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 |
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September 10 | 1:00 p.m. | Rutgers* | No. 15 | | | 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* | | | 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 | | | | 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 | | | | 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 | | | | W 48–3 | 55,639 | [11] |
November 12 | 3:30 p.m. | at Indiana | | | 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* | | | 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
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Roster
1988 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
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Players
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Coaches
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Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
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1989 NFL draft
The following players were selected in the 1989 NFL draft.[15]
References
- ^ "Michigan State Historical Scores".
- ^ "Michigan State Yearly Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 1, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
- ^ "Rutgers stuns Michigan State". The Bay City Times. September 11, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Irish run over Spartans, 20–3". The Indianapolis Star. September 18, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Seminoles' defense heats up". Florida Today. September 25, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Iowa, Michigan State battle to 10–10 standoff". The Courier. October 2, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Kicker the key: Wolverines jar Spartans". The Plain Dealer. October 9, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "MSU celebrates first victory after rolling over Northwestern". The Saginaw News. October 16, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Loss brings Illini back to earth". Herald and Review. October 23, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Spartans run over Bucks". Springfield News-Sun. October 30, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sputtering Boilers dumped by Spartans". The Republic. November 6, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Spartans pummel Hoosiers". The Times. November 13, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Spartans trample Badgers". Green Bay Press-Gazette. November 20, 1988. Retrieved June 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "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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National championship seasons in bold |