# 2009 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 2009 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of the Michigan State University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Spartans were coached by Mark Dantonio, who was in his third season with the Spartans. Michigan State played their home games in Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

## Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40$^‡$ | Commit date |
| Denicos Allen LB | Hamilton, Ohio | Hamilton (OH) | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 4.56 | Oct 7, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Edwin Baker RB | Oak Park, Michigan | Oak Park (MI) | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 4.40 | Feb 26, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| David Barrent OT | West Des Moines, Iowa | Valley (IA) | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 285 lb (129 kg) | – | Jul 29, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| Larry Caper RB | Battle Creek, Michigan | Battle Creek Central (MI) | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | 4.55 | Mar 6, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Henry Conway OT | Shaker Heights, Ohio | Shaker Heights (OH) | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 300 lb (140 kg) | 5.10 | Jan 21, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Dana Dixon WR | Detroit, Michigan | Renaissance (MI) | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 4.55 | Jun 20, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 73 |||||||
| Denzel Drone LB | Plant City, Florida | Plant City (FL) | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | 4.65 | Jan 25, 2009 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 68 |||||||
| Bennie Fowler WR | Beverly Hills, Michigan | Detroit Country Day (MI) | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 4.4 | Jul 12, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Dan France OT | North Royalton, Ohio | North Royalton (OH) | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | 4.9 | Aug 3, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 73 |||||||
| Corey Freeman DE | University Heights, Ohio | Cleveland Heights (OH) | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | 4.55 | Feb 4, 2009 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40 |||||||
| Jeremy Gainer LB | Livonia, Michigan | Clarenceville (MI) | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 4.50 | Dec 18, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Tyquan Hammock LB | Fort Wayne, Indiana | Bishop Luers (IN) | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | 4.7 | Jul 22, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Derek Hoebing TE | Vermilion, Ohio | Vermilion (OH) | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | 4.9 | Jul 13, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 67 |||||||
| Jairus Jones S | Tampa, Florida | Wharton (FL) | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 4.60 | Jan 31, 2009 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Nate Klatt C | Canal Fulton, Ohio | Northwest (OH) | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | 5.4 | Jul 7, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Andrew Maxwell QB | Midland, Michigan | Midland (MI) | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 4.9 | Mar 2, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Kevin Muma K | Troy, Michigan | Troy (MI) | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | – | Jan 19, 2009 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Chris Norman LB | Detroit, Michigan | Renaissance (MI) | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | 4.60 | Feb 5, 2009 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Micajah Reynolds OG | Lansing, Michigan | J.W. Sexton (MI) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 317 lb (144 kg) | 5.10 | Jun 24, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Dion Sims TE | Orchard Lake, Michigan | St. Mary's Prep (OH) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | 4.60 | Jan 13, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Donald Spencer WR | Ypsilanti, Michigan | Ypsilanti (MI) | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 4.5 | Feb 23, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Blake Treadwell C | East Lansing, Michigan | East Lansing (MI) | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 273 lb (124 kg) | 4.90 | Mar 16, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Patrick White WR | Pickerington, Ohio | Pickerington (OH) | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 171 lb (78 kg) | 4.4 | Jun 8, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 74 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 37 Rivals: 17 |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 6, 2009. |||||||

## Schedule

This season saw the Spartans schedule a Division I FCS opponent (Montana State) for the first time since the NCAA split Division I football in 1978. This left Notre Dame, UCLA, USC, and Washington as the only Division I FBS teams to never have played a lower-division opponent since the split.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | 12:00 p.m. | Montana State* | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | BTN | W 44–3 | 74,518 |
| September 12 | 12:00 p.m. | Central Michigan* | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, Michigan | ESPN2 | L 27–29 | 76,221 |
| September 19 | 3:30 p.m. | at Notre Dame* | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (Megaphone Trophy) | NBC | L 30–33 | 80,795 |
| September 26 | 12:00 p.m. | at Wisconsin | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ESPN | L 30–38 | 80,123 |
| October 3 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 22 Michigan | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy) | BTN | W 26–20 $^{OT}$ | 78,629 |
| October 10 | 12:00 p.m. | at Illinois | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | BTN | W 24–14 | 62,870 |
| October 17 | 12:00 p.m. | Northwestern | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ESPN2 | W 24–14 | 71,726 |
| October 24 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 6 Iowa | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | BTN | L 13–15 | 74,411 |
| October 31 | 8:00 p.m. | at Minnesota | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | L 34–42 | 50,805 |
| November 7 | 12:00 p.m. | Western Michigan* | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | BTN | W 49–14 | 73,910 |
| November 14 | 12:00 p.m. | at Purdue | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | ESPN | W 40–37 | 48,408 |
| November 21 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 14 Penn State | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (Land Grant Trophy) | ABC/ESPN | L 14–42 | 73,771 |
| January 2, 2010 | 9:00 p.m. | vs. Texas Tech* | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl) | ESPN | L 31–41 | 64,757 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Montana State | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| • Michigan State | 7 | 21 | 6 | 10 | 44 |

### Central Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Central Michigan | 3 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 29 |
| Michigan State | 10 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 27 |

### Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan State | 3 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 30 |
| • Notre Dame | 13 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 33 |

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan State | 0 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 30 |
| • Wisconsin | 7 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 38 |

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Michigan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 20 |
| • Michigan State | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 26 |
Michigan came into the game 4–0 (1–0 Big Ten) and ranked #22, looking to reclaim the Paul Bunyan trophy after losing to MSU the previous year. Michigan State dominated the first 55 minutes of regulation, building a 20–6 lead. Michigan rallied with two TDs in the final minutes to send the game to OT, but MSU quickly intercepted a pass and running back Larry Caper rushed 23 yards through multiple tackles for the game-winning score.

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Michigan State | 14 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Illinois | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northwestern | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Michigan State | 0 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 24 |

### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Iowa | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 15 |
| Michigan State | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
Final Seconds: With 2 seconds remaining in the game, on 4th and Goal from the Michigan State 7 and a half yard line, Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi snapped the ball and passed the ball to Iowa WR Marvin McNutt into the end zone as the time expired to win the game.

### Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan State | 3 | 7 | 21 | 3 | 34 |
| • Minnesota | 14 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 42 |

### Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Western Michigan | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| • Michigan State | 21 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 49 |

### Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Michigan State | 7 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 40 |
| Purdue | 10 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 37 |

### Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Penn State | 0 | 7 | 28 | 7 | 42 |
| Michigan State | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

### Alamo Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan State | 7 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 31 |
| • Texas Tech | 7 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 41 |

## 2010 NFL draft

Only one Spartan was selected in the 2010 NFL draft. However, wide receiver Blair White signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent.
| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL team |
| Jeremy Ware | 7 | 215 | Cornerback | Oakland Raiders |