Wikipedia

1975 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 1975 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 1975 Big Ten football season. In their third and final season under head coach Denny Stolz, the Spartans compiled a 7–4 record (4–4 in conference games), finished in a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 222 to 167. In four games against ranked opponents, they lost to No. 3 Ohio State and No. 8 Michigan and defeated No. 19 Notre Dame and No. 8 Notre Dame.[1][2]

1975 Michigan State Spartans football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record7–4 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorAndy MacDonald (3rd season)
MVPLevi Jackson
Captains
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
Seasons
← 1974
1976 →
1975 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Ohio State $8–0–011–1–0
No. 8 Michigan7–1–08–2–2
Michigan State4–4–07–4–0
Illinois4–4–05–6–0
Purdue4–4–04–7–0
Wisconsin3–4–14–6–1
Minnesota3–5–06–5–0
Iowa3–5–03–8–0
Northwestern2–6–03–8–0
Indiana1–6–12–8–1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

On offense, the Spartans gained an average of 264.9 rushing yards and 82.9 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 191.2 rushing yards and 102.2 passing yards per game.[3] The individual statistical leaders included quarterback Charlie Baggett with 854 passing yards, Levi Jackson with 1,063 rushing yards, and Eugene Byrd with 10 receptions for 266 receiving yards.[3] Levi Jackson was selected as the team's most valuable player.[4]

Two Michigan State players were selected by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1975 All-Big Ten Conference football team: tight end Mike Cobb (AP-2, UPI-1); and defensive back Tommy Hannon (AP-1, UPI-1).[5] [6][7]

Michigan State was placed on three years of probation in January 1976 for recruiting and other rules violations.[8] Stolz was asked to resign as the team's head coach in March 1976.[9]

The team played its home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 13No. 3 Ohio StateNo. 11
L 0–2180,383[10]
September 20No. 19 Miami (OH)*
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 14–1361,444[11]
September 27NC State*
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 37–1559,111[12]
October 4at No. 8 Notre Dame*
W 10–359,075[13]
October 11No. 8 MichiganNo. 15
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
L 6–1679,776[14][15]
October 18at MinnesotaNo. 17
W 38–1539,202[16]
October 25IllinoisdaggerNo. 16
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
L 19–2166,223[17]
November 1at Purdue
L 10–2057,104[18]
November 8at Indiana
W 14–631,930[19]
November 15Northwestern
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 47–1454,432[20]
November 22at Iowa
W 27–2342,300[21]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[22]

Roster

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1975 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 16 Charlie Baggett Sr
TE 89 Mike Cobb Jr
RB 48 Jim Earley So
WR 21 Dane Fortney Sr
WR Kirk Gibson Fr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DT 88 Larry Bethea So
DB 45 Tom Hannon Jr
DT 47 Mel Land So
LB 37 Paul Rudzinski So
DT 95 Greg Schaum Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 2 Tom Birney So
K 8 Hans Nielsen So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injured Injured
    • Redshirt Redshirt

    Game summaries

    edit

    Notre Dame

    edit
    Michigan State at #8 Notre Dame
    Team 1 234Total
    • Michigan State 0 037 10
    Notre Dame 0 003 3
    Scoring summary
    3MSUNielsen 37 yard field goalMSU 3-0
    4NDReeve 35 yard field goalTied 3-3
    43:50MSULevi Jackson 4 yard run (Nielsen kick)MSU 10-3

    [23]

    References

    edit
    1. ↑ "1975 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
    2. ↑ "2025 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. p. 204. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
    3. 1 2 "1975 Michigan State Spartans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
    4. ↑ 2025 Media Guide, p. 300.
    5. ↑ "Ohio State, Michigan dominate all-Big Ten selections". Daily Illini. December 3, 1975.
    6. ↑ "OSU Puts 7, U-M 5 On All-Big 10 Teams". The Argus-Press. December 2, 1975.
    7. ↑ "Buckeyes dominate All-Big Ten squad". The Bryan Times (UPI story). November 25, 1975. p. 8.
    8. ↑ Lynn Henning (January 27, 1976). "Stolz feels NCAA penalties too harsh". The Lansing State Journal. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
    9. ↑ "MSU wooing Washington's James? Stolz, Smith asked to resign". The Lansing State Journal. March 16, 1976. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
    10. ↑ "Buckeyes win touted Big Ten opener 21–0". Rapid City Journal. September 14, 1975. Retrieved September 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    11. ↑ "Miami outplays Spartans but loses on extra-point miss". The Ann Arbor News. September 21, 1975. Retrieved September 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    12. ↑ "Spartans overwhelm NC State". Lansing State Journal. September 28, 1975. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
    13. ↑ "Notre Dame tumbles". St. Petersburg Times. October 5, 1975. Retrieved September 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    14. ↑ Marcia Merker (October 12, 1975). "Michigan humbles Spartans, 16-6: Runners power Blue in second half surge". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 8 – via Bentley Historical Library.
    15. ↑ Charlie Vincent (October 12, 1975). "U-M Rolls in 4th Quarter To Turn Back MSU, 16-6". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 7C – via Newspapers.com.
    16. ↑ "MSU shatters Gopher jinx, 38–15". Lansing State Journal. October 19, 1975. Retrieved September 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    17. ↑ "Illinois upsets Michigan State, 21–19". Santa Cruz Sentinel. October 26, 1975. Retrieved September 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    18. ↑ "Purdue slams Spartans". The Muskegon Chronicle. November 2, 1975. Retrieved September 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    19. ↑ "Spartans overcome mistakes, win 14–6". Battle Creek Enquirer. November 9, 1975. Retrieved September 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    20. ↑ "Northwestern buried by Spartans, 47–14". The Indianapolis Star. November 16, 1975. Retrieved September 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    21. ↑ "Baggett directs MSU win". The South Bend Tribune. November 23, 1975. Retrieved September 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    22. ↑ 2011 Michigan State football media guide.
    23. ↑ "Spartan Veer Upsets Irish, 10-3." Palm Beach Post. 1975 Oct 5.
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