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1987 Michigan State Spartans football team

American college football season

Field	Value
year	1987
team	Michigan State Spartans
sport	football
conference	Big Ten Conference
short_conf	Big Ten
CoachRank	8
APRank	8
record	9–2–1
conf_record	7–0–1
head_coach	George Perles
hc_year	5th
off_coach	Morris Watts
oc_year	2nd
def_coach	Nick Saban
dc_year	5th
def_scheme	Stunt [4–3](4-3-defense)
mvp	Lorenzo White
captain	Mark Nichols
captain2	Pat Shurmur
captain3	Rob Stradley
captain4	Lorenzo White
stadium	Spartan Stadium
champion	Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl champion
bowl	[Rose Bowl](1988-rose-bowl)
bowl_result	W 20–17 vs. [USC](1987-usc-trojans-football-team)

Rose Bowl champion

The 1987 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 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth year under head coach George Perles, the Spartans compiled a 9–2–1 record (7–0–1 in conference games), outscored opponents by a total of 241 to 136, and won the Big Ten championship. They defeated USC in the 1988 Rose Bowl and were ranked No. 8 in the final AP and UPI polls. The Spartans gained an average of 218.3 rushing yards and 88.8 passing yards per game. On defense, they held opponents to an average of 56.3 rushing yards and 150.5 passing yards per game.

Running back Lorenzo White tallied 1,459 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on 322 attempts, an average of 4.5 yards per carry. finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, and won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's most valuable player. He was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Other statistical leaders included quarterback Bobby McAllister (67 of 132 passing, 50.8%, for 1,042 yards), wide receiver Andre Rison (32 receptions, 694 yards, 21.7 yards per reception), and linebacker Todd Krumm (nine interceptions). Mandarich was named the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, and head coach George Perles was selected by the conference coaches as the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

The team played its home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. The Spartans played the first night game ever at the stadium on September 7, 1987.

Schedule

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Game summaries

USC

At Notre Dame

Florida State

East Lansing, MI

At Iowa

Michigan

MICH - Gillette 31 FG
MSU - White 6 Run (Langeloh kick)
MSU - White 2 Run (Langeloh kick)
MICH - Morris 18 D. Brown (pass good)
MSU - Langeloh 42 FG
Passing: MICH D. Brown 12/26, 158 Yds, TD, 7 INT, MSU McAllister 5/7, 68 Yds
Rushing: MICH Morris 31/108, MSU White 34/185, 2 TD
Receiving: MICH Kolesar 4/65, MSU Bouyer 2/38

At Northwestern

First quarter

MSU – John Langeloh 31-yard field goal
MSU – Lorenzo White 1-yard run (John Langeloh kick) Second quarter
MSU – Lorenzo White 6-yard run (John Langeloh kick) Third quarter
MSU – Lorenzo White 1-yard run (John Langeloh kick)
MSU – Andre Rison 7-yard pass from Bobby McAllister (John Langeloh kick) Fourth quarter
MSU – Blake Ezor 13-yard run (John Langeloh kick) ;Top passers
MSU – Bobby McAllister – 5/16, 97 yards, TD, INT
NW – Mike Greenfield – 4/9, 50 yards, INT ;Top rushers
MSU – Lorenzo White – 33 rushes, 187 yards, 3 TD
NW – Byron Sanders – 20 rushes, 26 yards ;Top receivers
MSU – Andre Rison – 5 receptions, 96 yards, TD
NW – Marcus Lang – 1 reception, 26 yards

