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1983 Michigan State

4–⁠6–⁠1 (2–⁠6–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by George Perles.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1983, game by game: won vs. Colorado 23–17; won at No. 4 Notre Dame 28–23; lost vs. Illinois 10–20; tied at Purdue 29–29; lost vs. No. 14 Michigan 0–42; lost at Indiana 12–24; lost at No. 17 Ohio State 11–21; won vs. Minnesota 34–10; won at Northwestern 9–3; lost vs. No. 12 Iowa 6–12; lost at Wisconsin 0–32+24−42Won 23–17 vs. Colorado+6ColoradoWon 28–23 at No. 4 Notre Dame+5No. 4 Notre DameLost 10–20 vs. Illinois-10IllinoisTied 29–29 at Purdue0PurdueLost 0–42 vs. No. 14 Michigan-42No. 14 MichiganLost 12–24 at Indiana-12IndianaLost 11–21 at No. 17 Ohio State-10No. 17 Ohio StateWon 34–10 vs. Minnesota+24MinnesotaWon 9–3 at Northwestern+6NorthwesternLost 6–12 vs. No. 12 Iowa-6No. 12 IowaLost 0–32 at Wisconsin-32Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10vsColoradoW 23–⁠1765%
Sep 17at4Notre DameW 28–⁠2325%
Sep 24vsIllinoisL 10–⁠2050%
Oct 1atPurdueT 29–⁠2947%
Oct 8vs14MichiganL 0–⁠4232%
Oct 15atIndianaL 12–⁠2444%
Oct 22at17Ohio StateL 11–⁠2116%
Oct 29vsMinnesotaW 34–⁠1072%
Nov 5atNorthwesternW 9–⁠359%
Nov 12vs12IowaL 6–⁠1230%
Nov 19atWisconsinL 0–⁠3229%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wisconsin 32–⁠0; unranked in the final AP poll; 7th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 101st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

Record
4–⁠6–⁠1
Conference
2–⁠6–⁠1 7th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
162–⁠233
Coach
George Perles
Elo
1418 −31 this season
SP+ rating
-5.1 No. 72 of 108; offense No. 93, defense No. 48
SRS
−3.9 No. 70 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Nick Saban
Captain
Carl Banks
Most valuable player
Carl Banks

Drafted in 1984

The 1984 draft
Rd 1Carl Banks LBNew York Giants
Rd 2Daryl Turner WRSeattle Seahawks

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1983 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1983 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Illinois9–⁠010–⁠210
Michigan8–⁠19–⁠38
Iowa7–⁠29–⁠314
Ohio State6–⁠39–⁠39
Wisconsin5–⁠47–⁠4
Purdue3–⁠5–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
Michigan State2–⁠6–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Indiana2–⁠73–⁠8
Northwestern2–⁠72–⁠9
Minnesota0–⁠91–⁠10

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