick Hill – Freshman 22 Larry Caper – Sophomore 24 Le'Veon Bell – Freshman 26 David Spears – Sophomore 34 Andre Buford – Sophomore 37 Chris Hessell (FB) – Sophomore 38 Nick Palazeti (FB) – Freshman 42 Nick Bendzuck (FB) – Senior 44 Josh Rouse (FB) – Senior 45 Jeff Bobek (FB) – Freshman 47 Adam Setterbo (FB) – Junior 48 Drew Stevens (FB) – Sophomore 86 Fred Smith (FB) –   Sophomore		Offensive line 54 Connor Kruse – Freshman 58 Hugh Stangeland –   Freshman 59 D. J. Young – Senior 60 Micajah Reynolds –   Freshman 61 Antonio Jeremiah – Junior 62 Chris McDonald – Sophomore 63 Travis Jackson – Freshman 65 Michael Dennis – Freshman 66 John Stipek – Senior 67 Joel Foreman – Junior 68 Ethan Ruhland – Sophomore 69 Shawn Kamm – Freshman 70 Skyler Schofner – Freshman 71 John Deyo – Sophomore 72 Nate Klatt –   Freshman 73 Henry Conway –   Freshman 74 Zach Hueter – Sophomore 75 Jared McGaha – Junior 77 J'Michael Deane – Senior 79 David Barrent –   Freshman Tight ends 83 Charlie Gantt – Senior 84 Derek Hoebing –   Freshman 85 Garrett Celek – Junior 88 Brian Linthicum – Junior 92 Andrew Gleichert – Freshman		Defensive line 52 Denzel Drone –   Freshman 55 Corey Freeman – Sophomore 57 Jonathan Strayhorn – Junior 58 Jordan Sanders – Freshman 65 Doug Curtis – Sophomore 69 Blake Pacheco – Junior 83 R.J. Kelly – Sophomore 87 Todd Anderson – Junior 89 Colin Neely – Senior 91 Tyler Hoover – Sophomore 93 Blake Treadwell – Sophomore 94 Taylor Calero – Freshman 96 Kevin Pickelman – Junior 97 Dan France –   Freshman 98 Anthony White – Sophomore 99 Jerel Worthy – Sophomore Linebackers 2 William Gholston – Freshman 10 Chris Norman – Sophomore 28 Denicos Allen –   Freshman 36 John Misch – Senior 40 Max Bullough – Freshman 41 Kyler Elsworth –   Freshman 42 Ty Hamilton – Freshman 43 Eric Gordon – Senior 45 Marcus Rush – Freshman 47 Jeremy Gainer –   Freshman 49 TyQuan Hammock –   Freshman 50 Steve Gardiner – Sophomore 53 Greg Jones – Senior 54 Chad Setterbo – Sophomore		Defensive backs 2 Mylan Hicks – Freshman 5 Johnny Adams – Sophomore 9 Isaiah Lewis – Freshman 11 Marcus Hyde – Senior 12 Dana Dixon –   Freshman 14 Chase Parker – Junior 14 Tony Lippett – Freshman 16 Chris D. Rucker – Junior 19 Danny Folino –   Freshman 22 Josh Bodell – Senior 23 Jarius Jones –   Freshman 26 Jesse Johnson – Senior 27 Kurtis Drummond – Freshman 29 Chris L. Rucker – Senior 31 Darqueze Dennard – Freshman 32 Mitchell White – Sophomore 39 Trenton Robinson – Junior Punters 3 Mike Sadler – Freshman 18 Aaron Bates – Senior 20 Kyle Selden – Junior Place kickers 4 Dan Conroy – Sophomore 17 Kevin Muma –   Freshman Long snappers 51 Steve Moore – Sophomore 56 Alex Shackleton – Senior

Coaching staff

• Mark Dantonio – Head Coach
• Don Treadwell – 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 – Defensive Coordinator
• Ted Gill – Defensive line coach
• Mike Tressel – Linebackers coach/Special Teams Coordinator
• Harlon Barnett – Secondary coach

