1946 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 1946 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State College in the 1946 college football season. In their 13th and final season under head coach Charlie Bachman, the Spartans compiled a 5–5 record.[1][2] The 1946 Spartans lost their annual rivalry game with Michigan by a 55 to 7 score.[3] In intersectional play, the Spartans beat Penn State (19-16), Maryland (26-14), and Washington State (26-20), but lost to Boston College (34-20), Mississippi State (6-0), and Kentucky (39-14).[2] In mid-December 1946, Michigan State hired Biggie Munn to replace Bachman as head coach.[4]

1946 Michigan State Spartans football
Conference	Independent
1946 record	5–5
Head coach	Charlie Bachman (13th season)
Captain	Kenneth E. Balge, Robert B. McCurry
Home stadium	Macklin Stadium

1946 Midwestern college football independents records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame			–					8	–	0	–	1
Youngstown			–					7	–	1	–	0
Cincinnati			–					9	–	2	–	0
Central Michigan			–					6	–	2	–	0
Western Michigan			–					5	–	2	–	1
Miami (OH)			–					7	–	3	–	0
Ohio			–					6	–	3	–	0
Detroit			–					6	–	4	–	0
Dayton			–					6	–	3	–	0
Bowling Green			–					5	–	3	–	0
Ohio Wesleyan			–					5	–	4	–	1
Michigan State			–					5	–	5	–	0
Marquette			–					4	–	5	–	0
Michigan State Normal			–					3	–	4	–	1
Wayne			–					2	–	5	–	1
Valparaiso			–					1	–	7	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28	Wayne	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI	W 42–0
October 5	Boston College	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI	L 20–34
October 12	Mississippi State	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI	L 0–6
October 19	at Penn State	New Beaver Field State College, PA (rivalry)	W 19–16
October 26	Cincinnati	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI	L 7–18
November 2	at Kentucky	McLean Stadium Lexington, KY	L 14–39
November 9	at No. 11 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	L 7–55	76,373
November 16	Marquette	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI	W 20–0
November 23	Maryland	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI	W 26–14
November 30	Washington State	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI	W 26–20
Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Michigan

Week 7: Michigan State at Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan State 0 0 7 0 7 • Michigan 14 14 13 14 55 Date: November 9, 1946 Location: Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI Game attendance: 77,134[3] Referee: Lyle Clarno (Bradley)

On November 9, 1946, Michigan State lost to Michigan by a score of 55 to 7. With attendance at 77,134, the game drew the largest crowd to that date in the history of the Michigan–Michigan State football rivalry.[3] Michigan scored twice in each quarter. Michigan State's touchdown came on a pass from Horace Smith to Frank Waters covering 77 yards in the third quarter. Michigan gained 500 yards in the game, 293 on the ground and 207 in the air. Michigan was held to 212 yards of which only 47 yards were gained by rushing.[3]

References

1. "2016 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. pp. 146, 154. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
2. "1946 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
3. Charles Bartlett (November 10, 1946). "State Loses To Wolverine Eleven, 55 to 7". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
4. "Munn Accepts Post as Football Coach at Michigan State". The Escanaba (Mich.) Daily Press. December 15, 1946. p. 11.