In their second season under head coach Clarence Munn, the Spartans compiled a 6–2–2 record and were ranked No.

[3] Two Spartans received second-team honors on the 1948 College Football All-America Team.

[5] The 1948 Spartans sustained their two losses in annual rivalry games against Notre Dame (26–7) and national champion Michigan (13–7).

Early in the opening quarter, fullback Don Peterson threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Dick Rifenburg.

Michigan State tied the game in the third quarter on a disputed play in which a pass from Lynn Chandnois was caught by both Hank Minarik and Wally Teninga.

Peterson scored the winning touchdown for Michigan on a five-yard run in the fourth quarter, but failed to convert the extra point attempt.

A sluggish offensive performance and a narrow margin of victory over a team the Wolverines had beaten 55–0 in 1947 led some in the media to question Oosterbaan's selection as Michigan's new coach.