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1978 Michigan State Spartans football team

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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
CaptainMel Land, Ed Smith
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
Seasons
← 1977
1979 →
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 Michigan State + 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

[edit]
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 16at PurdueL 14–2160,365
September 23Syracuse*W 49–2174,511
September 29at No. 3 USC*L 9–3065,319
October 7Notre Dame*
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
L 25–2977,087
October 14at No. 5 MichiganW 24–15105,132[7][8]
October 21Indianadagger
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
W 49–1476,013
October 28Wisconsin
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 55–270,114
November 4at IllinoisNo. 18W 59–1948,077
November 11MinnesotaNo. 17
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 33–972,122
November 18at NorthwesternNo. 16W 52–314,157
November 25IowaNo. 14
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 42–757,007
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

[edit]
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 Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

[edit]
  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. ^ Tom Henderson (October 15, 1978). "MSU turns the tables, ends 9-year drought; Michigan tumbles, 24-15". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1F, 7F.
  8. ^ Paul Campbell (October 15, 1978). "State win turns Blue green". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 12 – via Bentley Historical Library.
  9. ^ Jon-Erik Hexum Papers UA.10.3.127 - Michigan State Universityarchive.lib.msu.edu › uahc › FindingAids