2001 Michigan State Spartans football team

American college football season

2001 Michigan State Spartans football

Silicon Valley Football Classic champion
Silicon Valley Football Classic, W 44–35 vs. Fresno State
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–5 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bobby Williams (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Morris Watts (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Miller (3rd season)
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium (c. 71,007 AstroTurf)
Seasons ← 2000 2002 →

2001 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 12 Illinois $	7	–	1	10	–	2
No. 20 Michigan	6	–	2	8	–	4
Ohio State	5	–	3	7	–	5
Iowa	4	–	4	7	–	5
Purdue	4	–	4	6	–	6
Penn State	4	–	4	5	–	6
Indiana	4	–	4	5	–	6
Michigan State	3	–	5	7	–	5
Wisconsin	3	–	5	5	–	7
Minnesota	2	–	6	4	–	7
Northwestern	2	–	6	4	–	7

$ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 2001 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Spartans played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. This was the second year for head coach Bobby Williams, who led the Spartans to a 7-5 record including a 44–35 victory in the 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic over the Fresno State Bulldogs of the Western Athletic Conference.

The controversial final play of the home game against Michigan on November 3 led to a change in the official timekeeping policy of the Big Ten Conference. Beginning in 2002, a neutral official appointed by the Big Ten keeps track of the game time on the field.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	1:00 p.m.	Central Michigan*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 35–21	73,879	^[1]
September 22	2:30 p.m.	at No. 23 Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	NBC	W 17–10	80,795
September 29	3:30 p.m.	at No. 16 Northwestern	No. 23	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ABC	L 26–27	40,103
October 13	12:00 p.m.	Iowa		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	W 31–28	73,680
October 20	12:00 p.m.	at Minnesota		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN		L 19–28	47,385
October 27	12:00 p.m.	at Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN+	W 42–28	79,108
November 3	3:30 p.m.	No. 6 Michigan		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	ABC	W 26–24	75,262	^[2]
November 10	12:00 p.m.	Indiana	No. 22	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)		L 28–37	73,990
November 17	12:00 p.m.	at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN2	L 14–24	55,660
November 24	3:30 p.m.	Penn State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	ESPN	L 37–42	72,658
December 1	11:00 a.m.	Missouri*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	W 55–7	72,823
December 31	3:00 p.m.	vs. No. 20 Fresno State*		Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA (Silicon Valley Football Classic)	FSN	W 44–35	30,456
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Note: The Missouri game originally scheduled for September 15 was rescheduled to December 1 because of the September 11 attacks.

Roster

2001 Michigan State Spartans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`1`	Charles Rogers	So
RB	`8`	T. J. Duckett	Sr
QB	`9`	Jeff Smoker	So
G	`76`	Will Whitticker	Fr
TE	`83`	Chris Baker	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DE	`95`	Matthias Askew	So
LB	`42`	Mike Labinjo	So
LB	`44`	Ronald Stanley	Fr
DT	`95`	Josh Shaw	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`16`	Dave Rayner	Fr

Head coach

Bobby Williams

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Morris Watts – Offensive Coordinator
Reggie Mitchell – Running backs coach
Don Treadwell – Wide receivers coach
Pat Perles – Tight ends coach
Jeff Stoutland – Offensive line coach
Brad Miller – Defensive Coordinator
Sal Sunseri – Special teams coordinator/Linebackers coach
Troy Douglas – Defensive backs coach
Brad Lawing – Recruiting coordinator
Matt House – Graduate Assistant

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

References

^ Jack Ebling (September 9, 2001). "Miscues don't cost MSU: Despite four blocked punts, three turnovers, Spartans too much for CMU, 35-21". Lansing State Journal. pp. Sports 1, 3 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Michigan vs. Michigan State". USA Today. November 3, 2001. Retrieved January 6, 2014.

v t e 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 2015 Michigan game
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
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
National championship seasons in bold