American college football season
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 [ edit ] Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 10 Purdue W 19–1453,014 September 17 Washington State * Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI L 21–2350,263 September 24 Wyoming * Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI W 34–1656,214 [1] October 1 at No. 14 Notre Dame * L 6–1659,075 October 8 No. 3 Michigan Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry ) L 14–2478,183 October 15 at Indiana T 13–1336,892 [2] October 22 at Wisconsin W 9–779,203 October 29 Illinois Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI W 49–2070,589 November 5 at Minnesota W 29–1030,600 November 11 Northwestern Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI W 44–361,238 November 19 at Iowa W 22–1643,700 *Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
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
Game summaries [ edit ] Michigan [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total • Michigan 0 10 14 0 24 Michigan St 0 7 0 7 14
Scoring summary 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 [ edit ] ^ 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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