Michigan State·Big Ten

2014 — The Top-10 Year

Michigan State finished 2014 inside the final AP top-10. The top-10 is the tier the program calibrates annual expectation against.

Record 11-2
Final result 11-win season Won the Cotton Bowl Classic
AP final #7 post-bowls
SP+ +10.7 last-week
Era —
The shape of the season · week by week, cumulative W-L below
W vs Jack Sta 45-7 L @ Oregon 27-46 W vs East Mic 73-14 W vs Wyoming 56-14 W vs Nebraska 27-22 W @ Purdue 45-31 W @ Indiana 56-17 W vs Michigan 35-11 L vs Ohio St 37-49 W @ Maryland 37-15 W vs Rutgers 45-3 W @ Penn St 34-10 W @ Baylor 42-41 Bowl

Who carried it

Season leaders, 2014.

Defining moments
The statement

The 2014 season's largest margin: Michigan State 73, Eastern Michigan 14. A 59-point win — the year's high-water mark.

The setback

The season's deepest loss: Michigan State 27, Oregon 46. A 19-point margin the season is remembered by.

The postseason

The season's last act: Michigan State beat Baylor 42-41 in the postseason.

"Go Green"
— Michigan State fanbase voice · 2014· synthesized
What it meant

2014 is a middle chapter for Michigan State — neither a crown year nor a crisis. It is the kind of season that fills the ledger between the named ones and gives the arc its shape.