| Notre Dame vs. Michigan State, 1966 The "Game of the Century" (1966 version) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | November 19, 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Spartan Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | East Lansing, Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Howard Wirtz | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game is considered one of the greatest and most controversial games in college football history played between Michigan State and Notre Dame.[1] The game was played in Michigan State's Spartan Stadium on November 19, 1966. Notre Dame was coached by Ara Parseghian and Michigan State was coached by Duffy Daugherty, both school legends. Michigan State entered the contest 9–0 and ranked No. 2, while Notre Dame entered 8–0 and ranked No. 1. The game ended in a 10–10 tie.
The late-season clash between the top-ranked teams was billed as the year's national championship game.[2] After the tie, and following their final game vs. USC, Notre Dame was selected as national champions by the AP Poll and UPI Coaches Poll and was awarded the Grantland Rice Trophy by the Football Writers Association of America. The National Football Foundation split their national championship, awarding the MacArthur Bowl jointly to Michigan State and Notre Dame.