American college football season
1977 Michigan State Spartans football |
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Conference | Big Ten Conference |
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Record | 7–3–1 (6–1–1 Big Ten) |
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Head coach | - Darryl Rogers (2nd season)
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Defensive coordinator | Bob Padilla (2nd season) |
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MVP | Larry Bethea |
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Captain | Larry Bethea, Al Pitts, Paul Rudzinski |
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Home stadium | Spartan Stadium |
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Seasons |
The 1977 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1977 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by second-year head coach Darryl Rogers, the Spartans compiled an overall record of 7–3–1 with a mark of 6–1–1 in conference play, placing third in the Big Ten.
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 10 | Purdue | | W 19–14 | 53,014 | |
September 17 | Washington State* | - Spartan Stadium
- East Lansing, MI
| L 21–23 | 50,263 | |
September 24 | Wyoming* | - Spartan Stadium
- East Lansing, MI
| W 34–16 | 56,214 | [1] |
October 1 | at No. 14 Notre Dame* | | L 6–16 | 59,075 | |
October 8 | No. 3 Michigan | - Spartan Stadium
- East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
| L 14–24 | 78,183 | |
October 15 | at Indiana | | T 13–13 | 36,892 | [2] |
October 22 | at Wisconsin | | W 9–7 | 79,203 | |
October 29 | Illinois | - Spartan Stadium
- East Lansing, MI
| W 49–20 | 70,589 | |
November 5 | at Minnesota | | W 29–10 | 30,600 | |
November 11 | Northwestern | - Spartan Stadium
- East Lansing, MI
| W 44–3 | 61,238 | |
November 19 | at Iowa | | W 22–16 | 43,700 | |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
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Roster
1977 Michigan State Spartans football team roster |
Players | Coaches |
Offense | Defense | Special teams | - Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
- Injured
- Redshirt
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Game summaries
Michigan
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | • Michigan | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 24 | Michigan St | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | - Date: October 8
- Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI
- Game attendance: 78,183
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Scoring summary |
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| Q2 | | MSU | Gibson 19 yard pass from Smith (Nielsen kick) | MSU 7–0 | | Q2 | | MICH | White 12 yard pass from Leach (Willner kick) | Tie 7–7 | | Q2 | | MICH | Willner 50 yard field goal | MICH 10–7 | | Q3 | | MICH | R. Davis 3 yard run (Willner kick) | MICH 17–7 | | Q3 | | MICH | Leach 3 yard run (Willner kick) | MICH 24–7 | | Q4 | | MSU | Earley 11 yard run (Nielsen kick) | MICH 24–14 | |
On October 8, 1977, Michigan State lost to Michigan, 24–14, at Spartan Stadium. Michigan State took a 7-0 lead on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Ed Smith to Kirk Gibson. Michigan responded with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Rick Leach to White and a 50-yard field goal to take a 10–7 lead at halftime. Michigan extended its lead to 24–7 in the third quarter on touchdown runs by Russell Davis and Ed Leach. Harlan Huckleby rushed for 146 yards, and Russell Davis added 96 yards. Ralph Clayton caught three passes for 99 yards. Michigan completed four of 10 passes in the game and threw only one pass in the second half.[3]
References
- ^ Fred Stabley Jr. (September 25, 1977). "Spartans pass 'gut check,' 34-16". Lansing State Journal. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Stultz, Max (October 16, 1977). "I.U. Fumbles, Tumbles To 13-13 Tie With MSU". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, Indiana. p. 1, section 2. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Charlie Vincent (October 9, 1977). "U-M Struggles, 24-14". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 4E.
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