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BV vs Saban at Michigan St

hoffmaja

Sooner commitment
Gold Member
Jan 8, 2018
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We shouldn’t be so quick to give up on BV. Here’s how Saban’s 5 years at Michigan State went. He was 25-22-1 in his first 4 years, and 9-2 in his 5th season. He then moved on to LSU and became the GOAT. BV will get us rolling if we don’t pull the cord too soon.

Michigan State​

1995–1997 seasons​

Saban became head coach of Michigan Stateprior to the 1995 season.[50] Michigan State had not had a winning season since 1990, and the team was sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations that were committed under his predecessor and former mentor, George Perles.[51][52][53]

Beginning in 1995, Saban moderately improved Michigan State's fortunes, taking the Spartans to bowl games in each of his first three seasons.[54]From 1995 to 1997, Michigan State finished 6–5–1, 6–6, and 7–5.[55][56][57]

1998 season​

On November 7, 1998, the Spartans upset the No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 28–24 at Ohio Stadium.[58]However, even after the upset and an early-season rout of then-highly ranked Notre Dame the Spartans finished 6–6, including three last-minute losses featuring turnovers, defensive lapses, and special-teams misplays, and failed to earn a bowl invitation.[59][60]

1999 season​

Saban led the 1999 Spartans to a 9–2 season that included wins over Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State. The two losses were routs at the hands of Purdue and Wisconsin.[61] Following the final regular-season game against Penn State, Saban abruptly resigned to accept the head coaching position with LSU.[62]Saban's assistant head coach and successor, Bobby Williams, coached the Spartans to a Citrus Bowl victory over Florida, giving the Spartans an overall record of 10–2 for the 1999 season.[63][64] It was the most wins for the Spartans in a season since 1965, and the Spartans reached their highest ranking since the 1966 team.[65] Future NFL head coach Josh McDaniels served as a graduate assistant on Saban's 1999 coaching staff.[66]

 
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