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1979 Michigan State Spartans football team

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1979 Michigan State Spartans football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record5–6 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorGeorge Dyer (2nd season)
MVPDanny Bass
Captains
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Ohio State $8–0–011–1–0
No. 10 Purdue7–1–010–2–0
No. 18 Michigan6–2–08–4–0
No. 19 Indiana5–3–08–4–0
Iowa4–4–05–6–0
Minnesota3–5–14–6–1
Michigan State3–5–05–6–0
Wisconsin3–5–04–7–0
Illinois1–6–12–8–1
Northwestern0–9–01–10–0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1979 Big Ten football season. In their fourth and final season under head coach Darryl Rogers, the Spartans compiled a 5–6 record (3–5 in conference games), tied for seventh place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 253 to 240. In four games against ranked opponents, they lost to No. 15 Notre Dame, No. 11 Michigan, No. 16 Purdue, and No. 4 Ohio State.[1][2]

On offense, the Spartans gained an average of 176.4 rushing yards and 141.0 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 190.8 rushing yards and 161.3 passing yards per game.[3] The individual statistical leaders included quarterback Bryan Clark with 800 passing yards, Steve Smith with 972 rushing yards, Eugene Byrd with 30 receptionsand 559 receiving yards, and Derek Hughes (66 points scored on 11 touchdowns).[3]

Three Spartans were selected by either the Associated Press (AP) or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1979 All-Big Ten Conference football teams: tight end Mark Brammer (UPI-1); linebacker Danny Bass (AP-1); and punter Ray Stachowitz (AP-1).[4] Dan Bass was selected as the team's most valuable player.[5]

In January 1980, Rogers resigned to become head coach at Arizona State.[6]

The team played its home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 8IllinoisNo. 10
W 33–1671,125[7]
September 15Oregon*No. 10
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 41–1776,123[8]
September 22Miami (OH)*No. 8
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 24–2178,582[9]
September 29at No. 15 Notre Dame*No. 7
L 3–2759,075[10]
October 6No. 11 MichiganNo. 16
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
L 7–2179,311[11][12]
October 13at WisconsinNo. 19
L 29–3877,083[13]
October 20No. 16 Purduedagger
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
L 7–1479,561[14]
October 27at No. 4 Ohio State
L 0–4287,747[15]
November 3at Northwestern
W 42–720,193[16]
November 10Minnesota
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 31–1775,433[17]
November 17at Iowa
L 23–3356,320[18]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[19]

Roster

[edit]
1979 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
TE 91 Mark Brammer Sr
OT 53 Angelo Fields Sr
WR 6 Mark Jones
FB 33 Joe Kolodziej
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 16 Mark Anderson Sr
LB 49 Danny Bass Sr
CB 28 Jim Burroughs So
LB 40 John McCormick Jr
LB 57 Larry Savage Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 8 Morten Andersen So
P 19 Ray Stachowicz Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "1979 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  2. ↑ "2025 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. p. 205. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "1979 Michigan State Spartans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Blue lands four All-Big Ten spots: OSU places six, Purdue five". The Michigan Daily. November 29, 1979. p. 9.
  5. ↑ 2025 Media Guide, p. 300.
  6. ↑ "Rogers goes to SU, too". The Lansing State Journal. January 16, 1980. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "MSU rolls over Illini 33–16 as Andersen, Vaughn star". The Lima News. September 9, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Michigan State swamp Oregon in 41–17 rout". The Winona Daily News. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Michigan State rally wins 24–21". The Courier-Journal. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Notre Dame rips Michigan State 27–3". The Santa Fe New Mexican. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Charlie Vincent (October 7, 1979). "U-M air blitz rips MSU, 21-7: Bo won't open up? Two 2d half TD passes jar Spartans". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1F, 4F – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Geoff Larcom (October 7, 1979). "Michigan chills muffled MSU attack, 21-7: Offense finally clicks; Sparta is conquered". The Michigan Daily. p. 1 – via Bentley Historical Library.
  13. ↑ "Spirited Badgers upset MSU". Wisconsin State Journal. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Lackluster contest won by Purdue". The Des Moines Register. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Ohio State rolls by Spartans 42–0". The Tampa Tribune-Times. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Reserve QB leads MSU over 'Cats". The Rock Island Argus. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Spartans forsake passing game, run past Gophers". Battle Creek Enquirer & News. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Mosley earns rushing title as Iowa triumphs". The Pantagraph. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "1979 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
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