Michigan State Football Leads Big Ten in All-Time Top-10 Win Percentage

Michigan State football has a 71.7 win percentage in all-time Top-10 matchups.

Michigan State's Connor Heyward, right, has words with Michigan's Daxton Hill after a play during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. Syndication Lansing State Journal / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

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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