1977 Michigan State Spartans football team

American college football season

1977 Michigan State Spartans football

Conference| Big Ten Conference
Record| 7–3–1 (6–1–1 Big Ten)
Head coach|

* Darryl Rogers (2nd season)

Defensive coordinator| Bob Padilla (2nd season)
MVP| Larry Bethea
Captains|

* Larry Bethea
* Al Pitts
* Paul Rudzinski

Home stadium| Spartan Stadium

Seasons

← 1976

1978 →

1977 Big Ten Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

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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. 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

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|
|
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|

September 10| Purdue|

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI

| W 19–14| 53,014| [1]
September 17| Washington State*|

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI

| L 21–23| 50,263| [2]
September 24| Wyoming*|

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI

| W 34–16| 56,214| [3]
October 1| at No. 14 Notre Dame*|

* Notre Dame Stadium
* Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)

| L 6–16| 59,075| [4]
October 8| No. 3 Michigan|

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI (rivalry)

| L 14–24| 78,183| [5]
October 15| at Indiana|

* Memorial Stadium
* Bloomington, IN (rivalry)

| T 13–13| 36,892| [6]
October 22| at Wisconsin|

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI

| W 9–7| 79,203| [7]
October 29| Illinois|

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI

| W 49–20| 70,589| [8]
November 5| at Minnesota|

* Memorial Stadium
* Minneapolis, MN

| W 29–10| 30,600| [9]
November 11| Northwestern|

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI

| W 44–3| 61,238| [10]
November 19| at Iowa|

* Kinnick Stadium
* Iowa City, IA

| W 22–16| 43,700| [11]

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

## Game summaries

[edit]

### Michigan

[edit]

Team | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• 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

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.[12]

## Roster

[edit]

1977 Michigan State Spartans football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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|
|

TE | `91` | Mark Brammer | So
RB | `` | Jim Earley | Sr
WR | `23` | Kirk Gibson | Jr
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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|
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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

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|
|

K | `3` | Tom Birney | Sr

Head coach

* Darryl Rogers

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* * *

Legend

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

* Injured
* Redshirt

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Herrmann leaves Spartans gasping". The South Bend Tribune. September 11, 1977. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ "Washington State slips past MSU". Wisconsin State Journal. September 18, 1977. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ Fred Stabley Jr. (September 25, 1977). "Spartans pass 'gut check,' 34–16". Lansing State Journal. p. D1. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Notre Dame outlasts MSU in game of turnovers". The Post-Crescent. October 2, 1977. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Spartans lose momentum, game, 24–14". Lansing State Journal. October 9, 1977. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ 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 .
7. ^ "Michigan State hands Badgers 2nd straight loss". The La Crosse Tribune. October 23, 1977. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Michigan State ground game destroys Illini". The Pantagraph. October 30, 1977. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Spartans hit Minnesota". The Sioux City Journal. November 6, 1977. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Northwestern stays in rut". Chicago Tribune. November 13, 1977. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Winds lift Spartans over Hawkeyes, 22–16". The Muskegon Chronicle. November 20, 1977. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ Charlie Vincent (October 9, 1977). "U-M Struggles, 24-14". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 4E.

* v
* t
* e

Michigan State Spartans football

Venues|

* Old College Field (1902–1922)
* Spartan Stadium (1923–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Indiana
* Michigan
* Notre Dame
* Penn State

Culture & lore|

* Sparty
* "Victory for MSU"
* Marching band
* Zeke the Wonder Dog
* 1966 "Game of the Century"
* 2001 Michigan game
* 2006 Northwestern game
* Trouble With the Snap

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1896
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National championship seasons in bold

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
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*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number