Michigan State has won 20 straight home openers

It hasn’t always been pretty — and last night’s game was anything but pretty — but the Michigan State Spartans have now won 20 consecutive home openers, which is among the longest winning streaks in the nation.

The Spartan’s last loss at home to open the season came in 1998, under head coach Nick Saban, where No. 23 Michigan State fell to No. 15 ranked Colorado State by a score of 23-16.

Mark Dantonio has now won 11 of 12 of his season openers as head coach of MSU. The lone loss came on the road in 2008 at California. The Spartans have lost only twice to start the season since the aforementioned 1998 opener, as MSU also lost to Rutgers in the 2004 opener by a score of 19-14 (before Rutgers joined the Big Ten).

It is not uncommon for the Spartans to struggle against seemingly inferior opponents to open the season under Dantonio. The Spartans have had closer than expected final scores against the likes of Furman, Western Michigan, and though the best of the bunch, mid-major Boise State. Now we can add Utah State to that list.

At the end of the day, a win is a win. The Spartans are 1-0 and look to improve heading into Week 2 against Arizona State.