1952 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 1952 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State College in the 1952 college football season.[1][2] The Spartans were led by head coach Clarence "Biggie" Munn and recorded a perfect 9–0. The team was selected national champion by AP, Boand, DeVold, Dunkel, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, NCF, Sagarin, UPI/coaches, and Williamson,[3]^:113 marking the school's first Consensus National Championship.[3]^:120 Five additional major selectors chose Georgia Tech as national champion. This was Michigan State's last year as an Independent, as MSU would join the Big Ten the following year.

1952 Michigan State Spartans football
Consensus national champion
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
1952 record	9–0
Head coach	Biggie Munn (6th season)
Home stadium	Macklin Stadium (Capacity: 51,000)

1952 Midwestern college football independents records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Michigan State			–					9	–	0	–	0
No. 3 Notre Dame			–					7	–	2	–	1
Carthage			–					5	–	2	–	0
Youngstown			–					4	–	3	–	1
Wabash			–					5	–	4	–	0
Dayton			–					6	–	5	–	0
Baldwin–Wallace			–					4	–	4	–	0
Wayne			–					4	–	4	–	0
Bradley			–					4	–	5	–	0
John Carroll			–					4	–	5	–	0
Washington University			–					4	–	5	–	0
Rose Poly			–					3	–	4	–	1
Xavier			–					4	–	6	–	0
Marquette			–					3	–	5	–	1
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 27	at Michigan	No. 1	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	W 27–13	97,239
October 4	at Oregon State	No. 1	Bell Field Corvallis, OR	W 17–14	22,595
October 11	Texas A&M	No. 2	Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 48–6	49,123
October 18	Syracuse	No. 1	Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 48–7	38,254
October 25	Penn State	No. 1	Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	W 34–7	51,162
November 1	at Purdue	No. 1	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 14–7	49,500
November 8	at Indiana	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)	W 41–14	22,000
November 15	Notre Dame	No. 1	Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	W 21–3	52,472
November 22	Marquette	No. 1	Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 62–13	35,845
Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

Schedule Source:[4]

Roster

1952 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL Frank Kush	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Biggie Munn Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Paul Dekker	End	3	27	Washington Redskins
Dick Tamburo	Center	4	47	Cleveland Browns
Ed Timmerman	Back	14	160	Washington Redskins
Jim Ellis	Back	25	299	Cleveland Browns

• Reference:[5]

References

1. "2016 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. pp. 146, 154. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
2. "1952 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
3. 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
4. "Football Statistics Summary for 1952". msuspartans.com. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
5. "1953 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2013.