Megaphone Trophy

Megaphone Trophy
Teams	Michigan State Spartans Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Originated	1949
Trophy Series	Notre Dame leads, 32–26–1
All-Time Series	Notre Dame leads, 46–28–1

The Megaphone Trophy is awarded each year to the winner of the football game between the University of Notre Dame and Michigan State University. It was introduced in 1949 to commemorate the rivalry that started in 1897.^[1] The Notre Dame side of the trophy is blue, while the Michigan State side is green. The rivalry includes many great games, such as The Game of the Century, arguably the greatest college football game ever played. Notre Dame currently leads the series 46-28-1.^[2] and also leads the series 32–26–1 since the introduction of the trophy in 1949. Games played prior to 1949 also appear on the trophy to commemorate the entire series.^[1] Notre Dame is the current holder of the trophy, with a win of 31–13 on September 17, 2011.

Recent games

After an 8–0 series run by Notre Dame from 1987 to 1994, tying the series win streak set by Michigan State between 1955 and 1963 (they didn't meet in 1958), Michigan State won five games in a row. Michigan State won a double overtime 44–41 victory at Notre Dame in 2005. Notre Dame pulled out a thrilling come from behind 40–37 victory in East Lansing in 2006. The trend continued in 2007 for Michigan State under new head coach Mark Dantonio who defeated the Fighting Irish 31–14, recording MSU's sixth straight victory at Notre Dame. On September 20, 2008, MSU defeated Notre Dame 23–7 in East Lansing, ending the series "jinx" of home teams always losing since 2001. Notre Dame returned the favor the following year by defeating MSU at Notre Dame. The 2010 meeting proved to be one of the most exciting finishes to the start of the college football season. A back and forth battle the entire game, Notre Dame took the lead in overtime off of a field goal. After Spartans quarterback Kirk Cousins was sacked on third down, Michigan State lined up for a field goal to tie the game at 31. Michigan State faked the field goal, and Aaron Bates, the holder, tossed a game-winning touchdown pass to Charlie Gantt to win it 34–31 for the Spartans. In 2011, the Irish reclaimed the trophy with a 31–13 victory in which they led all the way.^[3]

Series facts

Statistic	Michigan State	Notre Dame
Games played	75
Wins	28	46
Home wins	15	28
Road wins	13	18
Neutral site wins	0	0
Total points scored in the series	1180	1572
Most points scored in a game by one team	47 (1956)	53 (1898)
Most points scored in a game by both teams	85 (2005 – MSU 44, ND 41)
Fewest points scored in a game by both teams	5 (1906 – ND 5, MSU 0)
Fewest points scored in a game by one team in a win	10 (1975)	5 (1906)
Most points scored in a game by one team in a loss	37 (2006)	41 (2005)
Largest margin of victory	35 (1951)	53 (1898)
Smallest margin of victory	3 (2005, 2010)	1 (1954, 1990, 1994)
Longest winning streak	8 (1955 to 1963)	8 (1987 to 1994)

Game results

Winning team is shown in bold font. Years of a Michigan State win are in green. Years of a Notre Dame win are in blue. Years of a draw are in white.

Year Michigan State Notre Dame Location 1897 Michigan State 6 Notre Dame 34 South Bend, IN 1898 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 53 South Bend, IN 1899 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 40 South Bend, IN 1902 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 33 South Bend, IN 1903 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 12 South Bend, IN 1905 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 28 South Bend, IN 1906 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 5 South Bend, IN 1909 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 17 South Bend, IN 1910 Michigan State 17 Notre Dame 0 East Lansing, MI 1916 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 14 East Lansing, MI 1917 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 23 South Bend, IN 1918 Michigan State 13 Notre Dame 7 East Lansing, MI 1919 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 13 South Bend, IN 1920 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 25 East Lansing, MI 1921 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 48 South Bend, IN 1948 Michigan State 7 Notre Dame 26 South Bend, IN 1949 Michigan State 21 Notre Dame 34 East Lansing, MI 1950 Michigan State 36 Notre Dame 33 South Bend, IN 1951 Michigan State 35 Notre Dame 0 East Lansing, MI 1952 Michigan State 21 Notre Dame 3 East Lansing, MI 1954 Michigan State 19 Notre Dame 20 South Bend, IN 1955 Michigan State 21 Notre Dame 7 East Lansing, MI 1956 Michigan State 47 Notre Dame 14 South Bend, IN 1957 Michigan State 34 Notre Dame 6 East Lansing, MI 1959 Michigan State 19 Notre Dame 0 East Lansing, MI 1960 Michigan State 21 Notre Dame 0 South Bend, IN 1961 Michigan State 17 Notre Dame 7 East Lansing, MI 1962 Michigan State 31 Notre Dame 7 South Bend, IN 1963 Michigan State 12 Notre Dame 7 East Lansing, MI 1964 Michigan State 7 Notre Dame 34 South Bend, IN

