# 1999 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 1999 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth and final year under head coach Nick Saban, the Spartans compiled a 10-2 record (6-2 in conference games), outscored opponents by a total of 341 to 211, tied for second place in the Big Ten, and were ranked No. 7 in the final AP and UPI polls. The Spartans' two losses came at the hands of Heisman Trophy finalists. In their loss to Purdue, Drew Brees passed for 509 yards, and in their loss one week later to Wisconsin, Heisman winner Ron Dayne rushed for 214 yards.
Saban announced on November 30 that he was leaving to take the head coaching job at LSU. Bobby Williams took over as interim head coach and led the Spartans to a 37–34 victory over Florida in the Citrus Bowl, winning on a last second, game-winning field goal by kicker Paul Edinger.
The Spartans averaged 134.6 rushing yards and 200.3 passing yards per game. On defense, they held opponents to 70.6 rushing yards and 203.5 passing yards per game. The team's individual leaders included:
* Quarterback Bill Burke completed 152 of 277 passes (54.9%) for 1,957 yards, 17 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, and a 122.9 quarterback rating.
* Wide receiver Plaxico Burress tallied 53 receptions for 957 yards and nine touchdowns.
* Running back Lloyd Clemons tallied 854 rushing yards on 171 carries, an average of 5.0 yards per carry.
* Placekicker Paul Edinger led the team in scoring with 104 points, converting 39 of 40 extra points and 18 of 22 field goals.
Safety Aric Morris was selected as the team's most valuable player. Linebacker Julian Peterson received first-team All-America honors from Football News. Eight Michigan State players received honors on the 1999 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Burress (Coaches-1, Media-1); Peterson (Coaches-2, Media-1); Edinger (Coaches-2, Media-2); Morris (Coaches-2, Media-2); defensive lineman Robaire Smith (Coaches-1, Media-1); defensive back Amp Campbell (Coaches-1, Media-1); punter Craig Jewett (Coaches-1, Media-2); tight end Chris Baker; and offensive guard Shaun Mason (Coaches-2, Media-2).
The Spartans played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 8:00 p.m. | Oregon* | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ESPN | W 27–20 | 72,923 |
| September 11 | 1:00 p.m. | Eastern Michigan* | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | | W 51–7 | 72,569 |
| September 18 | 1:30 p.m. | at No. 24 Notre Dame* | | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | NBC | W 23–13 | 80,012 |
| September 25 | 3:30 p.m. | at Illinois | No. 19 | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | | W 27–10 | 52,417 |
| October 2 | 12:10 p.m. | Iowa | No. 14 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ESPN Plus | W 49–3 | 73,629 |
| October 9 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 3 Michigan | No. 11 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (rivalry, College GameDay) | ABC | W 34–31 | 76,895 |
| October 16 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 20 Purdue | No. 5 | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | ABC | L 28–52 | 68,216 |
| October 23 | 12:10 p.m. | at No. 16 Wisconsin | No. 11 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ESPN2 | L 10–40 | 78,469 |
| November 6 | 12:10 p.m. | No. 20 Ohio State | No. 19 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ESPN | W 23–7 | 74,639 |
| November 13 | 1:00 p.m. | at Northwestern | No. 17 | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | | W 40–0 | 30,045 |
| November 20 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 13 Penn State | No. 15 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (rivalry) | ABC | W 35–28 | 74,231 |
| January 1, 2000 | 1:00 p.m. | vs. No. 10 Florida* | No. 9 | Florida Citrus BowlOrlando, FL (Florida Citrus Bowl) | ABC | W 37–34 | 54,866 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | 19 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 7 |
| Coaches Poll | RV | RV* | RV | RV | 21 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 7 |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 15 | — | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oregon | 7 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| • Michigan State | 7 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 27 |

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan | 0 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 31 |
| • Michigan State | 7 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 34 |
Bill Burke threw for a school-record 400 yards and two touchdowns while Plaxico Burress set a new mark with 255 yards receiving. Burke broke Ed Smith's record of 369 against Indiana in 1979 while Burress surpassed Andre Rison's 252 yards against Georgia in 1989. Michigan State was now 6–0 for the first time since the 1966 national championship season. Michigan quarterbacks Tom Brady and Drew Henson combined for 396 passing yards, but the Michigan State defense held the Wolverines to six rushing yards for the game.

## 2000 NFL draft

The following players were selected in the 2000 NFL draft.
| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL team |
| Plaxico Burress | 1 | 8 | Wide receiver | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Julian Peterson | 1 | 16 | Linebacker | San Francisco 49ers |
| Gari Scott | 4 | 99 | Wide receiver | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Greg Randall | 4 | 127 | Tackle | New England Patriots |
| Aric Morris | 5 | 135 | Strong safety | Tennessee Titans |
| Paul Edinger | 6 | 174 | Kicker | Chicago Bears |
| Robaire Smith | 6 | 197 | Defensive tackle | Tennessee Titans |