The 2021 season's largest margin: Michigan State 42, Youngstown State 14. A 28-point win — the year's high-water mark.
2021 — The Ten-Win Year
Michigan State's 2021 season (10-2) is a middle chapter: table-stakes progress, no crown in the ledger, the program still writing the book.
The Shape — week-by-week · cumulative W–L below
Who carried it
- Payton ThorneQB3,240 passing yards
- Kenneth WalkerRB1,636 rushing yards
- Jordan SimmonsRB278 rushing yards
- Jayden ReedWR1,026 receiving yards
- Jalen NailorWR695 receiving yards
- Tre MosleyWR530 receiving yards
- Cal HaladayLB96 tackles
- Xavier HendersonS96 tackles
- Darius SnowLB87 tackles
- Jacub PanasiukDE7 sacks
- Drew BeesleyDE5.5 sacks
- Jeff PietrowskiLB5.5 sacks
Season leaders, 2021.
The season's deepest loss: Michigan State 7, Ohio State 56. A 49-point margin the season is remembered by.
The season's last act: Michigan State beat Pittsburgh 31-21 in the postseason.
"Go Green"
2021 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.