1988 Michigan State Spartans football team

1988 Michigan State Spartans football
Gator Bowl, L 27–34 vs. Georgia
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	6–5–1 (6–1–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	George Perles (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Morris Watts (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Norm Parker (1st season)
MVP	Kurt Larson
Captains	Kurt Larson Tony Mandarich Bobby McAllister John Miller
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium
Seasons ←  1987 1989  →

1988 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Michigan $	7	–	0	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
Michigan State	6	–	1	–	1			6	–	5	–	1
Illinois	5	–	2	–	1			6	–	5	–	1
Iowa	4	–	1	–	3			6	–	4	–	3
No. 20 Indiana	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	1
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Ohio State	2	–	5	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Northwestern	2	–	5	–	1			2	–	8	–	1
Wisconsin	1	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
Minnesota	0	–	6	–	2			2	–	7	–	2
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1988 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Spartans played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan and were coached by George Perles. The team finished second in the Big Ten Conference with a 6–1–1 conference record, and a 6–5–1 overall record. ^{[1] [2]} Michigan State was invited to the 1989 Gator Bowl, losing to Georgia 27–34.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	1:00 p.m.	Rutgers *	No. 15	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		L 13–17	70,693	[3]
September 17	12:00 p.m.	No. 8 Notre Dame *		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	ABC	L 3–20	77,472	[4]
September 24	4:00 p.m.	at No. 9 Florida State *		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN	L 7–30	61,757	[5]
October 1	3:30 p.m.	Iowa		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ABC	T 10–10	76,348	[6]
October 8	12:15 p.m.	at No. 17 Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)		L 3–17	106,208	[7]
October 15	1:00 p.m.	Northwestern		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 36–3	76,952	[8]
October 22	2:00 p.m.	at Illinois		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		W 28–21	65,771	[9]
October 29	12:15 p.m.	Ohio State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 20–10	77,111	[10]
November 5	1:30 p.m.	at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 48–3	55,639	[11]
November 12	3:30 p.m.	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)	ABC	W 38–12	50,738	[12]
November 19	1:00 p.m.	Wisconsin		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 36–0	76,372	[13]
January 1, 1989	8:00 p.m.	vs. Georgia *		Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ESPN	L 27–34	76,236	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1988 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 17 Willie Bouyer Sr QB 4 Dan Enos So RB 26 Blake Ezor Jr OT 79 Tony Mandarich Sr OT 77 Eric Moten So WR 1 Andre Rison Sr OT 71 Kevin Robbins Sr FB 29 Duane Young So	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 36 Harlon Barnett Jr DB 9 Mike Iaquaniello So LB 51 Carlos Jenkins So LB 3 Kurt Larson Sr SS John Miller Sr LB 48 Percy Snow Jr DE 91 Jim Szymanski Jr LB 66 Matt Vanderbeck Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach George Perles Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

1989 NFL draft

The following players were selected in the 1989 NFL draft. ^[15]

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL Team
Tony Mandarich	1	2	Tackle	Green Bay Packers
Andre Rison	1	22	Wide receiver	Indianapolis Colts
Kevin Robbins	3	75	Tackle	Los Angeles Rams
Kurt Larson	8	212	Linebacker	Indianapolis Colts

References

1. "Michigan State Historical Scores".
2. "Michigan State Yearly Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 1, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
3. "Rutgers stuns Michigan State". The Bay City Times. September 11, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Irish run over Spartans, 20–3". The Indianapolis Star. September 18, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Seminoles' defense heats up". Florida Today. September 25, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Iowa, Michigan State battle to 10–10 standoff". The Courier. October 2, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Kicker the key: Wolverines jar Spartans". The Plain Dealer. October 9, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "MSU celebrates first victory after rolling over Northwestern". The Saginaw News. October 16, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Loss brings Illini back to earth". Herald and Review. October 23, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Spartans run over Bucks". Springfield News-Sun. October 30, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Sputtering Boilers dumped by Spartans". The Republic. November 6, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Spartans pummel Hoosiers". The Times. November 13, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Spartans trample Badgers". Green Bay Press-Gazette. November 20, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "MSU headed off at pass". Detroit Free Press. January 2, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
15. "1989 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference . Retrieved November 23, 2019.