Michigan State Football Leads Big Ten in All-Time Top-10 Win Percentage
Michigan State football hasn't had much to be proud of in recent years, but historically, it stands alone in one major category.
According to a graphic posted by CFB Matchups on X, formerly known as Twitter, Michigan State football leads the Big Ten in all-time win percentage in Top-10 matchups -- games where both the Spartans and their opponents were ranked within the Top 10.
Michigan State has a 71.7 win percentage in said contests, with a 21-8-1 record. Now, this, of course, does not mean it has the most Top-10 matchup wins, but the fact it is the most efficient in these matchups among its conference opponents speaks volumes.
The last time the program was in a Top-10 matchup was in 2021 -- its embarrassing 56-7 loss to Ohio State. That was actually the second of two such matchups the Spartans had that year. The first was their come-from-behind win against Michigan in East Lansing when they were ranked No. 8 and the Wolverines were ranked No. 6.
That had been the first game since 2015 that Michigan State had been in a Top-10 matchup -- it was in four that season. It won the first three -- its Week 2 game against Oregon when it was No. 5 and Oregon was No. 7, its game against Ohio State when the Spartans were No. 9 and the Buckeyes were No. 2, and the Big Ten championship game when Michigan State was No. 5 and Iowa was No. 4. The Spartans would get blown out 38-0 against Alabama in the College Football Playoff when they were No. 3 and the Crimson Tide were No. 2.
The Spartans had eight Top-10 matchups in the 2013, 2014, and 2015 season combined. They won six of them.
The rest of the list from CFB Matchups' graphic is as follows:
2. USC, 45-23-4
3. Minnesota, 7-5
4. Ohio State, 60-47-4
5. Washington,14-11-1
6. Oregon, 12-10
7. Iowa, 11-12
8. Nebraska, 33-37-1
9. Michigan, 39-46-4
10. Penn State, 23-28-1
11. Wisconsin, 11-14
12. UCLA, 13-18-2
13. Illinois, 5-7-1
14. Purdue, 5-10-2
15. Northwestern, 6-13-1
16. Maryland, 2-7
17. Indiana, 0-1
18. Rutgers, 0-0
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