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1989 Michigan State

8–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by George Perles, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1989, game by game: won vs. Miami (OH) 49–0; lost at No. 1 Notre Dame 13–21; lost vs. No. 2 Miami 20–26; won at Iowa 17–14; lost vs. No. 5 Michigan 7–10; lost vs. No. 13 Illinois 10–14; won at Purdue 28–21; won at Indiana 51–20; won vs. Minnesota 21–7; won vs. Northwestern 76–14; won at Wisconsin 31–3; won vs. No. 25 Hawai’i 33–13+62−8Won 49–0 vs. Miami (OH)+49Miami (OH)Lost 13–21 at No. 1 Notre Dame-8No. 1 Notre DameLost 20–26 vs. No. 2 Miami-6No. 2 MiamiWon 17–14 at Iowa+3IowaLost 7–10 vs. No. 5 Michigan-3No. 5 MichiganLost 10–14 vs. No. 13 Illinois-4No. 13 IllinoisWon 28–21 at Purdue+7PurdueWon 51–20 at Indiana+31IndianaWon 21–7 vs. Minnesota+14MinnesotaWon 76–14 vs. Northwestern+62NorthwesternWon 31–3 at Wisconsin+28WisconsinWon 33–13 vs. No. 25 Hawai’i+20No. 25 Hawai’i
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsMiami (OH)W 49–⁠086%
Sep 23at1Notre DameL 13–⁠2125%
Sep 30vs2MiamiL 20–⁠2633%
Oct 7atIowaW 17–⁠1445%
Oct 14vs5MichiganL 7–⁠1047%
Oct 21vs13IllinoisL 10–⁠1462%
Oct 28atPurdueW 28–⁠2171%
Nov 4atIndianaW 51–⁠2040%
Nov 11vsMinnesotaW 21–⁠777%
Nov 18vsNorthwesternW 76–⁠1491%
Nov 25atWisconsinW 31–⁠381%
Dec 25Bowls & playoffvs25Hawai’iAloha BowlW 33–⁠1355%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Hawai’i 33–⁠13 in the Aloha Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 24
  2. Wk 7: 21
  3. Wk 13: 25
  4. Wk 14: 22
  5. Wk 15: 22
  6. Wk 16: 22
  7. Final: 16

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 1989.

Lombardi AwardPercy Snow, LB; also the Butkus

2 consensus All-AmericansBob Kula, OT; Percy Snow, LB

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 16
Points
356–⁠163
Coach
George Perles
Elo
1669 +80 this season
SP+ rating
19.8 No. 15 of 103; offense No. 32, defense No. 12
SRS
15.0 No. 16 of 106 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Morris Watts
Defensive coordinator
Norm Parker
Captains
Harlon Barnett, Bob Kula and Steve Montgomery
Most valuable player
Percy Snow

Drafted in 1990

The 1990 draft
Rd 1Percy Snow LBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 4Travis Davis DTPhoenix Cardinals
Rd 4Harlon Barnett DBCleveland Browns
Rd 7Bob Kula OTSeattle Seahawks

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1989 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1989 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠010–⁠27
Illinois7–⁠110–⁠210
Ohio State6–⁠28–⁠424
Michigan State6–⁠28–⁠416
Minnesota4–⁠46–⁠5
Iowa3–⁠55–⁠6
Indiana3–⁠55–⁠6
Purdue2–⁠63–⁠8
Wisconsin1–⁠72–⁠9
Northwestern0–⁠80–⁠11

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