The 1987 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 ...

as a member of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

during the

1987 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its second national championship of the 1980s in an Orange Bowl game featuring a rare No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between the top ranked Oklahoma Sooners and the Hurricanes. Miami's ...

. Led by fifth-year head coach

George Perles George Julius Perles (July 16, 1934 – January 7, 2020) was an American football player and coach. He was a defensive line coach, defensive coordinator, and assistant head coach for the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers from 1972 to ...

, the Spartans compiled an overall record of 9–2–1 with a mark 7–0–1 in conference play, winning the Big Ten title. Michigan State beat

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

to win the

1988 Rose Bowl The 1988 Rose Bowl was the 74th edition of the college football bowl game, played on January 1, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the USC Trojans 20–17 in a bowl rematch that was much closer than th ...

and finished the season ranked No. 8 in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

and the

Coaches Poll The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officially ...

. The first game of the season, also against USC, was the first night game ever at Spartan Stadium.

Schedule

Personnel

Game summaries

USC

at Notre Dame

Florida State

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

Illinois

at Ohio State

Purdue

Indiana

at Wisconsin

Rose Bowl vs. USC

1988 NFL Draft

The following players were selected in the

1988 NFL Draft The 1988 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1988, at the Marriot Marq ...

. Team members

Tony Mandarich Ante Josip "Tony" Mandarich (born September 23, 1966) is a Canadian former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He was selected second overall by the Green Bay Packers in the 1989 ...

Andre Rison Andre Previn Rison (born March 18, 1967) is a former American football wide receiver who played professionally for the National Football League's Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers, ...

and

Percy Snow Percy Lee Snow (born November 5, 1967) is a retired American football linebacker who played at Michigan State University and was a first-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs. Snow was a consensus selection on the 1989 College Football All- ...

were drafted in later years.

References

{{Big Ten Conference football champions

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Michigan State Spartans football seasons Big Ten Conference football champion seasons Rose Bowl champion seasons

Michigan State Spartans football The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University (MSU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Spartans are members of the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State claims a ...