# 1989 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 1989 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Spartans played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan and were coached by George Perles. The team finished the season 8–4 overall and 6–2 in conference play. The Spartans were invited to the 1989 Aloha Bowl where they defeated Hawaii, 33–13. The Spartans were ranked No. 16 in the final AP Poll and Coaches Poll.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 16 | 1:05 p.m. | Miami (OH)* | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | | W 49–0 | 66,474 |
| September 23 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 1 Notre Dame* | | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | CBS | L 13–21 | 59,075 |
| September 30 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 2 Miami (FL)* | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ABC | L 20–26 | 76,217 |
| October 7 | 2:05 p.m. | at Iowa | No. 24 | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | | W 17–14 | 67,700 |
| October 14 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 5 Michigan | No. 21 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (rivalry) | ABC | L 7–10 | 76,913 |
| October 21 | 12:30 p.m. | Illinois | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ESPN | L 10–14 | 76,216 |
| October 28 | 2:01 p.m. | at Purdue | | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | | W 28–21 | 41,402 |
| November 4 | 12:30 p.m. | at Indiana | | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN (rivalry) | ESPN | W 51–20 | 51,567 |
| November 11 | 1:00 p.m. | Minnesota | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | | W 21–7 | 73,259 |
| November 18 | 1:05 p.m. | Northwestern | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | | W 76–14 | 64,817 |
| November 25 | 2:05 p.m. | at Wisconsin | No. 25 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | | W 31–3 | 29,776 |
| December 25 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. No. 25 Hawaii* | No. 22 | Aloha StadiumHonolulu, HI (Aloha Bowl) | ABC | W 33–13 | 50,000 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | 24 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 16 |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | 19 т | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16 т |

## Game summaries
### At Notre Dame

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan St | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| Notre Dame | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
* Date: September 23
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. EDT
* Game attendance: 59,075
* TV: CBS
* Recap/Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
ND – Ricky Watters 2-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 4:54. Notre Dame 7–0. Drive: 14 plays, 72 yards, 6:16.
Second quarter
ND – Ricky Watters 53-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 9:10. Notre Dame 14–0.
MSU – John Langeloh 36-yard field goal, 2:54. Notre Dame 14–3.
MSU – John Langeloh 38-yard field goal, 0:00. Notre Dame 14–6.
Third quarter
MSU – James Bradley 30-yard pass from Dan Enos (John Langeloh kick), 6:36. Notre Dame 14–13.
Fourth quarter
ND – Anthony Johnson 1-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 8:16. Notre Dame 21–13. Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards.
Top passers
MSU – Dan Enos – 18/28, 200 yards, TD
ND – Tony Rice – 8/15, 90 yards
Top rushers
MSU – Hyland Hickson – 26 rushes, 84 yards
ND – Ricky Watters – 16 rushes, 89 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
MSU – Courtney Hawkins – 6 receptions, 83 yards
ND – Raghib Ismail – 2 receptions, 27 yards :

### Miami (FL)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Hurricanes | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 26 |
| Spartans | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 20 |

### Michigan

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Michigan St | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan
* Date: October 14, 1989
* Game time: 3:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 82 °F (28 °C)
* Game attendance: 76,913
* Referee: Ron Winter
* TV: ABC
* Box Score
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Michigan | Passing | Elvis Grbac | 8/15, 76 Yds, INT |
| Michigan | Rushing | Tony Boles | 22 Rush, 100 Yds |
| Michigan | Receiving | Greg McMurtry | 2 Rec, 33 Yds |
| Michigan St | Passing | Dan Enos | 21/31, 214 Yds, TD, 2 INT |
| Michigan St | Rushing | Blake Ezor | 27 Rush, 69 Yds |
| Michigan St | Receiving | Courtney Hawkins | 8 Rec, 89 Yds, TD |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | UM | MSU |
| 1 | 12:20 | 12 | 61 | 6:31 | Michigan | Leroy Hoard 1-yard touchdown run, J.D. Carlson kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 2 | 5:44 | 13 | 56 | 6:00 | Michigan | 35-yard field goal by J.D. Carlson | 10 | 0 |
| 4 | 9:51 | 8 | 52 | 3:16 | Michigan St | Courtney Hawkins 4-yard touchdown reception from Dan Enos, John Langeloh kick good | 10 | 7 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 10 | 7 |

### At Purdue

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | Total |
| Michigan St | 0 | 28 | 28 |
| Purdue | 0 | 21 | 21 |
at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
* Date: October 24, 1989
* Game attendance: 41,402
Courtney Hawkins set single game school receiving yardage record
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Michigan St | Passing | | |
| Michigan St | Rushing | | |
| Michigan St | Receiving | Courtney Hawkins | 7 Rec, 193 Yds, TD |
| Purdue | Passing | Eric Hunter | 18/26, 253 Yds, 3 TD, INT |
| Purdue | Rushing | | |
| Purdue | Receiving | | |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | MSU | PUR |
| 3 | | | | | Michigan St | Courtney Hawkins 80-yard touchdown reception from Dan Enos, kick good | 14 | 0 |
| 4 | | | | | Purdue | Calvin Williams -yard touchdown reception from Eric Hunter, Larry Sullivan kick good | 28 | 7 |
| 4 | | 5 | 69 | | Purdue | Rod Dennis 20-yard touchdown reception from Eric Hunter, Larry Sullivan kick good | 28 | 14 |
| 4 | | 2 | 41 | | Purdue | Abe Hoskins 34-yard touchdown reception from Eric Hunter, Larry Sullivan kick good | 28 | 21 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 28 | 21 |

### At Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan St | 7 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
* MSU: Ezor 3 run (Langeloh kick)
* MSU: Langeloh 23 FG
* WIS: Thompson 36 FG
* MSU: Ezor 1 run (Langeloh kick)
* MSU: Enos 7 run (Langeloh kick)
* MSU: Ezor 56 run (Langeloh kick)
* Attendance: 29,776
* Rushing: MSU Ezor 30-187; WIS Hunt 7-19
* Passing: MSU Enos 7-14-64; WIS Wilson 18-27-202
* Receiving: MSU Hawkins 2-23; WIS Miller 7-67

### Aloha Bowl (vs. Hawaii)
## 1990 NFL draft

The following players were selected in the 1990 NFL draft.
| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL team |
| Percy Snow | 1 | 13 | Linebacker | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Travis Davis | 4 | 85 | Nose tackle | Phoenix Cardinals |
| Harlon Barnett | 4 | 101 | Defensive back | Cleveland Browns |
| Bob Kula | 7 | 175 | Tackle | Seattle Seahawks |
| Jim Szymanski | 10 | 259 | Defensive end | Denver Broncos |
| Ventson Donelson | 12 | 309 | Defensive back | New England Patriots |