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1977 Michigan State

7–⁠3–⁠1 (6–⁠1–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Darryl Rogers.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1977, game by game: won vs. Purdue 19–14; lost vs. Washington State 21–23; won vs. Wyoming 34–16; lost at No. 14 Notre Dame 6–16; lost vs. No. 3 Michigan 14–24; tied at Indiana 13–13; won at Wisconsin 9–7; won vs. Illinois 49–20; won at Minnesota 29–10; won vs. Northwestern 44–3; won at Iowa 22–16+41−10Won 19–14 vs. Purdue+5PurdueLost 21–23 vs. Washington State-2Washington StateWon 34–16 vs. Wyoming+18WyomingLost 6–16 at No. 14 Notre Dame-10No. 14 Notre DameLost 14–24 vs. No. 3 Michigan-10No. 3 MichiganTied 13–13 at Indiana0IndianaWon 9–7 at Wisconsin+2WisconsinWon 49–20 vs. Illinois+29IllinoisWon 29–10 at Minnesota+19MinnesotaWon 44–3 vs. Northwestern+41NorthwesternWon 22–16 at Iowa+6Iowa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10vsPurdueW 19–⁠1458%
Sep 17vsWashington StateL 21–⁠2364%
Sep 24vsWyomingW 34–⁠1659%
Oct 1at14Notre DameL 6–⁠1624%
Oct 8vs3MichiganL 14–⁠2425%
Oct 15atIndianaT 13–⁠1347%
Oct 22atWisconsinW 9–⁠732%
Oct 29vsIllinoisW 49–⁠2061%
Nov 5atMinnesotaW 29–⁠1042%
Nov 11vsNorthwesternW 44–⁠388%
Nov 19atIowaW 22–⁠1659%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Iowa 22–⁠16; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 44th-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 1977.

Record
7–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠1–⁠1 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
260–⁠162
Coach
Darryl Rogers
Elo
1577 +103 this season
SP+ rating
11.0 No. 37 of 140; offense No. 47, defense No. 34
SRS
13.3 No. 23 of 145 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Bob Padilla
Captains
Larry Bethea, Al Pitts and Paul Rudzinski
Most valuable player
Larry Bethea

Drafted in 1978

The 1978 draft
Rd 1Larry Bethea DTDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Al Pitts CCleveland Browns
Rd 7James Earley RBNew York Jets

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1977 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1977 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠29
Ohio State7–⁠19–⁠311
Michigan State6–⁠1–⁠17–⁠3–⁠1
Indiana4–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Minnesota4–⁠47–⁠5
Purdue3–⁠55–⁠6
Iowa3–⁠54–⁠7
Wisconsin3–⁠65–⁠6
Illinois2–⁠63–⁠8
Northwestern1–⁠81–⁠10

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