1971 Michigan State Spartans football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record6–5 (3–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorDenny Stolz (1st season)
MVPEric Allen
CaptainEric Allen, Ron Curl
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
1971 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 6 Michigan $ 8 –0 –011 –1 –0
Northwestern 6 –3 –07 –4 –0
Ohio State 5 –3 –06 –4 –0
Michigan State 5 –3 –06 –5 –0
Illinois 5 –3 –05 –6 –0
Wisconsin 3 –5 –04 –6 –1
Minnesota 3 –5 –04 –7 –0
Purdue 3 –5 –03 –7 –0
Indiana 2 –6 –03 –8 –0
Iowa 1 –8 –01 –10 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1971 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 18th season under head coach Duffy Daugherty, the Spartans compiled a 6–5 overall record (5–3 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in a tie for third place in the Big Ten Conference.[1][2]

Four Spartans were selected by either the Associated Press (AP) or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1971 All-Big Ten Conference football team: running back Eric Allen (AP-1, UPI-1); offensive guard Joe DeLamielleure (AP-1, UPI-1); defensive tackle Ron Curl (AP-1, UPI-1); and defensive back Brad Van Pelt (AP-1, UPI-1).[3][4]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 11Illinois
W 10–042,083
September 18at Georgia Tech*No. 18
L 0–1050,646
September 25Oregon State*
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 31–1462,184
October 2at No. 4 Notre Dame*
L 2–1459,075
October 9No. 2 Michigan
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
L 13–2480,093
October 16at Wisconsin
L 28–3174,847
October 23Iowadagger
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 34–360,383
October 30at Purdue
W 43–1063,399
November 6at No. 9 Ohio State
W 17–1086,616
November 13Minnesota
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 40–2561,419
November 20at NorthwesternNo. 19
L 7–2830,012
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Michigan

1 234Total
• Michigan 7 3014 24
Michigan State 0 706 13
Scoring summary
Q112:17MICHTaylor 38 yard run (Coin kick)MICH 7–0
Q2MICHCoin 27 yard field goalMICH 10–0
Q3MSUKolch 1 yard run (Shlapak kick)MICH 10–7
Q4MICHTaylor 2 yard run (Coin kick)MICH 17–7
Q4MICHSlade 7 yard run (Coin kick)MICH 24–7
Q4MSUAllen 1 yard run (run failed)MICH 24–13

On October 9, 1971, Michigan State lost Michigan, 24–13, in front of 80,093 spectators, the largest crowd to that time in the history of Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. Billy Taylor rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Tom Slade started his first game at quarterback, completed three of nine passes for 45 yards, and rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown.[5] With Michigan State athletic director Biggie Munn in critical condition following a stroke,[6] the Spartans kept the game close. Michigan State trailed 10–7 late in the third quarter and had the ball at Michigan's 14-yard line. At that point, Michigan's Butch Carpenter forced a fumble that was recovered by Mike Keller. The Wolverines then sealed the game with a two-yard touchdown run by Taylor and a seven-yard touchdown run by Slade. Michigan kicker Dana Coin converted three point after touchdown attempts and kicked a 27-yard field goal.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Michigan State Yearly Results (1970-1974)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  2. ↑ "2015 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. p. 146. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  3. ↑ "All Big Ten Selected". Daily Illini. November 24, 1971.
  4. ↑ "Unbeaten Michigan Dominate UPI Team Picked by Coaches: Ohio State Places 7 On All-Big Ten Teams". The Times Recorder, Zanesville, OH. November 25, 1971. p. 9D.
  5. 1 2 Charlie Vincent (October 10, 1971). "It's U-M, 24–13". Detroit Free Press. p. 1C, 4C – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ↑ "Munn Shows Improvement". Detroit Free Press. October 10, 1971. p. 4C – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.