1953 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 1953 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State College (now known as Michigan State University) in the 1953 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first season in the Big Ten Conference, and their seventh and final season under head coach Biggie Munn, the Spartans compiled a 9–1 record (5–1 in conference games), outscored opponents by a total of 240 to 110, and shared the Big Ten title with Illinois. They represented the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl, defeated UCLA, 28–20, and finished ranked third in both the AP and Coaches polls.^[1][2]

1953 Michigan State Spartans football
Big Ten co-champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 28–20 vs. UCLA
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 3
Record	9–1 (5–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Biggie Munn (7th season)
MVP	Leroy Bolden
Captain	Don Dohoney
Home stadium	Macklin Stadium
Seasons ← 1952 1954 →

1953 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Michigan State +	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
No. 7 Illinois +	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	1	–	1
No. 15 Wisconsin	4	–	1	–	1			6	–	2	–	1
Ohio State	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	3	–	1			4	–	4	–	1
No. 20 Michigan	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
No. 9 Iowa	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	3	–	1
Purdue	2	–	4	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Indiana	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	0	–	6	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The season was part of the Spartans' school-record, 28-game winning streak that began on October 14, 1950, and ended with a 6-0 loss at Purdue on October 24, 1953.^[3]

The team's statistical leaders included Leroy Bolden (691 rushing yards), Tom Yewcic (489 passing yards), and Ellis Duckett (169 receiving yards). Bolden was selected as the team's most valuable player.^[4] End Don Dohoney was a consensus All-American.^[5] Bolden and Doheney also received first-team honors from both the writers and coaches on the 1953 All-Big Ten Conference football team.^[6][7]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	at Iowa	No. 2	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 21–7	47,125	[8]
October 3	at Minnesota	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 21–0	61,594	[9]
October 10	TCU*	No. 2	Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 26–19	51,049	[10]
October 17	Indiana	No. 2	Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	W 47–18	51,698	[11]
October 24	at Purdue	No. 2	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 0–6	35,000	[3]
October 31	Oregon State*	No. 6	Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 34–6	51,108	[12]
November 7	at Ohio State	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 28–13	82,328	[13]
November 14	Michigan	No. 4	Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	W 14–6	52,324	[14]
November 21	Marquette*	No. 3	Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 21–15	42,170	[15]
January 1, 1954	vs. No. 5 UCLA*	No. 3	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	W 28–20	100,100	[16]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[17]