Michigan State football's 10 greatest games at Spartan Stadium in 100 years

Michigan State football in 2023 plays its 100th season at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

The program's home field goes back to before the school became a university and before they were called Spartans.

A century has passed since 8,000 fans watched the Michigan Agricultural College Aggies christen Macklin Stadium with a 21-6 victory over Lake Forest on Oct. 6, 1923. Tickets cost between $1 and $2.

The program would soon become known as the Michigan State Spartans, the stadium name would change, the college would join the Big Ten and become a university by 1955. And as the campus in East Lansing started to sprawl outward, Spartan Stadium remained in the heart and still serves as the epicenter of celebration and communion about a half dozen days each fall for students, alumni and fans.

Many of the greatest college football players -– as well as Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones and Bono and U2 – have graced the field. Many historic moments in the history of the sport have happened there as well.

Here is a look at 10 of the most significant games played at Spartan Stadium, 100 years in.

10. Nov. 28, 1963: No. 8 Illinois 13, No. 4 MSU 0

The only MSU loss on this list for is here for reasons well beyond football. Originally scheduled for Nov. 23, the game was postponed after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy a day earlier. The two teams agreed to reschedule for Thanksgiving Thursday, a rare midweek game. Linebacker Dick Butkus helped the Illini to a shutout and Rose Bowl berth as Duffy Daugherty’s Spartans finished 6-2-1 and second in the Big Ten.

9. Sept. 7, 1987: MSU 27, No. 19 USC 13

The first night game in Spartan Stadium history opened a special season on Labor Day weekend – something that has become somewhat of a tradition since the 2010s. Lorenzo White scored twice and ran for 111 yards, and MSU's defense forced five turnovers that led to 13 points.

8. Nov. 14, 1953: MSU 14, Michigan 6

In December 1948, after years of being blocked by U-M, Michigan State finally received membership in the Big Ten. It took until 1953 for the Spartans to compete against the Midwest powerhouses as a conference member, by which time Clarence “Biggie” Munn’s program had become one of the nation’s elite – at one point winning 28 straight games between 1950-53. After years of playing its biggest rival almost exclusively in Ann Arbor, other than four losses in rare U-M visits to East Lansing, the Spartans finally got their first home win over the Wolverines. A fourth straight victory in the rivalry secured a Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl berth in their inaugural season in the conference.

7. Nov. 14, 1987: No. 13 MSU 27, No. 16 Indiana 3

With a Big Ten title on the line for the winner, coach George Perles unleashed White, and the Hoosiers had no answers. White had a school-record 56 carries for 292 yards, which still ranks second in MSU history, and scored twice. Fans rushed the field and tore down the goalposts after MSU earned its first Rose Bowl berth since the 1965 season, going on to beat USC again in Pasadena.

6. Oct. 22, 2011: No. 15 MSU 37, No. 4 Wisconsin 31

Future NFL quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson turned a nighttime showdown into a personal prize fight. Wilson helped rally the Badgers from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the game with 86 seconds to play. But Cousins moved the Spartans across midfield, then with 4 seconds left, heaved a pass toward the end zone that bounced off a defender to Keith Nichol. The former MSU quarterback wrestled Badgers defenders, and, after a long review, was awarded the touchdown to send Spartan Stadium into a frenzy. MSU won the Legends division title and met Leaders division champ Wisconsin again in the inaugural Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis, losing the rematch 42-39 in another epic battle.

5. Oct. 30, 2021: No. 8 MSU 37, No. 6 Michigan 33

Fans were not permitted at the 2020 game in Ann Arbor, a shocking MSU win in coach Mel Tucker’s first game against U-M. That helped amplify the electricity across the state before a capacity crowd gathered in East Lansing, where both teams entered with 7-0 records for the first time in history and met as top-10 foes for the first time since 1964. The back-and-forth slugfest lived up to the hype. Kenneth Walker III ran for 197 yards on 23 carries and five touchdowns, scoring the winner with 5:08 to play, as the Spartans rallied from a 16-point second-half hole. Tucker became the first MSU coach in school history to beat Michigan in his first two attempts.

