1977 Michigan State Spartans football team

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1977 Michigan State Spartans football
Michigan State Spartans logo.svg
ConferenceBig Ten
1977 record7–3–1 (6–1–1 Big 10)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorBob Padilla (2nd season)
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
(Capacity: 76,000)
Seasons
← 1976
1978 →
1977 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Michigan + 7 1 0 10 2 0
No. 11 Ohio State + 7 1 0 9 3 0
Michigan State 6 1 1 7 3 1
Indiana 4 3 1 5 5 1
Minnesota 4 4 0 7 5 0
Purdue 3 5 0 5 6 0
Iowa 3 5 0 5 6 0
Wisconsin 3 6 0 5 6 0
Illinois 2 6 0 3 8 0
Northwestern 1 8 0 1 10 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1977 Big Ten Conference football season.

Schedule[]

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 10Purdue
W 19–1453,014
September 17Washington State*
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
L 21–2350,263
September 24Wyoming*
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 34–1656,214
October 1at No. 14 Notre Dame*L 6–1659,075
October 8No. 3 Michigan
L 14–2478,183
October 15at IndianaT 13–1336,982
October 22at WisconsinW 9–779,203
October 29Illinoisdagger
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 49–2070,589
November 5at Minnesota
W 29–1030,600
November 11Northwestern
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 44–361,238
November 19at IowaW 22–1643,700
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1]

Roster[]

1977 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
TE 91 Mark Brammer So
WR 23 Kirk Gibson Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 16 Mark Anderson So
DT 88 Larry Bethea Sr
LB 49 Dan Bass So
LB 37 Paul Rudzinski Sr
LB 57 Larry Savage So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 3 Tom Birney Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries[]

Michigan[]

1 234Total
• Michigan 0 10140 24
Michigan St 0 707 14
  • Date: October 8
  • Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI
  • Game attendance: 78,183

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.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ College Football @ Sports-Reference.com
  2. ^ Charlie Vincent (October 9, 1977). "U-M Struggles, 24-14". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 4E.
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