# 1997 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 1997 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1997 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by third-year head coach Nick Saban, the Spartans compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the Big Ten. Michigan State was invited to the Aloha Bowl, where they lost, 51–23, on December 25 to Washington. The team played home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 6 | 12:30 p.m. | Western Michigan* | No. 25 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ESPN Plus | W 42–10 | 72,317 |
| September 13 | 1:00 p.m. | Memphis* | No. 21 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | | W 51–21 | 72,131 |
| September 20 | 1:30 p.m. | at Notre Dame* | No. 17 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | NBC | W 23–7 | 80,225 |
| October 4 | 1:00 p.m. | Minnesota | No. 12 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | | W 31–10 | 75,263 |
| October 11 | 12:30 p.m. | at Indiana | No. 11 | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN (rivalry) | ESPN2 | W 38–6 | 35,082 |
| October 18 | 3:30 p.m. | at Northwestern | No. 12 | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | ABC | L 17–19 | 47,129 |
| October 25 | 12:30 p.m. | No. 5 Michigan | No. 15 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (rivalry, College GameDay) | ESPN | L 7–23 | 79,687 |
| November 1 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 9 Ohio State | No. 21 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ABC | L 13–37 | 74,903 |
| November 8 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 24 Purdue | | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | ESPN2 | L 21–22 | 55,539 |
| November 22 | 2:00 p.m. | at Illinois | | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | | W 27–17 | 30,087 |
| November 29 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 4 Penn State | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (rivalry) | ABC | W 49–14 | 73,623 |
| December 25 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. No. 21 Washington* | No. 25 | Aloha StadiumHalawa, HI (Aloha Bowl) | ABC | L 23–51 | 34,419 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | 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 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 25 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 17 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 21 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 25 | — |
| Coaches | — | | — | 23 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | — |

## Game summaries
### Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Michigan St | 14 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| Notre Dame | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Michigan State's first win versus Notre Dame since 1986.

## Coaching staff

* Nick Saban, head coach
* Gary Tranquill, offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach
* Bobby Williams, running backs coach
* Charlie Baggett, wide receivers coach
* Pat Shurmur, tight ends coach, special teams coordinator
* Jim Bollman, offensive line coach
* Dean Pees, defensive coordinator, inside linebackers coach
* Todd Grantham, defensive line coach
* Mark Dantonio, defensive backs coach
* Greg Colby, defensive assistant

## 1998 NFL Draft

The following players were selected in the 1998 NFL draft.
| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL team |
| Flozell Adams | 2 | 38 | Offensive tackle | Dallas Cowboys |
| Ike Reese | 5 | 142 | Linebacker | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Scott Shaw | 5 | 143 | Offensive guard | Miami Dolphins |