Michigan State Spartans football statistical leaders
The Michigan State Spartans football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the Michigan State Spartans football program in various categories,[1][2] including passing, rushing, total offense, receiving, defensive stats, kicking, and scoring. Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, Single season and career leaders. The Spartans represent Michigan State University in the NCAA's Big Ten Conference.
Although Michigan State began competing in intercollegiate football in 1896,[1] the school's official record book considers the "modern era" to have begun in 1945. Records from before this year are often incomplete and inconsistent, and they are generally not included in these lists.
These lists are dominated by more recent players for several reasons:
Since 1945, seasons have increased from 10 games to 11 and then 12 games in length.
The NCAA didn't allow freshmen to play varsity football until 1972 (with the exception of the World War II years), allowing players to have four-year careers.
Bowl games only began counting toward single-season and career statistics in 2002.[3] The Spartans have played in 10 bowl games since then.
Similarly, the Spartans have played in the Big Ten Championship Game three times since it began in 2011, so players in those seasons had 14 games to accumulate statistics.
Due to COVID-19 disruptions, the NCAA ruled that the 2020 season would not be counted against any football player's athletic eligibility, giving players active in that season five years of eligibility instead of the standard four.
These lists are updated through Michigan State's game against Ohio State on November 20, 2021.
Michigan State's most recent record book (2021) does not break down leaders over any time frame (career, single-season, game) by type of score. Some leaders' breakdowns can be extrapolated from information included in the record book, or from other sources.
Most recent: Kenneth Walker III, 2021 vs. Northwestern
Total touchdowns
These lists include touchdowns scored by each individual player, thus including rushing, receiving, and return touchdowns but not passing touchdowns. Michigan State does not break down its lists of total touchdown leaders by type of play.
Most recent: Kenneth Walker III, 2021 vs. Northwestern
References
^ ab"2015 Michigan State Football Media Guide". MSUSpartans.com. Retrieved 2014-09-06.
^"2021 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State Spartans. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
^"NCAA changes policy on football stats". ESPN.com. AP. 2002-08-28. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
^ abcdefghi"Payton Thorne". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
^"Youngstown State vs. Michigan State Box Score". ESPN.com. September 11, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
^"Michigan State vs. Miami Box Score". ESPN.com. September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
^"Maryland vs. Michigan State Box Score". ESPN.com. November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
^"Western Michigan vs. Michigan State Box Score". ESPN.com. September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ abcd"Kenneth Walker III". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
^"Michigan State vs. Northwestern Box Score". ESPN.com. September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
^ abc"Box Score: Michigan vs. Michigan State". ESPN.com. October 30, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
^ abcd"Jayden Reed". ESPN.com.
^"Michigan State vs. Rutgers Box Score". ESPN.com. October 9, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
^"Official 2007 NCAA Division I Football Record Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
