1978 Michigan State Spartans football team

Last updated

1978 Michigan State Spartans football
Big Ten co-champion
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
APNo. 12
Record8–3 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorGeorge Dyer (1st season)
MVP Ed Smith
CaptainMel Land, Ed Smith
Home stadium Spartan Stadium
Seasons
←  1977
1979  →
1978 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Michigan + 7 –1 –010 –2 –0
No. 12 Michigan State + 7 –1 –08 –3 –0
No. 13 Purdue 6 –1 –19 –2 –1
Ohio State 6 –2 –07 –4 –1
Minnesota 4 –4 –05 –6 –0
Wisconsin 3 –4 –25 –4 –2
Indiana 3 –5 –04 –7 –0
Iowa 2 –6 –02 –9 –0
Illinois 0 –6 –21 –8 –2
Northwestern 0 –8 –10 –10 –1
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University during the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. Finishing the season on a seven-game winning streak, the Spartans won their fourth Big Ten Conference championship, which they shared with in-state rival Michigan. The Spartans finished number 12 in the final AP Poll.

Contents

Wide receiver Kirk Gibson caught 42 passes for 806 yard during the 1978 season. [1] Gibson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017. [2]

Quarterback Ed Smith led the Big Ten in 1978 with 2,226 passing yards, a 139.0 passing efficiency rating, and 2,247 yards of total offense. [3] He was also selected as the most valuable player on the 1978 Michigan State team. [4] He finished his career as Michigan State's and the Big Ten's all-time leader with 5,706 passing yards. [5]

The team was put on probation during the 1978 season and could not appear in any bowl games. [6]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 16at Purdue
L 14–2160,365 [7]
September 23 Syracuse *
W 49–2174,511 [8]
September 29at No. 3 USC *
L 9–3065,319 [9]
October 7 Notre Dame *
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
L 25–2977,087 [10]
October 14at No. 5 Michigan
W 24–15105,132 [11] [12]
October 21 Indiana Dagger-14-plain.png
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
W 49–1476,013 [13]
October 28 Wisconsin
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 55–270,114 [14]
November 4at Illinois No. 18
W 59–1948,077 [15]
November 11 Minnesota No. 17
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 33–972,122 [16]
November 18at Northwestern No. 16
W 52–314,157 [17]
November 25 Iowa No. 14
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 42–757,007 [18]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1978 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB Ed Smith Jr
WR 23 Kirk Gibson Sr
G James "Jody" McCulloh
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 16Mark AndersonJr
LB 57 Larry Savage
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
    Coordinators/assistant coaches
    • Dan Underwood
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
    • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

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References

  1. ↑ "1978 Michigan State Spartans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  2. ↑ Kyle Austin (January 9, 2017). "Kirk Gibson voted into College Football Hall of Fame". Mlive.com.
  3. ↑ "1978 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  4. ↑ Roy Damer (December 25, 1978). "Michigan's Leach wins Tribune Silver Football". Chicago Tribune. p. 5-3.
  5. ↑ "Ticats sign highly-rated passer". Ottawa Journal. February 13, 1979. p. 16.
  6. ↑ Michigan, Notre Dame Test Crucial, web: The Sacramento Bee, 1978, retrieved March 13, 2023
  7. ↑ "Purdue rallies to beat Spartans". Wisconsin State Journal. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Spartans bomb Syracuse, 49–21". The Buffalo News. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Trojans roll past Spartans". The Arizona Republic. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Irish hold off Spartans, 29–25". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 8, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Tom Henderson (October 15, 1978). "MSU turns the tables, ends 9-year drought; Michigan tumbles, 24–15". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1F, 7F.
  12. ↑ Paul Campbell (October 15, 1978). "State win turns Blue green". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 12 – via Bentley Historical Library.
  13. ↑ "Michigan State rolls over Indiana, 49–14". The Pantagraph. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Spartans crush Badgers". The Reporter. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Michigan State romps past Illinois 59–19". The Muskegon Chronicle. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Michigan State rolls past Minnesota 33–9". The Decatur Daily Review. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "MSU routs Wildcats". The Post-Crescent. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Spartans' offense destroys Hawkeyes". The Daily Nonpareil. November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Jon-Erik Hexum Papers UA.10.3.127 - Michigan State Universityarchive.lib.msu.edu › uahc › FindingAids


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