Why Michigan State may face hottest football road game in history

LANSING -- Michigan State's road game Saturday night at Arizona State may set a scorching, sweaty milestone.

The weather forecast for the 7:45 p.m. Mountain Standard Time kickoff at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe calls for a temperature of at least 100 degrees. 

"Possibly a little warmer than that," National Weather Service meteorologist Marvin Percha said Wednesday.

If the forecast holds, the temperature is expected mark one of, if not the hottest recorded at kickoff time of an MSU road game in the football program's 122-year history. The game will kick off at 10:45 Eastern Standard Time.

MSU's athletic department can't confirm an official record for the hottest temperature recorded at kickoff of a road game, Ben Phlegar, a department spokesman, wrote in an email Wednesday to a State Journal reporter. 

However, Phlegar said the hottest temperature recorded at kickoff in recent memory was 91 degrees for the Sept, 6, 2014 mid-afternoon game at Oregon. 

"Everyone out at Oregon seemed to think that was one of the hottest temps we’ve ever played in," Phlegar said.

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In that 2014 game, the Ducks dominated 46-27. The Spartans were outscored 14-3 in the second half.  

Saturday's conditions are expected to be far from ideal for Mark Dantonio's team. 

But there is some good news. 

MSU isn't expected to face a higher heat index than what's plagued the Lansing region for most of the past week and a half. 

Percha said Tempe's heat index during the game is expected to be in the "upper 90s."

As of Wednesday night, the Lansing region's heat index fluctuated between 90 and 95 for at least three straight days, said Brian Meade, also a NWS meteorologist. 

Meade, based in Grand Rapids office, describes the heat index forecast for Tempe on Saturday as far different than the "warm, oppressive, heavy air" that Lansing has been enduring. 

Saturday's weather forecast isn't unusual for Tempe. 

Since 1980, Tempe has averaged 110 days of triple-digit temperatures per year, Percha said. 

MSU prepares for its second-ever trip to Tempe and third matchup in a series that began in 1985. 

The Sun Devils won the 1986 night game in Tempe, 20-17. Temperature at kickoff was 88 degrees, Phlegar said.  

In 1985, MSU won the first meeting, 12-3, at Spartan Stadium.

Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.