The 1979 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 1979 Big Ten football season. In their fourth and final season under head coach Darryl Rogers, the Spartans compiled a 5–6 record (3–5 in conference games), tied for seventh place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 253 to 240. In four games against ranked opponents, they lost to No. 15 Notre Dame, No. 11 Michigan, No. 16 Purdue, and No. 4 Ohio State.
On offense, the Spartans gained an average of 176.4 rushing yards and 141.0 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 190.8 rushing yards and 161.3 passing yards per game. The individual statistical leaders included quarterback Bryan Clark with 800 passing yards, Steve Smith with 972 rushing yards, Eugene Byrd with 30 receptionsand 559 receiving yards, and Derek Hughes (66 points scored on 11 touchdowns).
Three Spartans were selected by either the Associated Press (AP) or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1979 All-Big Ten Conference football teams: tight end Mark Brammer (UPI-1); linebacker Danny Bass (AP-1); and punter Ray Stachowitz (AP-1). Dan Bass was selected as the team's most valuable player.2025 Media Guide, p. 300.
In January 1980, Rogers resigned to become head coach at Arizona State.
The team played its home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.
Schedule
Roster
References