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1988 Michigan State

6–⁠5–⁠1 (6–⁠1–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by George Perles.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1988, game by game: lost vs. Rutgers 13–17; lost vs. No. 8 Notre Dame 3–20; lost at No. 9 Florida State 7–30; tied vs. Iowa 10–10; lost at No. 17 Michigan 3–17; won vs. Northwestern 36–3; won at Illinois 28–21; won vs. Ohio State 20–10; won at Purdue 48–3; won at Indiana 38–12; won vs. Wisconsin 36–0; lost vs. No. 19 Georgia 27–34+45−23Lost 13–17 vs. Rutgers-4RutgersLost 3–20 vs. No. 8 Notre Dame-17No. 8 Notre DameLost 7–30 at No. 9 Florida State-23No. 9 Florida StateTied 10–10 vs. Iowa0IowaLost 3–17 at No. 17 Michigan-14No. 17 MichiganWon 36–3 vs. Northwestern+33NorthwesternWon 28–21 at Illinois+7IllinoisWon 20–10 vs. Ohio State+10Ohio StateWon 48–3 at Purdue+45PurdueWon 38–12 at Indiana+26IndianaWon 36–0 vs. Wisconsin+36WisconsinLost 27–34 vs. No. 19 Georgia-7No. 19 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10vsRutgersL 13–⁠1776%
Sep 17vs8Notre DameL 3–⁠2053%
Sep 24at9Florida StateL 7–⁠3025%
Oct 1vsIowaT 10–⁠1050%
Oct 8at17MichiganL 3–⁠1730%
Oct 15vsNorthwesternW 36–⁠380%
Oct 22atIllinoisW 28–⁠2146%
Oct 29vsOhio StateW 20–⁠1065%
Nov 5atPurdueW 48–⁠363%
Nov 12atIndianaW 38–⁠1240%
Nov 19vsWisconsinW 36–⁠091%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs19GeorgiaGator BowlL 27–⁠3450%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia 34–⁠27 in the Gator Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 31st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 15
  2. Wk 2: 15
  3. Wk 3: 15

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 1988.

Consensus All-AmericanTony Mandarich, OT

Record
6–⁠5–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠1–⁠1 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 15
Points
269–⁠177
Coach
George Perles
Elo
1633 +17 this season
SP+ rating
15.7 No. 20 of 102; offense No. 47, defense No. 6
SRS
12.7 No. 20 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Morris Watts
Defensive coordinator
Norm Parker
Captains
Kurt Larson, Tony Mandarich, Bobby McAllister and John Miller
Most valuable player
Kurt Larson

Drafted in 1989

The 1989 draft
Rd 1Tony Mandarich OTGreen Bay Packers
Rd 1Andre Rison WRIndianapolis Colts
Rd 3Kevin Robbins OTLos Angeles Rams

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 6 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1988 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1988 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠0–⁠19–⁠2–⁠14
Michigan State6–⁠1–⁠16–⁠5–⁠1
Illinois5–⁠2–⁠16–⁠5–⁠1
Iowa4–⁠1–⁠36–⁠4–⁠3
Indiana5–⁠38–⁠3–⁠120
Purdue3–⁠54–⁠7
Ohio State2–⁠5–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Northwestern2–⁠5–⁠12–⁠8–⁠1
Wisconsin1–⁠71–⁠10
Minnesota0–⁠6–⁠22–⁠7–⁠2

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