# 1987 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 1987 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth year under head coach George Perles, the Spartans compiled a 9–2–1 record (7–0–1 in conference games), outscored opponents by a total of 241 to 136, and won the Big Ten championship. They defeated USC in the 1988 Rose Bowl and were ranked No. 8 in the final AP and UPI polls. The Spartans gained an average of 218.3 rushing yards and 88.8 passing yards per game. On defense, they held opponents to an average of 56.3 rushing yards and 150.5 passing yards per game.
Running back Lorenzo White tallied 1,459 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on 322 attempts, an average of 4.5 yards per carry. He was a consensus All-American, finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, and won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's most valuable player. He was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Other statistical leaders included quarterback Bobby McAllister (67 of 132 passing, 50.8%, for 1,042 yards), wide receiver Andre Rison (32 receptions, 694 yards, 21.7 yards per reception), and linebacker Todd Krumm (nine interceptions). Seven Michigan State players received first-team honors on the 1987 All-Big Ten Conference football team: White; Krumm; offensive tackle Tony Mandarich; center Pat Shurmur; linebacker Percy Snow; defensive back John Miller; and punter Greg Montgomery. Rison was named to the second team. Mandarich was named the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, and head coach George Perles was selected by the conference coaches as the Big Ten Coach of the Year.
The team played its home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. The Spartans played the first night game ever at the stadium on September 7, 1987.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 7 | 8:00 p.m. | No. 19 USC* | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ABC | W 27–13 | 77,922 |
| September 19 | 7:45 p.m. | at No. 9 Notre Dame* | No. 17 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | ESPN | L 8–31 | 59,075 |
| September 26 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 6 Florida State* | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | | L 3–31 | 76,887 |
| October 3 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 17 Iowa | | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | | W 19–14 | 67,700 |
| October 10 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 12 Michigan | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (rivalry) | ABC | W 17–11 | 77,424 |
| October 17 | 2:05 p.m. | at Northwestern | No. 19 | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | | W 38–0 | 29,113 |
| October 24 | 1:00 p.m. | Illinois | No. 14 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | | T 14–14 | 76,513 |
| October 31 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 15 Ohio State | No. 20 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC | W 13–7 | 89,915 |
| November 7 | 1:00 p.m. | Purdue | No. 15 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | | W 45–3 | 76,933 |
| November 14 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 16 Indiana | No. 13 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (rivalry) | ABC | W 27–3 | 76,411 |
| November 21 | 2:05 p.m. | at Wisconsin | No. 11 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | | W 30–9 | 45,385 |
| January 1, 1988 | 5:00 p.m. | vs. No. 16 USC* | No. 8 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | NBC | W 20–17 | 103,847 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| • Fighting Irish | 19 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 31 |

### Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #6 Seminoles | 0 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 31 |
| Spartans | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### At Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Spartans | 7 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| #17 Hawkeyes | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Michigan St | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
* MICH - Gillette 31 FG
* MSU - White 6 Run (Langeloh kick)
* MSU - White 2 Run (Langeloh kick)
* MICH - Morris 18 D. Brown (pass good)
* MSU - Langeloh 42 FG
* Passing: MICH D. Brown 12/26, 158 Yds, TD, 7 INT, MSU McAllister 5/7, 68 Yds
* Rushing: MICH Morris 31/108, MSU White 34/185, 2 TD
* Receiving: MICH Kolesar 4/65, MSU Bouyer 2/38

### At Northwestern

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan St | 10 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Dyche Stadium • Evanston, Illinois
* Date: October 17
* Game attendance: 29,113
* Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 18.
Game information :
First quarter
MSU – John Langeloh 31-yard field goal
MSU – Lorenzo White 1-yard run (John Langeloh kick)
Second quarter
MSU – Lorenzo White 6-yard run (John Langeloh kick)
Third quarter
MSU – Lorenzo White 1-yard run (John Langeloh kick)
MSU – Andre Rison 7-yard pass from Bobby McAllister (John Langeloh kick)
Fourth quarter
MSU – Blake Ezor 13-yard run (John Langeloh kick)
Top passers
MSU – Bobby McAllister – 5/16, 97 yards, TD, INT
NW – Mike Greenfield – 4/9, 50 yards, INT
Top rushers
MSU – Lorenzo White – 33 rushes, 187 yards, 3 TD
NW – Byron Sanders – 20 rushes, 26 yards
Top receivers
MSU – Andre Rison – 5 receptions, 96 yards, TD
NW – Marcus Lang – 1 reception, 26 yards :

### At Ohio State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan St | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Ohio St | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: October 31, 1987
* Game time: 3:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 60 °F (16 °C)
* Game attendance: 89,915
* Referee: Ron Winter
* TV: ABC
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Everett Ross 79-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 14:45. 'Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 1 play, 79 yards, 0:11.
MSU – Bobby McAllister 15-yard run (John Langeloh kick), 4:37. Tie 7–7. Drive: 3 plays, 54 yards, 0:50.
MSU – John Langeloh 40-yard field goal, 1:22. Michigan St 10–7. Drive: 4 plays, 13 yards, 1:48.
Second quarter
MSU – John Langeloh 20-yard field goal, 10:41. Michigan St 13–7. Drive: 9 plays, 41 yards, 4:10.
Top passers
MSU – Bobby McAllister – 4/12, 61 yards
OSU – Tom Tupa – 8/15, 137 yards, TD, 2 INT
Top rushers
MSU – Bobby McAllister – 22 rushes, 83 yards, TD
OSU – Carlos Snow – 8 rushes, 18 yards
Top receivers
MSU – Lorenzo White – 2 receptions, 21 yards
OSU – Alex Higdon – 6 receptions, 54 yards :

### Indiana

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Indiana | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Michigan St | 0 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 27 |
at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan
* Date: November 14
* Game attendance: 76,411
Game information :
Indiana
Kramme 11/26, 147 Yds, 3 INT
Thompson 10 Rush, 23 Yds
Jordan 3 Rec, 39 Yds
Michigan St
McAllister 5/5, 67 Yds, TD
White 56 Rush, 292 Yds, 2 TD
Rison 2 Rec, 41 Yds, TD :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | IND | MSU |
| 1 | | | | | Indiana | 49-yard field goal by Stoyanovich | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | | | | | Michigan St | White 5-yard touchdown run, Langeloh kick good | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | | | | | Michigan St | Rison 22-yard touchdown reception from McAllister, Langeloh kick good | 3 | 14 |
| 2 | | | | | Michigan St | 47-yard field goal by Langeloh | 3 | 17 |
| 3 | | | | | Michigan St | 21-yard field goal by Langeloh | 3 | 20 |
| 3 | | | | | Michigan St | White 1-yard touchdown run, Langeloh kick good | 3 | 27 |
| "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. | 3 | 27 |

### Rose Bowl vs. USC
## Personnel
## 1988 NFL draft

The following players were selected in the 1988 NFL draft. Team members Tony Mandarich, Andre Rison and Percy Snow were drafted in later years.
| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL Team |
| Lorenzo White | 1 | 22 | Running back | Houston Oilers |
| Greg Montgomery | 3 | 72 | Punter | Houston Oilers |
| David Houle | 6 | 145 | Guard | New York Giants |
| Tim Moore | 8 | 206 | Linebacker | Phoenix Cardinals |
| Mark Nichols | 8 | 209 | Nose Tackle | Pittsburgh Steelers |