1985 Michigan State Spartans football team

1985 Michigan State Spartans football
1985 Michigan State Spartans football
Hall of Fame Classic, L 14–17 vs. Georgia Tech
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	George Perles (3rd season);
Defensive coordinator	Nick Saban (3rd season)
MVP	Lorenzo White
Captains	Anthony Bell; John Wojciechowski;
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium
	Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

The 1985 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1985 Big Ten Conference football season. 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.^[1]^[2]

1985 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 10 Iowa $	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 2 Michigan	6	–	1	–	1	10	–	1	–	1
Illinois	5	–	2	–	1	6	–	5	–	1
No. 14 Ohio State	5	–	3	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Michigan State	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	2	–	6	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Indiana	1	–	7	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	7	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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: running back Lorenzo White (AP-1; UPI-1); offensive guard John Wojciechowski (AP-1); offensive tackle Steve Bogdalek (AP-2); linebacker Shane Bullough (AP-2); defensive back Phil Parker (UPI-1); and punter Greg Montgomery (AP-1).^[3]^[4]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	12:08 p.m.	Arizona State*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 12–3	62,797
September 21	7:46 p.m.	at Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ESPN	L 10–27	59,075
September 28	1:00 p.m.	Western Michigan*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 7–3	63,829
October 5	2:42 p.m.	at No. 1 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	CBS	L 31–35	66,044
October 12	2:42 p.m.	No. 3 Michigan	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	CBS	L 0–31	78,235
October 19	1:00 p.m.	Illinois	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		L 17–30	76,438
October 26	12:38 p.m.	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	TBS	W 28–24	67,660
November 2	12:08 p.m.	Minnesota	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	TBS	W 31–26	63,578
November 9	1:00 p.m.	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)		W 35–16	24,764
November 16	1:00 p.m.	Northwestern	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 32–0	55,439
November 23	2:05 p.m.	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 41–7	56,854
December 31	8:00 p.m.	vs. Georgia Tech*	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Hall of Fame Classic)	TBS	L 14–17	45,000	^[5]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Arizona State

At Notre Dame

Western Michigan

At Iowa

Michigan State at #1 Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	0	10	14	7	31
• No. 1 Hawkeyes	7	6	15	7	35

Date: October 5
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
Game start: 1:40 p.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 3:50
Game attendance: 66,044
Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), Cloudy, Wind NW 20-25 mph (40 km/h)
Referee: Tom Quinn
TV announcers (CBS Sports): Brent Musburger and Ara Parseghian

Lorenzo White 39 Rush, 229 Yds, 2 TD^[6]

Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 3 Wolverines	14	3	0	14	31
Spartans	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 12
Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI

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 recovered the ball on the Spartans' 16-yard line, and Jim Harbaugh threw a touchdown pass to tight end Eric Kattus. Less than two minutes after Michigan's first score, Dieter Heren blocked a Greg Montgomery 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 also kicked a field goal. On defense, Michigan held Lorenzo White (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.^[7]

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)

^[8]

Hall of Fame Classic

Michigan State vs. Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	0	7	7	0	14
• Yellow Jackets	0	0	7	10	17

Date: December 31
Location: Legion Field, Birmingham, AL
TV announcers: Bob Neal, Tim Foley and Paul Hornung

^[9]

Personnel

1985 Michigan State Spartans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`8`	Bobby McAllister	Fr
WR	`11`	Mark Ingram	Jr
RB	`21`	Bobby Morse	Jr
WR	`1`	Andre Rison	Fr
C	`60`	Pat Shurmur	So
RB	`34`	Lorenzo White	So
QB	`14`	Dave Yarema

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`41`	Shane Bullough	Jr
S	`32`	Phil Parker	Sr
DE	`93`	Kelly Quinn	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Chris Caudell	Jr
P	`23`	Greg Montgomery	So

Head coach

George Perles

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Nick Saban (defensive coordinator)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

^ "Michigan State Yearly Results (1985-1989)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
^ "2015 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. p. 147. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
^ "Soph White, Station, Unanimous Choices". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1985. p. 33.
^ "Long Nips Everett For Spot On All-Big Ten First Team". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. November 26, 1985. p. 10.
^ "Wreck outlasts Spartans". Birmingham Post-Herald. January 1, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Last-Minute Score Gives Iowa Victory". The New York Times. October 5, 1985. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
^ Jack Saylor (October 13, 1985). "Wolverines get revenge: U-M defense manhandles MSU, 31–0". Detroit Free Press. p. G1.
^ "Football's Best Won't Win Heisman". Chicago Tribune. December 6, 1985. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
^ "All-American Bowl : Georgia Tech Beats Michigan State, 17-14". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1986. Retrieved January 19, 2020.

[CFDW-1] "Michigan State Yearly Results (1985-1989)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.

[2] "2015 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. p. 147. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.

[AP-3] "Soph White, Station, Unanimous Choices". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1985. p. 33.

[UPI-4] "Long Nips Everett For Spot On All-Big Ten First Team". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. November 26, 1985. p. 10.

[5] "Wreck outlasts Spartans". Birmingham Post-Herald. January 1, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "Last-Minute Score Gives Iowa Victory". The New York Times. October 5, 1985. Retrieved January 18, 2020.

[7] Jack Saylor (October 13, 1985). "Wolverines get revenge: U-M defense manhandles MSU, 31–0". Detroit Free Press. p. G1.

[8] "Football's Best Won't Win Heisman". Chicago Tribune. December 6, 1985. Retrieved December 21, 2019.

[9] "All-American Bowl : Georgia Tech Beats Michigan State, 17-14". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1986. Retrieved January 19, 2020.

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