The 1997 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of

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 1997 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by third-year head coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

, the Spartans compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the Big Ten. Michigan State was invited to the

Aloha Bowl The Aloha Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision (then known as Division I-A) college football bowl game played in Honolulu, Hawaii at Aloha Stadium. History The Aloha Bowl was established in 1982 by Mackay ...

, where they lost, 51–23, on December 25 to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The team played home games at Spartan Stadium in

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries

Notre Dame

Michigan State's first win versus Notre Dame since 1986.

Coaching staff

, head coach *

Gary Tranquill Gary Tranquill (born April 13, 1940) is a retired American football coach and former player. He was last the offensive coordinator at Boston College, a position he held until 2010. From 1982 to 1986, Tranquill served as the head football coach ...

, offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach *

Bobby Williams Robert Vann Williams (born November 21, 1958) is an American football coach who most recently served as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach at the University of Oregon from 2018 to 2021. Williams served as the head coach at Mich ...

, running backs coach * Charlie Baggett, wide receivers coach * Pat Shurmur, tight ends coach, special teams coordinator * Jim Bollman, offensive line coach *

Dean Pees Russell Dean Pees (born September 4, 1949) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the New England Patrio ...

, defensive coordinator, inside linebackers coach * Todd Grantham, defensive line coach *

Mark Dantonio Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is a former American football coach and player. He most recently served as the head football coach at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019, presiding over one of the most ...

, defensive backs coach *

Greg Colby Greg Colby (born February 25, 1952) is an American football coach. He was the defensive coordinator at Central Michigan University from 2015 to 2018. Colby served as the head football coach at Millersville University of Pennsylvania from 2008 ...

, defensive assistant

1998 NFL Draft

The following players were selected in the

1998 NFL Draft The 1998 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 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

References

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

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 ...

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