Illinois

At Ohio State

First quarter

OSU – Everett Ross 79-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 14:45. **Ohio St 7–0. **Drive: 1 play, 79 yards, 0:11.'''''
MSU – Bobby McAllister 15-yard run (John Langeloh kick), 4:37. ''Tie 7–7. '''Drive: 3 plays, 54 yards, 0:50.'''''
MSU – John Langeloh 40-yard field goal, 1:22. ''Michigan St 10–7. '''Drive: 4 plays, 13 yards, 1:48.''''' Second quarter
MSU – John Langeloh 20-yard field goal, 10:41. ''Michigan St 13–7. '''Drive: 9 plays, 41 yards, 4:10.''''' ;Top passers
MSU – Bobby McAllister – 4/12, 61 yards
OSU – Tom Tupa – 8/15, 137 yards, TD, 2 INT ;Top rushers
MSU – Bobby McAllister – 22 rushes, 83 yards, TD
OSU – Carlos Snow – 8 rushes, 18 yards ;Top receivers
MSU – Lorenzo White – 2 receptions, 21 yards
OSU – Alex Higdon – 6 receptions, 54 yards

Purdue

Indiana

;Indiana

Kramme 11/26, 147 Yds, 3 INT
Thompson 10 Rush, 23 Yds
Jordan 3 Rec, 39 Yds ;Michigan St
McAllister 5/5, 67 Yds, TD
White 56 Rush, 292 Yds, 2 TD
Rison 2 Rec, 41 Yds, TD

At Wisconsin

Rose Bowl vs. USC

Main article: 1988 Rose Bowl

Personnel

1988 NFL draft

The following players were selected in the 1988 NFL draft. Team members Tony Mandarich, Andre Rison and Percy Snow were drafted in later years.

References

"1987 Michigan State Spartans Stats". Sports Reference LLC.
(2016). "Football Award Winners". [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA).
(January 20, 1988). "Lorenzo White Is Conference MVP". The Indianapolis Star.
"Lorenzo White". National Football Foundation.
(November 24, 1987). "All Big-Ten Football Team". The Daily Iowan.
Dave Blevins. (2012). "College Football Awards: All National and Conference Winners Through 2010". McFarland.
Jack Ebling. (September 8, 1987). "Celebrate: MSU whips Southern Cal, 27-13". Lansing State Journal.
Bill Bilinski. (September 20, 1987). "Brown gives Irish happy returns". The South Bend Tribune.
Jack Ebling. (September 27, 1987). "Florida State picks apart MSU: Spartans sputter, 31-3". Lansing State Journal.
Ron Maly. (October 4, 1987). "Perles' ire fires Spartans; Iowa feels heat; No. 17 Hawks spin wheels in 19-14 loss". The Des Moines Register.
Dave Matthews. (October 11, 1987). "Spartans head 'em off at pass: 7 MSU interceptions stun Michigan, 17-11". Lansing State Journal.
Bill Jauss. (October 18, 1987). "A rosy stampede for MSU: White runs for 187 yards as Spartan bowl over NU". Chicago Tribune.
Jack Ebling. (October 25, 1987). "MSU kicks itself after 14-14 tie". Lansing State Journal.
Elton Alexander. (November 1, 1987). "Michigan State crushes Ohio State: Spartans take lead in Big Ten". The Plain Dealer.
Jack Ebling. (November 9, 1987). "MSU ready to take on the Hoosiers: Everything rosy against Purdue in 45-3 victory". Lansing State Journal.
Jack Ebling. (November 15, 1987). "Smelling like a Rose: Spartans defeat Indiana, 27-3, to win Big Ten title". Lansing State Journal.
Bill Brophy. (November 22, 1987). "UW falls to cellar in loss to Spartans". Wisconsin State Journal.
Mal Florence. (January 2, 1988). "A Simple Snap and a Wave End Big Ten Jinx: Michigan State Beats USC and Pac-10, 20-17". Los Angeles Times.
(October 2, 1987). "Who'll Be Counted Out In Big 10?". [[Chicago Tribune]].
(October 4, 1987). "White, MSU defense too much for Iowa". [[Chicago Tribune]].
Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 11. Retrieved 2019-Jan-07
Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 15. Retrieved 2019-Jan-06.
"1988 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com".

Info: Wikipedia Source

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