American college football season
The 1979 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season . In their fourth season under head coach Darryl Rogers , the Spartans compiled a 5–6 overall record (3–5 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in a tie for sixth place in the Big Ten Conference .[ 1] [ 2]
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).[ 3]
Following the season, Rogers departed East Lansing to assume the same position at Arizona State . Ironically, the man Rogers replaced in Tempe, Frank Kush , was an All-America lineman for the Spartans under Biggie Munn in 1952.
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 8 Illinois No. 10 W 33–1671,125 September 15 Oregon * No. 10 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI W 41–1776,123 September 22 Miami (OH) * No. 8 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI W 24–2178,582 September 29 at No. 15 Notre Dame * No. 7 L 3–2759,075 October 6 No. 11 Michigan No. 16 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry ) L 7–2179,311 [ 4] [ 5] October 13 at Wisconsin No. 19 L 29–3877,083 October 20 No. 16 Purdue Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI L 7–1479,561 October 27 at No. 4 Ohio State L 0–4287,747 November 3 at Northwestern W 42–720,193 November 10 Minnesota Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI W 31–1775,433 November 17 at Iowa L 23–3356,320 *Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
1979 Michigan State Spartans football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Special teams Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt
^ "Michigan State Yearly Results (1975-1979)" . College Football Data Warehouse . David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015 . ^ "2015 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF) . Michigan State University. p. 147. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016 . ^ "Blue lands four All-Big Ten spots: OSU places six, Purdue five" . The Michigan Daily . November 29, 1979. p. 9. ^ 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 . ^ 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 .
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