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	12:00 p.m.	Western Michigan*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	W 38–14	75,769
September 11	12:00 p.m.	vs. Florida Atlantic*		Ford Field Detroit, MI	ESPNU	W 30–17	36,124
September 18	8:00 p.m.	Notre Dame*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (Megaphone Trophy)	ABC/ESPN2	W 34–31 ^OT	78,411
September 25	12:00 p.m.	Northern Colorado*	No. 25	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	BTN	W 45–7	70,926
October 2	3:30 p.m.	No. 11 Wisconsin	No. 24	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ABC/ESPN	W 34–24	73,108
October 9	3:30 p.m.	at No. 18 Michigan	No. 17	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)	ABC/ESPN	W 34–17	113,065
October 16	12:00 p.m.	Illinois	No. 13	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	BTN	W 26–6	74,441
October 23	12:00 p.m.	at Northwestern	No. 8	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN	W 35–27	41,115
October 30	3:30 p.m.	at No. 18 Iowa	No. 5	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ABC/ESPN	L 6–37	70,585
November 6	12:00 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 16	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	BTN	W 31–8	71,128
November 20	12:00 p.m.	Purdue	No. 11	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	BTN	W 35–31	71,111
November 27	12:00 p.m.	at Penn State	No. 11	Beaver Stadium State College, PA (Land Grant Trophy)	ESPN2	W 28–22	102,649
January 1, 2011	1:00 p.m.	vs. No. 15 Alabama*	No. 7	Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL (Capital One Bowl)	ESPN	L 7–49	61,519
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Western Michigan

See also: 2010 Western Michigan Broncos football team

1 2 3 4 Total Western Michigan 0 7 7 0 14 • Michigan State 7 21 7 3 38 Date: September 4 Location: Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI Game start: 12:01 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:21 Game attendance: 75,769 Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C), Wind 21 mph (34 km/h) WNW, Partly Cloudy Referee: Mike Cannon TV announcers (ESPN2): Bob Wischusen (Play-by-Play) Brian Griese (Analyst)

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

See also: 2010 Florida Atlantic Owls football team

1 2 3 4 Total • Michigan State 10 10 7 3 30 Florida Atlantic 7 0 7 3 17 Date: September 11 Location: Ford Field Detroit, MI Game start: 12:00 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:00 Game attendance: 36,124 Game weather: Indoors Referee: Charles Lewis TV announcers (ESPNU): Rob Stone (Play-by-Play) David Pollack (Analyst)

Notre Dame

See also: 2010 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Michigan State–Notre Dame football rivalry

Megaphone Trophy: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1–1) at Michigan State Spartans (2–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Notre Dame	7	0	14	7	3	31
Michigan State	0	7	14	7	6	34

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

• Date: September 18
• Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Overcast • 61 °F (16 °C) • Wind N 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn)
• Game attendance: 78,411
• Referee: Jerry McGinn
• TV announcers (ABC/ESPN2): Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, and Holly Rowe
• Box Score

Game information
Notre Dame Dayne Crist 32/55, 369 Yds, 4 TD, INT Armando Allen 13 Rush, 71 Yds Theo Riddick 10 Rec, 128 Yds, TD Michigan State Kirk Cousins 23/33, 245 Yds, 2 TD, INT Le'Veon Bell 17 Rush, 114 Yds, TD B.J. Cunningham 7 Rec, 101 Yds, TD

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.^[5]

The Fighting Irish were the first to score, with quarterback Dayne Crist completing a seven-yard touchdown pass to Michael Floyd 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 to Keshawn Martin. 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. The Spartans and Irish once again traded touchdowns on the next two drives, with Michigan State's Le'Veon Bell scoring a 16-yard touchdown run, followed by Notre Dame scoring via a 15-yard pass from Crist to Theo Riddick, 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":

We always name our trick plays after movies. We keep it fun. … We actually put it in on Wednesday. It worked every time. I made the call, ‘Little Giants,’ and I said a little prayer.^[6]

— Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio

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.^[7]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP ND MSU 1 5:28 9 80 2:24 Notre Dame Michael Floyd 7-yard touchdown reception from Dayne Crist, David Ruffer kick good 7 0 2 2:22 7 94 3:17 Michigan State Keshawn Martin 6-yard touchdown reception from Kirk Cousins, Dan Conroy kick good 7 7 3 14:20 2 74 0:35 Michigan State Edwin Baker 56-yard touchdown run, Dan Conroy kick good 7 14 3 12:25 6 74 1:49 Notre Dame Kyle Rudolph 10-yard touchdown reception from Dayne Crist, David Ruffer kick good 14 14 3 5:51 11 73 6:29 Michigan State Le'Veon Bell 16-yard touchdown run, Dan Conroy kick good 14 21 3 1:29 11 77 4:16 Notre Dame Theo Riddick 15-yard touchdown reception from Dayne Crist, David Ruffer kick good 21 21 4 13:20 5 52 1:29 Notre Dame Michael Floyd 24-yard touchdown reception from Dayne Crist, David Ruffer kick good 28 21 4 7:43 4 56 2:12 Michigan State B.J. Cunningham 24-yard touchdown reception from Kirk Cousins, Dan Conroy kick good 28 28 OT 4 9 Notre Dame 33-yard field goal by David Ruffer 31 28 OT 4 25 Michigan State Charlie Gantt 29-yard touchdown reception from Aaron Bates 31 34 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 31 34

Northern Colorado

See also: Northern Colorado Bears football

1 2 3 4 Total Northern Colorado 0 0 0 7 7 • #25 Michigan State 14 21 7 3 45 Date: September 25 Location: Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI Game start: 12:01 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:01 Game attendance: 70,926 Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C), Wind 14 mph (23 km/h) WNW, Partly Cloudy Referee: Dave Witvoet TV announcers (BTN): Mike Morgan (Play-by-Play) Muhsin Muhammad (Analyst) Stacy Paetz (Sideline)

Wisconsin

See also: 2010 Wisconsin Badgers football team

1 2 3 4 Total #11 Wisconsin 0 10 7 7 24 • #24 Michigan State 3 17 7 7 34 Date: October 2 Location: Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI Game start: 3:37 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:09 Game attendance: 73,108 Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C), Wind 15 mph (24 km/h) N, Light Rain Referee: John O'Neill TV announcers (ABC/ESPN): Mike Patrick (Play-by-Play) Craig James (Analyst) Quint Kessenich (Sideline)

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

Paul Bunyan Trophy

1 2 3 4 Total • #17 Michigan State 0 17 14 3 34 #18 Michigan 3 7 0 7 17 Date: October 9 Location: Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI Game start: 3:35 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:10 Game attendance: 113,065 Game weather: Mid 70s, Wind: 5–10 mph (8.0–16.1 km/h) E, Clear & Sunny Referee: Bill Lemonnier TV announcers (ABC/ESPN): Sean McDonough (Play-by-Play) Matt Millen (Analyst) Quint Kessenich (Sideline)

See also: 2010 Michigan Wolverines football team and Paul Bunyan Trophy

In week 6, Michigan hosted their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans for the coveted Paul Bunyan Trophy. 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.^[8] 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 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. 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

See also: 2010 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1 2 3 4 Total Illinois 3 3 0 0 6 • #13 Michigan State 0 3 13 10 26 Date: October 16 Location: Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI Game start: 12:00 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:06 Game attendance: 74,441 Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), Wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h) WSW, Sunny Referee: Todd Geerlings TV announcers (BTN): Eric Collins (Play-by-Play) Chris Martin (Analyst) Charissa Thompson (Sideline)

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

1 2 3 4 Total • #8 Michigan State 0 7 7 21 35 Northwestern 7 10 7 3 27 Date: October 23rd Location: Ryan Field Evanston, IL Game start: 12:01 EDT Elapsed time: 3:20 Game attendance: 41,115 Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), Wind 5 mph (8.0 km/h) SW, Light Rain Referee: Alex Kemp TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Pasch (Play-by-Play) Bob Griese (Analyst) Chris Spielman (Analyst) Quint Kessenich (Sideline)

