1987 Michigan State Spartans football team explained

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
Mvp:	Lorenzo White
Captain:	Mark Nichols, Pat Shurmur, Rob Stradley, Lorenzo White
Stadium:	Spartan Stadium
Champion:	Big Ten champion Rose Bowl champion
Bowl:	Rose Bowl
Bowl Result:	W 20–17 vs. USC

The 1987 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fifth-year head coach George Perles, 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 to win the 1988 Rose Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. The first game of the season, also against USC, was the first night game ever at Spartan Stadium.

Game summaries

USC

See also: 1987 USC Trojans football team.

At Notre Dame

See also: 1987 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Michigan State–Notre Dame football rivalry.

Florida State

See also: 1987 Florida State Seminoles football team.

At Iowa

See also: 1987 Iowa Hawkeyes football team.

^{[1] [2]}

Michigan

See also: 1987 Michigan Wolverines football team.

• 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

^[3]

At Northwestern

See also: 1987 Northwestern Wildcats football team.

At Ohio State

See also: 1987 Ohio State Buckeyes football team.

Indiana

Rose Bowl vs. USC

See main article: 1988 Rose Bowl.

1988 NFL draft

The following players were selected in the 1988 NFL draft.^[4] Team members Tony Mandarich, Andre Rison and Percy Snow were drafted in later years.

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL Team
	1	22	Running back	Houston Oilers
	3	72	Punter	Houston Oilers
David Houle	6	145	Guard	New York Giants
Tim Moore	8	206	Linebacker	Phoenix Cardinals
Mark Nichols	8	209	Nose Tackle	Pittsburgh Steelers

Notes and References

1. News: October 2, 1987 . Who'll Be Counted Out In Big 10? . . August 11, 2019 .
2. News: October 4, 1987 . White, MSU defense too much for Iowa . . August 11, 2019 .
3. Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 11. Retrieved 2019-Jan-07
4. Web site: 1988 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20071221160900/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1988.htm. 2007-12-21. Pro-Football-Reference.com.