The 1997 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of Michigan State University in the Big Ten Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Head coach Nick Saban was in his third season with the Spartans. Michigan State played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. The Spartans went 7–4 overall and 4–4 in conference play during the regular season.[1] The team played in the Aloha Bowl on December 25, 1997, where they were defeated 51–23 by the Washington Huskies.
Schedule[]
| Date
|
Time
|
Opponent#
|
Rank#
|
Site
|
TV
|
Result
|
Attendance
|
| September 6*
|
12:30 PM
|
Western Michigan
|
#25
|
Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI
|
ESPN+
|
W 42–10
|
72,317[2]
|
| September 13*
|
1:00 PM
|
Memphis
|
#23
|
Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI
|
|
W 51–21
|
72,131[3]
|
| September 20*
|
1:30 PM
|
at Notre Dame
|
#18
|
Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Megaphone Trophy)
|
NBC
|
W 23–7
|
80,225[4]
|
| October 4†
|
1:00 PM
|
Minnesota
|
#13
|
Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI
|
|
W 31–10
|
75,263[5]
|
| October 11
|
12:30 PM
|
at Indiana
|
#11
|
Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN (Old Brass Spittoon)
|
ESPN2
|
W 38–6
|
35,082[6]
|
| October 18
|
3:30 PM
|
at Northwestern
|
#11
|
Ryan Field • Evanston, IL
|
ABC
|
L 17–19
|
47,129[7]
|
| October 25
|
12:30 PM
|
#5 Michigan
|
#14
|
Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)
|
ESPN
|
L 7–23
|
79,687[8]
|
| November 1
|
3:30 PM
|
#9 Ohio State
|
#20
|
Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI
|
ABC
|
L 13–37
|
74,903[9]
|
| November 8
|
12:30 PM
|
at #24 Purdue
|
|
Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN
|
ESPN2
|
L 21–22
|
55,539[10]
|
| November 22
|
2:00 PM
|
at Illinois
|
|
Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL
|
|
W 27–17
|
30,087[11]
|
| November 29
|
1:00 PM
|
#4 Penn State
|
|
Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Land Grant Trophy)
|
ABC
|
W 49–14
|
73,623[12]
|
| December 25*
|
3:30 PM
|
vs. #21 Washington
|
#25
|
Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI (Aloha Bowl)
|
ABC
|
L 23–51
|
34,419[13]
|
| *Non-Conference Game. †Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
|
1998 NFL Draft[]
The following players were selected in the 1998 NFL Draft.
References[]
