1985 Michigan State Spartans football team

1985 Big Ten Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion; Rankings from AP Poll

1985 Michigan State Spartans football
1985 Michigan State Spartans football
Hall of Fame Classic, L 14–17 vs. Georgia Tech
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1985 record	7–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	George Perles (3rd season);
Defensive coordinator	Nick Saban (3rd season)
Captain	Anthony Bell, John Wojciechowski
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium ; (Capacity: 76,000)
	Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

The 1985 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1985 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third season under head coach George Perles, the Spartans compiled a 7–5 overall record (5–3 against Big Ten opponents), finished in a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten Conference, and lost to Georgia Tech in the 1985 Hall of Fame Classic.^[1]^[2]

Six Spartans were recognized by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) on the 1984 All-Big Ten Conference football team: running back Lorenzo White (AP-1; UPI-1); offensive guard John Wojciechowski (AP-1); offensive tackle Steve Bogdalek (AP-2); linebacker Shane Bullough (AP-2); defensive back Phil Parker (UPI-1); and punter Greg Montgomery (AP-1).^[3]^[4]

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 14	12:08 p.m.	Arizona State*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 12–3
September 21	7:46 p.m.	at Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (Megaphone Trophy)	ESPN	L 10–27	59,075
September 28	1:00 p.m.	Western Michigan*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 7–3
October 5	2:42 p.m.	at No. 1 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	CBS	L 31–35	66,044
October 12	2:42 p.m.	No. 3 Michigan	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)	CBS	L 0–31	78,235
October 19	1:00 p.m.	Illinois	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		L 17–30
October 26	12:38 p.m.	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	TBS	W 28–24	67,660
November 2	12:08 p.m.	Minnesota	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	TBS	W 31–26
November 9	1:00 p.m.	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Brass Spittoon)		W 35–16
November 16	1:00 p.m.	Northwestern	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 32–0
November 23	2:05 p.m.	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 41–7	56,854
December 31	8:00 p.m.	vs. Georgia Tech*	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Hall of Fame Classic)	TBS	L 14–17	45,000
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel[]

1985 Michigan State Spartans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`8`	Bobby McAllister	Fr
WR	`11`	Mark Ingram	Jr
RB	`21`	Bobby Morse	Jr
WR	`1`	Andre Rison	Fr
C	`60`	Pat Shurmur	So
RB	`34`	Lorenzo White	So
QB	`14`	Dave Yarema

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`41`	Shane Bullough	Jr
S	`32`	Phil Parker	Sr
DE	`93`	Kelly Quinn	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Chris Caudell	Jr
P	`23`	Greg Montgomery	So

Head coach

George Perles

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Nick Saban – Defensive coordinator

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries[]

Arizona State[]

at Notre Dame[]

Western Michigan[]

at Iowa[]

Lorenzo White 39 Rush, 229 Yds, 2 TD^[5]

Michigan[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 3 Wolverines	14	3	0	14	31
Spartans	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 12
Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI

On October 12, 1985, Michigan State lost to Michigan, 31–0, in front of a crowd of 78,235 at Spartan Stadium. The victory was regarded at the time as revenge for the Spartans' 19–7 upset of the Wolverines in 1984. Michigan struck early after Michigan State quarterback Bobby McAllister fumbled the snap on the second play of the game, Andy Moeller recovered the ball on the Spartans' 16-yard line, and Jim Harbaugh threw a touchdown pass to tight end Eric Kattus. Less than two minutes after Michigan's first score, Dieter Heren blocked a Greg Montgomery punt, and Ed Hood recovered the ball in the end zone for Michigan's second touchdown. Harbaugh completed 13 of 23 passes, threw two touchdown passes to Kattus and gave up three interceptions. Jamie Morris rushed for 84 yards on 19 carries. Mike Gillette also kicked a field goal. On defense, Michigan held Lorenzo White (who set a Big Ten record with 2,066 yards in 1985) to a season-low 47 yards on 18 carries. The Wolverines' defense also sacked Bobby McAllister three times, intercepted him once, and held him to 83 passing yards.^[6]

Illinois[]

at Purdue[]

Lorenzo White 53 Rush, 244 Yds

Minnesota[]

at Indiana[]

Lorenzo White 25 Rush, 286 Yds, 2 TD (played just over a half)

Northwestern[]

at Wisconsin[]

Lorenzo White 42 Rush, 223 Yds (set single season Big Ten rushing record)

^[7]

Hall of Fame Classic[]

Michigan State vs. Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	0	7	7	0	14
• Yellow Jackets	0	0	7	10	17

Date: December 31
Location: Legion Field, Birmingham, AL
TV announcers: Bob Neal, Tim Foley and Paul Hornung

^[8]

References[]

^ "Michigan State Yearly Results (1985-1989)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
^ "2015 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. p. 147. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
^ "Soph White, Station, Unanimous Choices". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1985. p. 33.
^ "Long Nips Everett For Spot On All-Big Ten First Team". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. November 26, 1985. p. 10.
^ "Last-Minute Score Gives Iowa Victory". The New York Times. October 5, 1985. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
^ Jack Saylor (October 13, 1985). "Wolverines get revenge: U-M defense manhandles MSU, 31–0". Detroit Free Press. p. G1.
^ "Football's Best Won't Win Heisman". Chicago Tribune. December 6, 1985. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
^ "All-American Bowl : Georgia Tech Beats Michigan State, 17-14". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1986. Retrieved January 19, 2020.

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[CFDW-1] "Michigan State Yearly Results (1985-1989)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.

[2] "2015 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. p. 147. Retrieved July 4, 2016.

[AP-3] "Soph White, Station, Unanimous Choices". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1985. p. 33.

[UPI-4] "Long Nips Everett For Spot On All-Big Ten First Team". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. November 26, 1985. p. 10.

[5] "Last-Minute Score Gives Iowa Victory". The New York Times. October 5, 1985. Retrieved January 18, 2020.

[6] Jack Saylor (October 13, 1985). "Wolverines get revenge: U-M defense manhandles MSU, 31–0". Detroit Free Press. p. G1.

[7] "Football's Best Won't Win Heisman". Chicago Tribune. December 6, 1985. Retrieved December 21, 2019.

[8] "All-American Bowl : Georgia Tech Beats Michigan State, 17-14". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1986. Retrieved January 19, 2020.

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v t Michigan State Spartans football
Venues	Old College Field (1902–1922) Spartan Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Indiana (Old Brass Spittoon) Michigan (Paul Bunyan Trophy) Notre Dame (Megaphone Trophy) Penn State (Land Grant Trophy)
Culture & lore	Sparty "Victory for MSU" Marching band Zeke the Wonder Dog 1966 "Game of the Century" Clockgate 2006 Northwestern game
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
National championship seasons in bold

1985 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 10 Iowa $	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 2 Michigan	6	–	1	–	1	10	–	1	–	1
Illinois	5	–	2	–	1	6	–	5	–	1
No. 14 Ohio State	5	–	3	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Michigan State	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	2	–	6	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Indiana	1	–	7	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	7	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll