1978 Michigan State Spartans football team

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.

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
(capacity: 76,000)
1978 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Michigan + 7 –1 –010 –2 –0
No. 12 Michigan State + 7 –1 –08 –3 –0
No. 13 Purdue 6 –1 –19 –2 –1
Ohio State 6 –2 –07 –4 –1
Minnesota 4 –4 –05 –6 –0
Wisconsin 3 –4 –25 –4 –2
Indiana 3 –5 –04 –7 –0
Iowa 2 –6 –02 –9 –0
Illinois 0 –6 –21 –8 –2
Northwestern 0 –8 –10 –10 –1
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from 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
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 16at Purdue
L 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 Michigan
W 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. 18
W 59–1948,077
November 11MinnesotaNo. 17
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 33–972,122
November 18at NorthwesternNo. 16
W 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
1978 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB Ed Smith Jr
WR 23 Kirk Gibson Sr
G James "Jody" McCulloh
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 16 Mark Anderson Jr
LB 57 Larry Savage
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
    Coordinators/assistant coaches
    • Dan Underwood
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injured Injured
    • Redshirt Redshirt

    References
    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


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