1978 Michigan State Spartans football team

1978 Michigan State Spartans football
Big Ten co-champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
APNo. 12
Record8–3 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorGeorge Dyer (1st season)
MVPEd Smith
Captains
  • Mel Land
  • Ed Smith
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
1978 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Michigan + 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 12 + 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 13 Purdue 6 – 1 – 1 9 – 2 – 1
Ohio State 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 1
Minnesota 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin 3 – 4 – 2 5 – 4 – 2
Indiana 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Iowa 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Illinois 0 – 6 – 2 1 – 8 – 2
Northwestern 0 – 8 – 1 0 – 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.

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

Roster

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

    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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