Spartans' Dantonio Inducted to Rose Bowl Hall of Fame
11 years ago, the Michigan State Spartans took home one of the most incredible victories in Rose Bowl game history during the 100th annual in 2014 in Pasadena, Calif. The victory was led by the winningest coach in Spartan history and was honored this year for his team's amazing win.
During the College Football Playoff Rose Bowl game on New Year's Day that featured No. 1 Oregon and No. 6 Ohio State, legendary former Spartans coach Mark Dantonio was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame alongside legendary players Reggie Bush and LaMichael James.
Back on New Year's Day in 2014, Dantonio led a 12-1 Spartan team that was ranked fourth in the country into Pasadena to face the No. 5 Stanford Cardinal for the 100th Rose Bowl game.
Michigan State was coming off a thrilling Big Ten Championship win over Ohio State nearly a month before. That win is what put Dantonio's group into the marquee bowl game. The game that ensued was one of the best games in Rose Bowl history.
Not every coach that wins a Rose Bowl game is inducted into their hall of fame, but the ones that win the most entertaining and thrilling games in the series will be inducted. Dantonio cemented his name into Rose Bowl history after the Spartans came out on top over the Cardinals, 24-20.
With the Spartans leading by four with just under two minutes to play, the Cardinal were putting together a game-winning drive with time expiring. At their own 34-yard line on fourth and one, the Cardinal went for it and tried an over-the-top running play to get the first down but were unsuccessful.
Fifth-year senior linebacker Kyler Elsworth was filling in for a suspended Max Bullough for the big-time matchup and came up with one of the biggest plays in school history. Elsworth jumped head first over the pile, colliding with the running back at the line of scrimmage and stopping the Cardinal short.
The Spartans would get the ball back and kneel it out with quarterback Conner Cook taking the final snap. Dantonio completed the goals he once set out for his program, being champions of the Big Ten and winning the Rose Bowl. Truly a manifestation from the time he took over the program in 2007.
One thing is certain, the brand of Spartan football does not nearly have the same ring too it or the type of history that many think about if it were not for Dantonio's success through his career, most notably the Rose Bowl win.
If you ask a Spartan fan what their favorite moment has been over the course of their lifetimes, many will bring up the final play made by Elsworth in the 100th annual Rose Bowl contest. Dantonio will now live in history within the game alongside two other Spartans, Lorenzo White and Dave Kaiser.
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