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1976 Michigan State

4–⁠6–⁠1 (3–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Darryl Rogers.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1976, game by game: lost at No. 4 Ohio State 21–49; won vs. Wyoming 21–10; tied at NC State 31–31; lost vs. No. 18 Notre Dame 6–24; lost at No. 1 Michigan 10–42; lost vs. Minnesota 10–14; won at Illinois 31–23; won vs. Purdue 45–13; won vs. Indiana 23–0; lost at Northwestern 21–42; lost vs. Iowa 17–30+32−32Lost 21–49 at No. 4 Ohio State-28No. 4 Ohio StateWon 21–10 vs. Wyoming+11WyomingTied 31–31 at NC State0NC StateLost 6–24 vs. No. 18 Notre Dame-18No. 18 Notre DameLost 10–42 at No. 1 Michigan-32No. 1 MichiganLost 10–14 vs. Minnesota-4MinnesotaWon 31–23 at Illinois+8IllinoisWon 45–13 vs. Purdue+32PurdueWon 23–0 vs. Indiana+23IndianaLost 21–42 at Northwestern-21NorthwesternLost 17–30 vs. Iowa-13Iowa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 11at4Ohio StateL 21–⁠4926%
Sep 18vsWyomingW 21–⁠1077%
Sep 25atNC StateT 31–⁠3151%
Oct 2vs18Notre DameL 6–⁠2449%
Oct 9at1MichiganL 10–⁠4221%
Oct 16vsMinnesotaL 10–⁠1457%
Oct 23atIllinoisW 31–⁠2341%
Oct 30vsPurdueW 45–⁠1365%
Nov 6vsIndianaW 23–⁠077%
Nov 13atNorthwesternL 21–⁠4279%
Nov 20vsIowaL 17–⁠3073%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Iowa 30–⁠17; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 90th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1976.

Record
4–⁠6–⁠1
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 7th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
236–⁠278
Coach
Darryl Rogers
Elo
1462 −100 this season
SP+ rating
-1.7 No. 82 of 132; offense No. 39, defense No. 109
SRS
2.7 No. 61 of 137 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Bob Padilla
Captains
Richard Baes and Tommy Hannon
Most valuable player
Richard Baes

Drafted in 1977

The 1977 draft
Rd 1Mike Cobb TECincinnati Bengals
Rd 3Tom Hannon DBMinnesota Vikings

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1976 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1976 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠23
Ohio State7–⁠19–⁠2–⁠16
Minnesota4–⁠46–⁠5
Illinois4–⁠45–⁠6
Purdue4–⁠45–⁠6
Indiana4–⁠45–⁠6
Iowa3–⁠55–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠55–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠54–⁠6–⁠1
Northwestern1–⁠71–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.