4. Nov. 3, 2001: MSU 26, No. 6 Michigan 24

John Navarre's touchdown pass to Jermaine Gonzales put U-M ahead 24-20 with 5 minutes to play. MSU got the ball back with 2:28 remaining, and quarterback Jeff Smoker directed the Spartans to the 2-yard line with a run as the clock continued. Smoker dashed to the line and spiked the ball, with the clock stopping with 1 second remaining. On the final play, as the Wolverines chased Smoker to his right, he spotted T.J. Duckett open in the middle of the end zone and threw across his body for the winning score in one of the most controversial moments in the history of the rivalry.

3. Sept. 18, 2010: MSU 34, Notre Dame 31 (OT)

“Run ‘Little Giants.’” Three words and a gutsy play-call began Mark Dantonio’s ascent in turning MSU into a national powerhouse over the next decade. The two traditional rivals battled into overtime, and the Irish opened with a field goal. When the Spartans’ drive stalled, Dantonio told holder Aaron Bates to fake the field goal attempt, catching Notre Dame off-guard as the punter and former high school quarterback threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Gantt that stunned Irish coach Brian Kelly. After the game, Dantonio suffered a heart attack and was taken to a local hospital. He returned to the sidelines a few weeks later to guide MSU to a share of its first Big Ten title since 1990, his first of three over six seasons of a 13-year tenure in which he surpassed Daugherty to become the Spartans’ all-time winningest coach.

2. Nov. 9, 1974: MSU 16, No. 1 Ohio State 13

Chaos and controversy, as well as a stunning upset of the nation’s top team made for one of the most talked-about games in MSU history. The Spartans entered unranked and as a 25-point home underdog against Woody Hayes' juggernaut, but Levi Jackson's 88-yard touchdown burst down the right sideline gave the Spartans a lead and ended with fans mobbing him in the end zone. The Buckeyes and two-time Heisman Trophy-winning running back Archie Griffin got the ball back and marched down the field. With time running out, MSU's defense stopped Champ Henson near the goal line. OSU appeared to recover a fumble in the end zone, but two refs said time had expired while another signaled touchdown. It took 46 minutes for Big Ten commissioner Wayne Duke to declare the Spartans as the victors.

1. Nov. 19, 1966: No. 2 MSU 10, No. 1 Notre Dame 10

Not just the best moment at Spartan Stadium, but perhaps the greatest game of all time and a watershed moment in televised college football history, with 33 million watching at home along with 80,000-plus in East Lansing. The numbers from the battle for No. 1 are astounding — 25 All-Americas, 42 pro football draft picks (10 first-rounders), 33 pro players, eight College Football Hall of Famers (including both coaches — Daugherty and Notre Dame's Ara Parseghian). A week worth of hype hit its crescendo early in the 33-degree afternoon as the Spartans’ Bubba Smith knocked out Irish starting quarterback Terry Hanratty and center George Goeddeke left the game two plays later. MSU went ahead 10-0 on a Regis Cavender touchdown run and a Dick Kenney field goal. But Irish backup QB Coley O'Brien threw a 34-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, and kicker Joe Azzaro tied the game late in the third quarter. With both defenses locked in, Parseghian opted to run out the clock after Daugherty decided to punt with about a minute and a half left, closing out one of the most debated endings in football history in a game still talked about nearly 60 years later. Notre Dame played USC the following week and finished No. 1 in most polls. The Spartans' season ended without a Rose Bowl berth due to league rules at the time, despite winning a second straight Big Ten title.

Honorable mentions

• Oct. 10, 1924: Michigan 7, MSU 0 (Spartan Stadium dedication).

• Oct. 10, 1987: MSU 17, No. 12 Michigan 11.

• Nov. 3, 1995: MSU 28, No. 7 Michigan 25.

• Oct. 9, 1999: No. 11 MSU 34, No. 3 Michigan 31.

• Sept. 23, 2000: No. 23 MSU 27, No. 16 Notre Dame 21.

• Sept. 12, 2015: MSU 31, Oregon 28.

• Nov. 2, 2013: MSU 29, Michigan 6.

• Nov. 28, 2015: No. 6 MSU 55, Penn State 16.

Other significant events

• Sept. 9, 1994: Rolling Stones play the first concert in stadium history.

• May 5, 1995: Bill Clinton delivers MSU commencement address.

• Oct. 6, 2001: MSU and Michigan tie 3-3 in the “Cold War” outdoor hockey game.

• June 26, 2011: U2 plays the second and only other concert at the stadium.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football: Spartan Stadium's 10 greatest games