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.
| 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 |
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| Offensive coordinator | Morris Watts (3rd season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Norm Parker (1st season) |
| MVP | Kurt Larson |
| Captain | Kurt Larson, Tony Mandarich, Bobby McAllister, John Miller |
| Home stadium | Spartan Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
edit| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 10 | 1:00 p.m. | Rutgers* | No. 15 | L 13–17 | 70,693 | |||
| September 17 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 8 Notre Dame* |
| ABC | L 3–20 | 77,472 | ||
| September 24 | 4:00 p.m. | at No. 9 Florida State* | ESPN | L 7–30 | 61,757 | |||
| October 1 | 3:30 p.m. | Iowa |
| ABC | T 10–10 | 76,348 | ||
| October 8 | 12:15 p.m. | at No. 17 Michigan | L 3–17 | 106,208 | ||||
| October 15 | 1:00 p.m. | Northwestern |
| W 36–3 | 76,952 | |||
| October 22 | 2:00 p.m. | at Illinois | W 28–21 | 65,771 | ||||
| October 29 | 12:15 p.m. | Ohio State |
| W 20–10 | 77,111 | |||
| November 5 | 1:30 p.m. | at Purdue | W 48–3 | 55,639 | ||||
| November 12 | 3:30 p.m. | at Indiana | ABC | W 38–12 | 50,738 | |||
| November 19 | 1:00 p.m. | Wisconsin |
| W 36–0 | 76,372 | |||
| January 1, 1989 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. Georgia* | ESPN | L 27–34 | 76,236 | [3] | ||
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Roster
edit| 1988 Michigan State Spartans football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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1989 NFL draft
editThe following players were selected in the 1989 NFL draft.[4]
| 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
edit- ^ "Michigan State Historical Scores".
- ^ "Michigan State Yearly Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 1, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
- ^ "MSU headed off at pass". Detroit Free Press. January 2, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1989 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
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