See also: 2010 Northwestern Wildcats football team

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

1 2 3 4 Total #5 Michigan State 0 0 0 6 6 • #18 Iowa 17 13 7 0 37 Date: October 30th Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA Game start: 3:36 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:11 Game attendance: 70,585 Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C), Wind 10 mph (16 km/h) WNW, Partly Cloudy Referee: Dennis Lipski TV announcers (ABC/ESPN): Sean McDonough (Play-by-play) Matt Millen (Analyst) Heather Cox (Sideline)

See also: 2010 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

Minnesota

See also: 2010 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

1 2 3 4 Total Minnesota 0 0 0 8 8 • #16 Michigan State 7 14 3 7 31 Date: November 6 Location: Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI Game start: 12:01 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:15 Game attendance: 71,128 Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C), Wind 4 mph (6.4 km/h) NNW, Sunny Referee: Bill LeMonnier TV announcers (BTN): Tom Hart (Play-by-Play) Anthony Herron (Analyst) Lisa Byington (Sideline)

Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total Purdue 14 7 7 3 31 • #11 Michigan State 7 6 0 22 35 Date: November 20 Location: Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI Game start: 12:01 PM EST Elapsed time: 3:14 Game attendance: 71,111 Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C), Wind: 6 mph (9.7 km/h) NNW, Partly Cloudy Referee: Scott McElwee TV announcers (BTN): Eric Collins (Play-by-Play) Chris Martin (Analyst) Charissa Thompson (Sideline)

See also: 2010 Purdue Boilermakers football team

The Spartans overcame a 15-point deficit to secure their first 7 win undefeated home season.

Penn State

Land Grant Trophy

1 2 3 4 Total • #11 Michigan State 7 7 7 7 28 Penn State 3 0 0 19 22 Date: November 27 Location: Beaver Stadium University Park, PA Game start: 12:01 PM EST Elapsed time: 3:15 Game attendance: 102,649 Game weather: 35–36 °F (2 °C), Wind: 18 mph (29 km/h) WNW, Flurries and Windy Referee: Dan Capron TV announcers (ESPN2): Mike Patrick (Play-by-Play) Craig James (Analyst) Heather Cox (Sideline)

See also: 2010 Penn State Nittany Lions football team and Land Grant Trophy

The Spartans secured a share of the Big Ten title, their first conference championship since 1990.

Alabama (Capital One Bowl)

Capital One Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total • #15 Alabama 7 21 14 7 49 #7 Michigan State 0 0 0 7 7 Date: January 1 Location: Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL Game start: 1:03 PM EST Elapsed time: 3:12 Game attendance: 61,519 Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C), Wind: 13 mph (21 km/h) SSE, Sunny Referee: Greg Burks TV announcers (ESPN): Brad Nessler (Play-by-Play) Todd Blackledge (Analyst) Holly Rowe (Sideline)

See also: 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	RV	RV	25	24	17	13	8	5	16	10	11	11	7	7	14
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	23	21	16	11	8	5	15	10	11	10	7	7	14
Harris	Not released						12	8	5	16	10	10	10	7	7	Not released
BCS	Not released							7	5	14	11	12	10	8	8	Not released

2011 NFL Draft

The following players were selected in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL Team
Greg Jones	6	185	Linebacker	New York Giants
Chris L. Rucker	6	188	Cornerback	Indianapolis Colts

References

1. "Buckeyes vacate wins from last football season". ESPN.com. July 8, 2011. The measures taken by the school included vacating all the Buckeyes' wins from last season, a year in which Ohio State captured a record-tying sixth straight Big Ten title and won an unprecedented seventh straight game over Michigan.
2. "Big Ten Conference Standings - 2010". ESPN. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
3. "2014 NCAA Football Rankings - Week 16". ESPN. December 7, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
4. 2010 Roster at msuspartans.com
5. "Michigan State scores winning TD on fake FG in overtime". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 19, 2010.
6. "Remembering Michigan State's epic "Little Giants" fake field goal against Notre Dame". USAToday.com. September 18, 2017.
7. "Mark Dantonio OK after heart attack". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 20, 2010.
8. Tramel, Berry (October 9, 2010). "Michigan State, Michigan Set to Put Undefeated Records on the Line". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City. Retrieved December 27, 2014.