1969 Michigan State Spartans football team

1969 Michigan State Spartans football
1969 Michigan State Spartans football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	4–6 (2–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Duffy Daugherty (16th season);
MVP	Ron Saul
Captain	Franklin Foreman, Rich Saul
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium
	Seasons ← 1968 1970 →

1969 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Ohio State +	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Michigan +	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Purdue	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	1
Iowa	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Indiana	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Northwestern	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Michigan State	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Illinois	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1969 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University during the 1969 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by 16th-year head coach Duffy Daugherty, the Spartans compiled andoverall record of 4–6 with a mark of 2–5 in conference play, placing ninth in the Big Ten.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 20	Washington*	No. 12	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 27–11	63,022
September 27	SMU*	No. 13	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 23–15	72,189	^[1]
October 4	at Notre Dame*	No. 14	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	L 28–42	59,075
October 11	at No. 1 Ohio State	No. 19	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 21–54	86,641
October 18	No. 13 Michigan		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	W 23–12	79,368	^[2]^[3]^[4]
October 25	at Iowa		Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 18–19	65,471
November 1	Indiana		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	L 0–16	77,533
November 8	at No. 10 Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 13–41	67,397
November 15	Minnesota		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 10–14	60,011
November 22	at Northwestern		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 39–7	25,606
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^ "Spartans triumph, 23–15". Chicago Tribune. September 28, 1969. Retrieved March 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "'Just Played Poorly' -- Bo". Detroit Free Press. October 19, 1969. pp. 1C, 4C – via Newspapers.com.
^ Jack Saylor (October 19, 1969). "It's MSU, 23-12! Win over U-M Revives Rose Bowl Hopes". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 4C – via Newspapers.com.
^ Andy Barbas (October 19, 1969). "State romps to 23-12 victory". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 11 – via Bentley Historical Library.

Michigan State Spartans football
Venues	Old College Field (1902–1922) Spartan Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Indiana Michigan Notre Dame Penn State
Culture & lore	Sparty "Victory for MSU" Marching band Zeke the Wonder Dog 1966 "Game of the Century" 2001 Michigan game 2006 Northwestern game Trouble With the Snap
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold