1971 Michigan State Spartans football team

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1971 Michigan State Spartans football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1971 record6–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorDenny Stolz (1st season)
CaptainEric Allen, Ron Curl
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
(Capacity: 76,000)
Seasons
← 1970
1972 →
1971 Big Ten Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Michigan $ 8 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
Northwestern 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Ohio State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Michigan State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Illinois 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 1
Minnesota 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Purdue 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Indiana 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Iowa 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1971 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 18th season under head coach Duffy Daugherty, the Spartans compiled a 6–5 overall record (5–3 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in a tie for third place in the Big Ten Conference.[1][2]

Four Spartans were selected by either the Associated Press (AP) or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1971 All-Big Ten Conference football team: running back Eric Allen (AP-1, UPI-1); offensive guard Joe DeLamielleure (AP-1, UPI-1); defensive tackle Ron Curl (AP-1, UPI-1); and defensive back Brad Van Pelt (AP-1, UPI-1).[3][4]

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 11Illinois
W 10–0
September 18at Georgia Tech*No. 18
  • Grant Field
  • Atlanta, GA
L 0–10
September 25Oregon State*
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 31–14
October 2at No. 4 Notre Dame*
L 2–14
October 9No. 2 Michigan
L 13–2480,093
October 16at Wisconsin
L 28–31
October 23Iowa
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 34–3
October 30at Purdue
W 43–10
November 6at No. 9 Ohio State
W 17–10
November 13Minnesota
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 40–25
November 20at NorthwesternNo. 19
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 7–28
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel[]

  • LB #98 Gail Clark, Jr.

Game summaries[]

Michigan[]

1 234Total
• Michigan 7 3014 24
Michigan State 0 706 13
  • Date: October 9
  • Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI
  • Game attendance: 80,093

On October 9, 1971, Michigan State lost Michigan, 24–13, in front of 80,093 spectators, the largest crowd to that time in the history of Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. Billy Taylor rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Tom Slade started his first game at quarterback, completed three of nine passes for 45 yards, and rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown.[5] With Michigan State athletic director Biggie Munn in critical condition following a stroke,[6] the Spartans kept the game close. Michigan State trailed 10–7 late in the third quarter and had the ball at Michigan's 14-yard line. At that point, Michigan's Butch Carpenter forced a fumble that was recovered by Mike Keller. The Wolverines then sealed the game with a two-yard touchdown run by Taylor and a seven-yard touchdown run by Slade. Michigan kicker Dana Coin converted three point after touchdown attempts and kicked a 27-yard field goal.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ "Michigan State Yearly Results (1970-1974)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  2. ^ "2015 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. p. 146. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  3. ^ "All Big Ten Selected". Daily Illini. November 24, 1971.
  4. ^ "Unbeaten Michigan Dominate UPI Team Picked by Coaches: Ohio State Places 7 On All-Big Ten Teams". The Times Recorder, Zanesville, OH. November 25, 1971. p. 9D.
  5. ^ a b Charlie Vincent (October 10, 1971). "It's U-M, 24–13". Detroit Free Press. p. 1C, 4C – via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. ^ "Munn Shows Improvement". Detroit Free Press. October 10, 1971. p. 4C – via Newspapers.com. open access
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