2010 Michigan State Spartans football team The 2010 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of Michigan State University in the Big Ten Conference during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season . Head coach Mark Dantonio was in his fourth season with the Spartans . Michigan State played their home games in Spartan Stadium in East Lansing , Michigan , U . S . In the hours following the Spartans ' September 18 , 2010 victory over Notre Dame , Coach Dantonio suffered a heart attack for which he was hospitalized , and received a coronary stent . His recovery was complicated by the subsequent development of a blood clot in his leg . While he recovered , offensive coordinator Don Treadwell stepped in as acting head coach , leading the Spartans against Northern Colorado and Wisconsin . Dantonio resumed his head coaching duties for the sixth game of the season against Michigan , although he coached that game and the next week ' s game against Illinois from the press box instead of the head coach ' s traditional place on the sidelines . He returned to the sidelines for MSU ' s road win against Northwestern . The Spartans finished the regular season with eleven wins ( the most in school history ) , one loss , and secured their first share of the Big Ten Championship in twenty years . Schedule . Michigan State came into the 2010 season after a 6 – 7 ( 4 – 4 Big Ten ) 2009 campaign which saw the team qualify for its third straight bowl game , something that had not occurred since the 1995 – 97 seasons . Schedule . ! colspan = 8 | Non - Conference Schedule ! colspan = 8 | Conference Schedule ! colspan = 8 | Bowl Game Game notes . Western Michigan . The Spartans rushing attack was the theme of the day . To open up the scoring , Edwin Baker scampered for 28 yards for a TD . WMU responded with 1 - yd TD pass from Alex Carder to Juan Nunez on 4th down . The Spartans would strike early in the 2nd quarter when QB Kirk Cousins hit QB turned WR Keith Nichol on a 20 - yd TD pass . Both offenses then struggled until late in the 2nd quarter when true freshmen Le ' Veon Bell broke a 75 - yd run . The drive ended with a 7 - yd Edwin Baker TD run and the following Spartan drive ended with a 2 - yd TD run by Le ' Veon Bell . MSU drove down the field at the beginning of the 3rd quarter which ended with an 18 - yd TD run by Le ' Veon Bell . WMU would score once more with 2 - yd TD reception Blake Hammond and that would be it offensively for the Broncos . The Spartans would add a field goal by Dan Conroy and walk away with a season opening win . Le ' Veon Bell became the first freshman running back at Michigan State to rush for more than 100 yards in his opening game . He finished with 141 yards on 10 carries and 2 TD ' s . Edwin Baker also had over 100 yards with 117 yards on 17 carries with 2 TD ' s . Notre Dame . Wisconsin . With Coach Dantonio out for a second week following his heart attack , Michigan State hosted eventual co - champs Wisconsin at Spartan Stadium in the conference opener . MSU rolled up 444 yards of offense on the Badgers in a 34 - 24 win . The Spartans took the lead for good with 8 : 11 left in the 2nd quarter when Keshawn Martin returned a punt 74 yards for a TD . A clock - draining 15 - play TD drive late in the 4th quarter put MSU up by 10 and set the tone for the rest of the Big Ten season . Michigan . In week 6 , Michigan hosted their in - state rivals the Michigan State Spartans for the coveted Paul Bunyan Trophy . This year ' s meeting marked the 103rd game between the two schools . This was only the second time in the history of the rivalry that both teams enter the game undefeated . The last time was in 1999 when MSU beat Michigan 34 – 31 in East Lansing . The only score of the first quarter was Michigan ' s 34 yard field goal . In the second quarter , Michigan State responded with a 61 yard rushing touchdown by Edwin Baker . Michigan briefly took the lead minutes later with a 12 yard catch by Martell Webb . The Spartans responded with a 41 yard run by Le ' Veon Bell to take the lead for good . They added to their lead with a 38 yard field goal by Dan Conroy just before halftime . MSU built on their lead in the third quarter with 2 touchdowns : first a 41 yard catch by Mark Dell , and then an 8 yard rush by Larry Caper . Michigan ' s only points of the second half came on a 4 yard rushing TD by Denard Robinson . Michigan State capped their win with a 28 yard field goal midway through the fourth . Denard Robinson threw three interceptions and was held to only 84 yards rushing . With this win , Michigan State has defeated Michigan three years in a row , the first time that Michigan State has accomplished that since 1965 – 67 . Illinois . Michigan State came back from a 3 – 6 deficit while not allowing any second half points to defeat the Illini by 20 points and advance to 7 – 0 for the first time since 1966 , the year they won the national championship . Northwestern . The Spartans found themselves down 17 – 0 late in the first half , before Kirk Cousins found Mark Dell for a touchdown with 2 : 34 to go in the second quarter to make it a 17 – 7 game at halftime . With a ten point deficit early in the fourth quarter , the Spartans were situated with a 4th and 6 at the Northwestern 30 yd line , but out of field goal range because of a heavy wind . After calling a timeout and taking a delay of game , MSU went out in punt formation . After punter Aaron Bates received the snap , he faked the punt and threw a 15 yd pass to Bennie Fowler for a first down . During the post game interview , Coach Dantonio was asked about the play , when he replied " That ' s called Mousetrap , and we let ' em take the cheese . " The Spartans scored on a Kirk Cousins pass on the next play to make it 24 – 21 . After a Northwestern field goal , the Spartans drove 88 yards in five minutes to take the lead 28 – 27 . The Wildcats went four and out on their next possession , but had another chance to tie the game after Edwin Baker ran for a 25 yd touchdown with a minute left to make it 35 – 27 . However , Michigan State ' s Eric Gordon intercepted the ball two plays later to ice the game . Purdue . The Spartans overcame a 15 - point deficit to secure their first 7 win undefeated home season . Penn State . The Spartans secured a share of the Big Ten title , their first conference championship since 1990 . 2011 NFL Draft . The following players were selected in the 2011 NFL Draft .