1986 Michigan State Spartans football team

1986 Michigan State Spartans football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	6–5 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	George Perles (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Morris Watts (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Nick Saban (4th season)
MVP	Mark Ingram, Dave Yarema
Captain	Shane Bullough, Dave Yarema
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium

1986 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0			11	–	2	–	0
No. 7 Ohio State +	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
No. 16 Iowa	5	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Minnesota	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Michigan State	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Indiana	3	–	5	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Illinois	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Purdue	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Wisconsin	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	9	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1986 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth season under head coach George Perles, the Spartans compiled a 6–5 overall record (4–4 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in fifth place in the Big Ten Conference.

Six Spartans were recognized by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) on the 1984 All-Big Ten Conference football team: receivers Andre Rison (AP-1; UPI-1) and Mark Ingram Sr. (AP-2); defensive linemen John Budde (AP-2) and Mark Nichols (AP-2); linebacker Shane Bullough (AP-2; UPI-1); and punter Greg Montgomery (AP-1; UPI-1).

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	10:18 p.m.	at Arizona State*	No. 20	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	TBS	L 17–20	70,689
September 20	2:42 p.m.	No. 20 Notre Dame*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	CBS	W 20–15	79,895
September 27	1:00 p.m.	Western Michigan*	No. 19	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 45–10	65,907
October 4	2:42 p.m.	No. 11 Iowa	No. 17	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	CBS	L 21–24	75,102
October 11	2:42 p.m.	at No. 4 Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	CBS	L 6–27	106,141
October 18	1:49 p.m.	at Illinois		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	CBS	W 29–21	75,083
October 25	1:00 p.m.	Purdue		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 37–3	77,063
November 1	8:00 p.m.	at Minnesota		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN		W 52–23	57,408
November 8	12:40 p.m.	Indiana		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	TNT	L 14–17	64,973
November 15	2:00 p.m.	at Northwestern		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		L 21–24	26,711
November 22	12:40 p.m.	Wisconsin		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	TNT	W 23–13	60,285
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Personnel

1986 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR Willie Bouyer RB Blake Ezor TE Rich Gicewicz OL Mark Hill OL David Houle WR 11 Mark Ingram Sr RB Craig Johnson OL Tony Mandarich QB 8 Bobby McAllister So RB James Moore RB 21 Bobby Morse Sr RB Joe Pugh WR 1 Andre Rison So OL Doug Rogers OL Mike Sargent C 60 Pat Shurmur Jr OL Vince Tata RB 34 Lorenzo White Jr WR Bernard Wilson QB Dave Yarema (C)	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB Dean Altobelli DB 36 Harlon Barnett Fr DL Joe Bergin DB Paul Bobbitt DL John Budde LB 41 Shane Bullough Sr DB Maurice Chamberlain DL Travis Davis DB Todd Krumm LB Kurt Larson DB John Miller LB Tim Moore DL Mark Nichols DB Ron Rowe LB 48 Percy Snow Fr LB Rob Stradley DL Jim Szymanski DL Dave Wolff	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Chris Caudell Sr P 23 Greg Montgomery Jr	Head coach George Perles Coordinators/assistant coaches Nick Saban – Defensive coordinator Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Season summary

Purdue

Lorenzo White rushed for 79 yards on 19 carries in part-time duty in return from injury while the Spartans' defense intercepted four passes. White ran for first half touchdowns of three and one yards, respectively.