Year Michigan State Notre Dame Location 1965 Michigan State 12 Notre Dame 3 South Bend, IN 1966 Michigan State 10 Notre Dame 10 East Lansing, MI 1967 Michigan State 12 Notre Dame 24 South Bend, IN 1968 Michigan State 21 Notre Dame 17 East Lansing, MI 1969 Michigan State 28 Notre Dame 42 South Bend, IN 1970 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 29 East Lansing, MI 1971 Michigan State 2 Notre Dame 14 South Bend, IN 1972 Michigan State 0 Notre Dame 16 East Lansing, MI 1973 Michigan State 10 Notre Dame 14 South Bend, IN 1974 Michigan State 14 Notre Dame 19 East Lansing, MI 1975 Michigan State 10 Notre Dame 3 South Bend, IN 1976 Michigan State 6 Notre Dame 24 East Lansing, MI 1977 Michigan State 6 Notre Dame 16 South Bend, IN 1978 Michigan State 25 Notre Dame 29 East Lansing, MI 1979 Michigan State 3 Notre Dame 27 South Bend, IN 1980 Michigan State 21 Notre Dame 26 East Lansing, MI 1981 Michigan State 7 Notre Dame 20 South Bend, IN 1982 Michigan State 3 Notre Dame 11 East Lansing, MI 1983 Michigan State 28 Notre Dame 23 South Bend, IN 1984 Michigan State 20 Notre Dame 24 East Lansing, MI 1985 Michigan State 10 Notre Dame 27 South Bend, IN 1986 Michigan State 20 Notre Dame 15 East Lansing, MI 1987 Michigan State 8 Notre Dame 31 South Bend, IN 1988 Michigan State 3 Notre Dame 20 East Lansing, MI 1989 Michigan State 13 Notre Dame 21 South Bend, IN 1990 Michigan State 19 Notre Dame 20 East Lansing, MI 1991 Michigan State 10 Notre Dame 49 South Bend, IN 1992 Michigan State 31 Notre Dame 52 East Lansing, MI 1993 Michigan State 14 Notre Dame 36 South Bend, IN 1994 Michigan State 20 Notre Dame 21 East Lansing, MI

Year Michigan State Notre Dame Location 1997 Michigan State 23 Notre Dame 7 South Bend, IN 1998 Michigan State 45 Notre Dame 23 East Lansing, MI 1999 Michigan State 23 Notre Dame 13 South Bend, IN 2000 Michigan State 27 Notre Dame 21 East Lansing, MI 2001 Michigan State 17 Notre Dame 10 South Bend, IN 2002 Michigan State 17 Notre Dame 21 East Lansing, MI 2003 Michigan State 22 Notre Dame 16 South Bend, IN 2004 Michigan State 24 Notre Dame 31 East Lansing, MI 2005 Michigan State 44 Notre Dame 41 South Bend, IN 2006 Michigan State 37 Notre Dame 40 East Lansing, MI 2007 Michigan State 31 Notre Dame 14 South Bend, IN 2008 Michigan State 23 Notre Dame 7 East Lansing, MI 2009 Michigan State 30 Notre Dame 33 South Bend, IN 2010 Michigan State 34 Notre Dame 31 East Lansing, MI 2011 Michigan State 13 Notre Dame 31 South Bend, IN

See also

• 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game
• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. ^ ^{a b} College Football's Unusual Trophies Sports Illustrated
2. ^ "Michigan State vs. Notre Dame series history". College Football Data Warehouse. http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/independents/notre_dame/opponents_records.php?teamid=1988. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
3. ^ Gano, Rick (September 17, 2011). "Irish get first win, beat No. 15 Spartans 31-13". Associated Press. http://news.yahoo.com/irish-first-win-beat-no-15-spartans-31-231616481.html.