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1985 Michigan State Spartans football team

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1985 Michigan State Spartans football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record7–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorNick Saban (3rd season)
MVPLorenzo White
Captains
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
Seasons
← 1984
1986 →
1985 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 10 Iowa $7–1–010–2–0
No. 2 Michigan6–1–110–1–1
Illinois5–2–16–5–1
No. 14 Ohio State5–3–09–3–0
Michigan State5–3–07–5–0
Minnesota4–4–07–5–0
Purdue3–5–05–6–0
Wisconsin2–6–05–6–0
Indiana1–7–04–7–0
Northwestern1–7–03–8–0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1985 Big Ten football season. In their third season under head coach George Perles, the Spartans compiled a 7–5 record (5–3 in conference games), tied for fourth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 244 to 202. In two games against ranked opponents, they lost to No. 1 Iowa and No. 3 Michigan. They concluded the season with a loss to Georgia Tech in the 1985 All-American Bowl.[1][2]

Michigan State running back Lorenzo White led the country with 2,066 rushing yards (total including bowl game), finished fourth in the voting for the 1985 Heisman Trophy,[3] and was a consensus first-team pick on the 1985 All-America college football team.[4] The team's other statistical leaders included quarterback Dave Yarema with 755 passing yards and wide receiver Mark Ingram Sr. with 31 receptions and 675 receiving yards.[5]

Six Spartans were recognized by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) on the 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team: 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).[6][7]

The team played its home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

Schedule

[edit]
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 1412:08 p.m.Arizona State*
W 12–362,797[8]
September 217:46 p.m.at Notre Dame*
ESPNL 10–2759,075[9]
September 281:00 p.m.Western Michigan*
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 7–363,829[10]
October 52:42 p.m.at No. 1 Iowa
CBSL 31–3566,044[11]
October 122:42 p.m.No. 3 Michigan
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
CBSL 0–3178,235[12]
October 191:00 p.m.Illinoisdagger
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
L 17–3076,438[13]
October 2612:38 p.m.at Purdue
TBSW 28–2467,660[14]
November 212:08 p.m.Minnesota
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
TBSW 31–2663,578[15]
November 91:00 p.m.at Indiana
W 35–1624,764[16]
November 161:00 p.m.Northwestern
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 32–055,439[17]
November 232:05 p.m.at Wisconsin
W 41–756,854[18]
December 318:00 p.m.vs. Georgia Tech*
TBSL 14–1745,000[19]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

[edit]

Arizona State

[edit]

At Notre Dame

[edit]

Western Michigan

[edit]

At Iowa

[edit]
Michigan State at #1 Iowa
Team 1 234Total
Spartans 0 10147 31
• No. 1 Hawkeyes 7 6157 35
Scoring summary
110:23IOWARobert Smith 60-yard pass from Chuck Long (Houghtlin kick)IOWA 7-0
213:12IOWAMike Flagg 17-yard pass from Chuck Long (kick failed)IOWA 13-0
211:34MSUChris Caudell 32-yard field goalIOWA 13-3
29:15MSUAndre Rison 50-yard pass from Bobby McAllister (Caudell kick)IOWA 13-10
312:30MSULorenzo White 23-yard run (Caudell kick)MSU 17-13
37:01MSULorenzo White 1-yard run (Caudell kick)MSU 24-13
36:16IOWARobert Smith 4-yard pass from Chuck Long (Flagg pass from Long for two-point conversion)MSU 24-21
33:21IOWAMike Flagg 12-yard pass from Chuck Long (Houghtlin kick)IOWA 28-24
44:06MSUCraig Johnson 25-yard run (Caudell kick)MSU 31-28
40:27IOWAChuck Long 2-yard run (Houghtlin kick)IOWA 35-31
  • Lorenzo White 39 Rush, 229 Yds, 2 TD[20]

Michigan

[edit]
Team 1 234Total
• No. 3 Wolverines 14 3014 31
Spartans 0 000 0

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.[21]

Illinois

[edit]

At Purdue

[edit]
  • Lorenzo White 53 Rush, 244 Yds

Minnesota

[edit]

At Indiana

[edit]
  • Lorenzo White 25 Rush, 286 Yds, 2 TD (played just over a half)

Northwestern

[edit]

At Wisconsin

[edit]
  • Lorenzo White 42 Rush, 223 Yds (set single season Big Ten rushing record)

[22]

Georgia Tech—All-American Bowl

[edit]
Michigan State vs. Georgia Tech
Team 1 234Total
Spartans 0 770 14
• Yellow Jackets 0 0710 17

[23]

Personnel

[edit]
1985 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
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 Jr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 51 Anthony Bell Sr
LB 41 Shane Bullough Jr
S 32 Phil Parker Sr
DE 93 Kelly Quinn Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K Chris Caudell Jr
P 23 Greg Montgomery So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "1985 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  2. ↑ "2025 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. p. 205. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  3. ↑ "1985 Heisman Trophy Voting". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. pp. 3, 13. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  5. ↑ "1985 Michigan State Spartans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Soph White, Station, Unanimous Choices". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1985. p. 33.
  7. ↑ "Long Nips Everett For Spot On All-Big Ten First Team". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. November 26, 1985. p. 10.
  8. ↑ "MSU manages to salvage win". The South Bend Tribune. September 15, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Notre Dame easily overcomes handicapped MSU". The Saginaw News. September 22, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "MSU rallies late to beat WMU, 7–3". Detroit Free Press. September 29, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Spartans scare Hawkeyes". The Ann Arbor News. October 6, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Wolverines maul Michigan State". The Birmingham News. October 13, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Mistakes haunt Spartans". Lansing State Journal. October 20, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Yarema leads Spartans to win with clutch, last-ditch drive". The Saginaw News. October 27, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "MSU holds on for victory". The Flint Journal. November 3, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Crunch; Spartans' White runs past Hoosiers". Journal and Courier. November 10, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Yarema's passing leads MSU to win". The Kalamazoo Gazette. November 17, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Michigan State romps over Wisconsin 41–7". Herald-Times-Reporter. November 24, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Wreck outlasts Spartans". Birmingham Post-Herald. January 1, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Last-Minute Score Gives Iowa Victory". The New York Times. October 5, 1985. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  21. ↑ Jack Saylor (October 13, 1985). "Wolverines get revenge: U-M defense manhandles MSU, 31–0". Detroit Free Press. p. G1.
  22. ↑ "Football's Best Won't Win Heisman". Chicago Tribune. December 6, 1985. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  23. ↑ "All-American Bowl : Georgia Tech Beats Michigan State, 17-14". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1986. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
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