Fifty years ago, MSU was led by legendary head coach Duffy Daugherty who began his reign with the Spartans back in 1954. Prior to the 1965 season, Daugherty’s record while coaching the Spartans was 62-34-3 (.652 winning percentage).

Daugherty and the Spartans went 10-0 in the 1965 regular season, with wins against two ranked opponents, including No. 6 ranked Purdue and No. 4 ranked Notre Dame. Despite their 14-12 loss to UCLA in the Rose Bowl, MSU won their first, and only, majority share of the national championship in program history.

But the breed of football that was played half a century ago was much different than the football played today.

“The athletes (today) are better conditioned,” former quarterback Jimmy Raye, who played from 1965-67, said.

“They’re bigger, stronger, faster, and the rules of the games have made it so that it’s more of a wide-open throwing game. They throw more in three games than we threw in a 10-game season.”

Coincidentally, one of the only obstacles in the Spartans' way to winning a national championship that year was Alabama. The 9-1-1 Crimson Tide won a share of the 1965 national championship, getting votes from the Associated Press and the Football Writers Association of America.

And although Alabama had a fearsome football squad, they were one of the numerous schools across the country that segregated its football team and banned African American players from playing for their team.

“Alabama was completely segregated,” former wide receiver Gene Washington, who played from 1964-66, said.

“Black players could not play on that football team. Students were not allowed to attend the University of Alabama… When that conversation comes up about them being the national champions, you always have to keep in mind that they were in the middle of segregation and you can’t make a comparison when you’re in a situation like that.”

Daugherty on the other hand was pioneering the way for collegiate-level integration. Upon his arrival to East Lansing in 1947, he was one of the first coaches in the country to recruit black athletes.

Some of Daugherty’s most successful recruits include defensive end Charles “Bubba” Smith, linebacker George Webster, running back Clinton Jones and receiver Gene Washington, all of which were drafted in the first round of the 1967 NFL draft.

Since Daugherty retired from coaching in 1972, MSU football has gone through its ups and downs but has lulled for the most part before the arrival of current head coach Mark Dantonio.

Dantonio has surpassed expectations and has raised the eyebrows of many by returning Michigan State to the national spotlight. His 87-32 record (.731 winning percentage) has included wins in four-straight bowl games.

Dantonio’s last loss in a bowl game came to Alabama in the 2011 Capital One Bowl, and since then MSU has built the reputation for always having a chip on their shoulder and Dantonio has instilled and embraced the underdog mentality.

If history is to repeat itself and if MSU is to continue its winning ways, their biggest obstacle will be proving that they can top one of the premier teams in the country in No. 2-ranked Alabama in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on New Year's Eve.

“Just being in the final four isn’t enough,” former MSU running back Clinton Jones, who played from 1964-66, said.

“I see them as national champions and nothing less… losing is not an option, they are going to show up and take care of business.”