1977 Michigan State Spartans football team

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
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

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
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

Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total • 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

1977 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 91 Mark Brammer So RB Jim Earley Sr 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 Darryl Rogers Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

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.