The 1985 Michigan State Spartans football team represented

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in the

1985 Big Ten Conference football season The 1985 Big Ten Conference football season was the 90th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. The 1985 Big Ten champion was the 1985 Iowa H ...

. In their third season under head coach George Perles, the Spartans compiled a 7–5 overall record (5–3 against Big Ten opponents), finished in a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten Conference, and lost to Georgia Tech in the

1985 Hall of Fame Classic The 1985 All-American Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Michigan State Spartans. Background The Spartans tied for fourth in the Big Ten Conference while the Yellow Jackets finished 2n ...

. Six Spartans were recognized by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) on the

1984 All-Big Ten Conference football team The 1984 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen as All-Big Ten Conference players for the 1984 Big Ten Conference football season. The organizations selecting All-Big Ten teams in 1987 included the Ass ...

: running back

Lorenzo White Lorenzo Maurice White (born April 12, 1966) is a former professional American football player who was selected by the Houston Oilers in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1988 NFL Draft. He attended Dillard High School in Ft. Lauderdale in Fl ...

(AP-1; UPI-1); offensive guard

John Wojciechowski John Stanley Wojciechowski (born July 30, 1963) is a former professional American football offensive tackle who played seven seasons for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. According to a statistic on the back of a 1994 Topps John ...

(AP-1); offensive tackle Steve Bogdalek (AP-2); linebacker Shane Bullough (AP-2); defensive back Phil Parker (UPI-1); and punter

Greg Montgomery Gregory "Greg" Hugh Montgomery Jr. (October 29, 1964 – August 23, 2020) was a National Football League punter from (1988-1997) for the Houston Oilers, Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens. Raised in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, Montgomery played foot ...

(AP-1).

Schedule

Personnel

Game summaries

Arizona State

at Notre Dame

Western Michigan

at Iowa

*Lorenzo White 39 Rush, 229 Yds, 2 TD

Michigan

On October 12, 1985, Michigan State lost to Michigan, 31–0, in front of a crowd of 78,235 at Spartan Stadium. The victory was regarded at the time as revenge for the Spartans' 19–7 upset of the Wolverines in 1984. Michigan struck early after Michigan State quarterback Bobby McAllister fumbled the snap on the second play of the game,

Andy Moeller Andy Moeller is an American football coach and former player. He is the son of Gary Moeller. Moeller was a player for the Michigan Wolverines football team, and served with the team for eight years before joining the Baltimore Ravens. He replace ...

recovered the ball on the Spartans' 16-yard line, and

Jim Harbaugh James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He play ...

threw a touchdown pass to tight end Eric Kattus. Less than two minutes after Michigan's first score, Dieter Heren blocked a

punt, and Ed Hood recovered the ball in the end zone for Michigan's second touchdown. Harbaugh completed 13 of 23 passes, threw two touchdown passes to Kattus and gave up three interceptions. Jamie Morris rushed for 84 yards on 19 carries.

Mike Gillette Mike Gillette (born c. 1967) is a former American football and baseball player. He was a placekicker for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team from 1985 to 1988 and a punter for the 1988 team. He also played baseball for Michigan, ...

also kicked a field goal. On defense, Michigan held

(who set a Big Ten record with 2,066 yards in 1985) to a season-low 47 yards on 18 carries. The Wolverines' defense also sacked Bobby McAllister three times, intercepted him once, and held him to 83 passing yards.

Illinois

at Purdue

*Lorenzo White 53 Rush, 244 Yds

Minnesota

at Indiana

*Lorenzo White 25 Rush, 286 Yds, 2 TD (played just over a half)

Northwestern

at Wisconsin

*Lorenzo White 42 Rush, 223 Yds (set single season Big Ten rushing record)

Hall of Fame Classic

References

{{Michigan State Spartans football navbox Michigan State Michigan State Spartans football seasons Michigan State Spartans football