1979 Michigan State Spartans football team

American college football season

1979 Michigan State Spartans football

Conference| Big Ten Conference
Record| 5–6 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach|

* Darryl Rogers (4th season)

Defensive coordinator| George Dyer (2nd season)
MVP| Danny Bass
Captain| Danny Bass, Mark Brammer
Home stadium| Spartan Stadium

Seasons

<- 1978

1980 ->

1979 Big Ten Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 4 Ohio State $  | 8  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 11  | - | 1  | - | 0
No. 10 Purdue | 7  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 10  | - | 2  | - | 0
No. 18 Michigan | 6  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 4  | - | 0
No. 19 Indiana | 5  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 4  | - | 0
Iowa | 4  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Minnesota | 3  | - | 5  | - | 1 |  |  | 4  | - | 6  | - | 1
Michigan State | 3  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Wisconsin | 3  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Illinois | 1  | - | 6  | - | 1 |  |  | 2  | - | 8  | - | 1
Northwestern | 0  | - | 9  | - | 0 |  |  | 1  | - | 10  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fourth season under head coach Darryl Rogers, the Spartans compiled a 5–6 overall record (3–5 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in a tie for sixth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1][2]

Three Spartans were selected by either the Associated Press (AP) or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1979 All-Big Ten Conference football teams: tight end Mark Brammer (UPI-1); linebacker Danny Bass (AP-1); and punter Ray Stachowitz (AP-1).[3]

Following the season, Rogers departed East Lansing to assume the same position at Arizona State. Ironically, the man Rogers replaced in Tempe, Frank Kush, was an All-America lineman for the Spartans under Biggie Munn in 1952.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Rank| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|
|

September 8| Illinois| No. 10|

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI

| W 33–16| 71,125| [4]
September 15| Oregon*| No. 10|

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI

| W 41–17| 76,123| [5]
September 22| Miami (OH)*| No. 8|

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI

| W 24–21| 78,582| [6]
September 29| at No. 15 Notre Dame*| No. 7|

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

| L 3–27| 59,075| [7]
October 6| No. 11 Michigan| No. 16|

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI (rivalry)

| L 7–21| 79,311| [8][9]
October 13| at Wisconsin| No. 19|

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI

| L 29–38| 77,083| [10]
October 20| No. 16 Purdue| |

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI

| L 7–14| 79,561| [11]
October 27| at No. 4 Ohio State| |

* Ohio Stadium
* Columbus, OH

| L 0–42| 87,747| [12]
November 3| at Northwestern| |

* Dyche Stadium
* Evanston, IL

| W 42–7| 20,193| [13]
November 10| Minnesota| |

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI

| W 31–17| 75,433| [14]
November 17| at Iowa| |

* Kinnick Stadium
* Iowa City, IA

| L 23–33| 56,320| [15]

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

[16]

## Roster

[edit]

1979 Michigan State Spartans football team roster

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

|
|
|

TE | `91` | Mark Brammer | Sr
OT | `53` | Angelo Fields | Sr
WR | `6` | Mark Jones
FB | `33` | Joe Kolodziej
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

DB | `16` | Mark Anderson | Sr
LB | `49` | Danny Bass | Sr
CB | `28` | Jim Burroughs | So
LB | `40` | John McCormick | Jr
LB | `57` | Larry Savage | Sr
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

K | `8` | Morten Andersen | So
P | `19` | Ray Stachowicz | Jr

Head coach

* Darryl Rogers

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* * *

Legend

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

* Injured
* Redshirt

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Michigan State Yearly Results (1975-1979)". 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. 147\. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
3. ^ "Blue lands four All-Big Ten spots: OSU places six, Purdue five". The Michigan Daily. November 29, 1979. p. 9.
4. ^ "MSU rolls over Illini 33–16 as Andersen, Vaughn star". The Lima News. September 9, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Michigan State swamp Oregon in 41–17 rout". The Winona Daily News. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Michigan State rally wins 24–21". The Courier-Journal. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Notre Dame rips Michigan State 27–3". The Santa Fe New Mexican. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ Charlie Vincent (October 7, 1979). "U-M air blitz rips MSU, 21-7: Bo won't open up? Two 2d half TD passes jar Spartans". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1F, 4F - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ Geoff Larcom (October 7, 1979). "Michigan chills muffled MSU attack, 21-7: Offense finally clicks; Sparta is conquered". The Michigan Daily. p. 1 - via Bentley Historical Library.
10. ^ "Spirited Badgers upset MSU". Wisconsin State Journal. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Lackluster contest won by Purdue". The Des Moines Register. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Ohio State rolls by Spartans 42–0". The Tampa Tribune-Times. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Reserve QB leads MSU over 'Cats". The Rock Island Argus. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "Spartans forsake passing game, run past Gophers". Battle Creek Enquirer & News. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
15. ^ "Mosley earns rushing title as Iowa triumphs". The Pantagraph. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
16. ^ "1979 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 27, 2024.

* 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
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
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National championship seasons in bold

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