Friday, March 29, 2024

Then and now

Breaking down the ins and outs of the 2011 and 2013 Legends Division champs

December 2, 2013
	<p>Sophomore running back Le&#8217;Veon Bell weaves through the Indiana defense. The Spartans defeated the Hoosiers, 55-3, on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium. Josh Radtke/The State News</p>

Sophomore running back Le’Veon Bell weaves through the Indiana defense. The Spartans defeated the Hoosiers, 55-3, on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium. Josh Radtke/The State News

Photo by Josh Radtke | The State News

Regardless of what happens in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship Game, No. 10 MSU now can be remembered as the only program with multiple Legends Division titles — the Big Ten is switching to an East-West division alignment next season. Before trying to avenge their 2011 loss in the conference championship at the hands of Wisconsin, the then-No. 11 Spartans had to take care of Minnesota on senior day. Now, the sights are set on an undefeated showdown with No. 2 Ohio State.

As they did in 2011, the Spartans punched their ticket to Indianapolis after their 11th game, with the exception that in 2011, MSU needed the assistance of Michigan knocking off Nebraska the same day. Check out how both teams compare through the end of the regular season with the Legends Division championship in hand. The differences are obvious, but some of the similarities, especially offensively, are quite surprising.

Leading tackler


2011: Max Bullough

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80 Tackles

15.42 Points allowed per game

266.66 Yards allowed per game

37 Team sacks


2013: Denicos Allen

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83 Tackles

11.8 Points allowed per game

237.7 Yards allowed per game

29 Team sacks


Leading passer


2011: Kirk Cousins

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2,735 Passing yards

21 Touchdowns

6 interceptions


2013: Connor Cook

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2,119 Passing yards

17 Touchdowns

4 Interceptions


Leading rusher


2011: Le’Veon Bell

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794 Rushing yards

10 Touchdowns


2013: Jeremy Langford

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1,210 Rushing yards

16 Touchdowns


Leading receiver


2011: B.J. Cunningham

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1,125 Receiving yards

9 Touchdowns


2013: Bennie Fowler

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496 Receiving yards

6 Touchdowns






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