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
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 12
Record	8–3 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Darryl Rogers (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	George Dyer (1st season)
MVP	Ed Smith
Captain	Mel Land, Ed Smith
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	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

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

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 14–21	60,365	[7]
September 23	Syracuse*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 49–21	74,511	[8]
September 29	at No. 3 USC*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 9–30	65,319	[9]
October 7	Notre Dame*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	L 25–29	77,087	[10]
October 14	at No. 5 Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	W 24–15	105,132	[11][12]
October 21	Indiana		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	W 49–14	76,013	[13]
October 28	Wisconsin		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 55–2	70,114	[14]
November 4	at Illinois	No. 18	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 59–19	48,077	[15]
November 11	Minnesota	No. 17	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 33–9	72,122	[16]
November 18	at Northwestern	No. 16	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 52–3	14,157	[17]
November 25	Iowa	No. 14	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 42–7	57,007	[18]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

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 Redshirt

• Jon-Erik Hexum actor known for accidentally fatally shooting himself on the set of Cover Up.^[19]

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. "Purdue rallies to beat Spartans". Wisconsin State Journal. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Spartans bomb Syracuse, 49–21". The Buffalo News. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Trojans roll past Spartans". The Arizona Republic. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Irish hold off Spartans, 29–25". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 8, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Tom Henderson (October 15, 1978). "MSU turns the tables, ends 9-year drought; Michigan tumbles, 24–15". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1F, 7F.
12. Paul Campbell (October 15, 1978). "State win turns Blue green". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 12 – via Bentley Historical Library.
13. "Michigan State rolls over Indiana, 49–14". The Pantagraph. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Spartans crush Badgers". The Reporter. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Michigan State romps past Illinois 59–19". The Muskegon Chronicle. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Michigan State rolls past Minnesota 33–9". The Decatur Daily Review. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "MSU routs Wildcats". The Post-Crescent. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Spartans' offense destroys Hawkeyes". The Daily Nonpareil. November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
19. Jon-Erik Hexum Papers UA.10.3.127 - Michigan State Universityarchive.lib.msu.edu › uahc › FindingAids