1988 Michigan State Spartans football team

1988 Michigan State Spartans football
Gator Bowl, L 27–34 vs. Georgia
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record6–5–1 (6–1–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMorris Watts (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorNorm Parker (1st season)
MVPKurt Larson
Captains
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
1988 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Michigan $ 7 0 1 9 2 1
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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 101:00 p.m.Rutgers*No. 15L 13–1770,693[3]
September 1712:00 p.m.No. 8 Notre Dame*
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
ABCL 3–2077,472[4]
September 244:00 p.m.at No. 9 Florida State*ESPNL 7–3061,757[5]
October 13:30 p.m.Iowa
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ABCT 10–1076,348[6]
October 812:15 p.m.at No. 17 MichiganL 3–17106,208[7]
October 151:00 p.m.Northwestern
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 36–376,952[8]
October 222:00 p.m.at IllinoisW 28–2165,771[9]
October 2912:15 p.m.Ohio State
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 20–1077,111[10]
November 51:30 p.m.at PurdueW 48–355,639[11]
November 123:30 p.m.at IndianaABCW 38–1250,738[12]
November 191:00 p.m.Wisconsin
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 36–076,372[13]
January 1, 19898:00 p.m.vs. Georgia*ESPNL 27–3476,236[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
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.