1989 Michigan State Spartans football team

1989 Michigan State Spartans football
Aloha Bowl champion
Aloha Bowl, W 33–13 vs. Hawaii
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 16
Record	8–4 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	George Perles (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Morris Watts (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Norm Parker (2nd season)
MVP	Percy Snow
Captains	Harlon Barnett Bob Kula Steve Montgomery
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium

1989 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 7 Michigan $	8	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 10 Illinois	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Michigan State	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
No. 24 Ohio State	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Indiana	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Iowa	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Purdue	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Wisconsin	1	–	7	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Northwestern	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1989 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Spartans played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan and were coached by George Perles. The team finished the season 8–4 overall and 6–2 in conference play. The Spartans were invited to the 1989 Aloha Bowl where they defeated Hawaii, 33–13. The Spartans were ranked No. 16 in the final AP Poll and Coaches Poll.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	1:05 p.m.	Miami (OH)*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 49–0	66,474	^[1]
September 23	2:30 p.m.	at No. 1 Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	CBS	L 13–21	59,075	^[2]
September 30	3:30 p.m.	No. 2 Miami (FL)*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ABC	L 20–26	76,217	^[3]
October 7	2:05 p.m.	at Iowa	No. 24	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 17–14	67,700	^[4]
October 14	3:30 p.m.	No. 5 Michigan	No. 21	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–10	76,913	^[5]
October 21	12:30 p.m.	Illinois		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN	L 10–14	76,216	^[6]
October 28	2:01 p.m.	at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 28–21	41,402	^[7]
November 4	12:30 p.m.	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)	ESPN	W 51–20	51,567	^[8]
November 11	1:00 p.m.	Minnesota		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 21–7	73,259	^[9]
November 18	1:05 p.m.	Northwestern		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 76–14	64,817	^[10]
November 25	2:05 p.m.	at Wisconsin	No. 25	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 31–3	29,776	^[11]
December 25	3:30 p.m.	vs. No. 25 Hawaii*	No. 22	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI (Aloha Bowl)	ABC	W 33–13	50,000	^[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	24	21	—	—	—	—	—	25	22	22	22	16
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	19 т	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	16 т

Game summaries

Miami (OH)

At Notre Dame

Michigan State Spartans (1–0) at #1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan St	0	6	7	0	13
Notre Dame	7	7	0	7	21

at Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana

Date: September 23
Game time: 2:30 p.m. EDT
Game attendance: 59,075
TV: CBS
Recap/Box Score

Game information

First quarter

ND – Ricky Watters 2-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 4:54. Notre Dame 7–0. Drive: 14 plays, 72 yards, 6:16.

Second quarter

ND – Ricky Watters 53-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 9:10. Notre Dame 14–0.
MSU – John Langeloh 36-yard field goal, 2:54. Notre Dame 14–3.
MSU – John Langeloh 38-yard field goal, 0:00. Notre Dame 14–6.

Third quarter

MSU – James Bradley 30-yard pass from Dan Enos (John Langeloh kick), 6:36. Notre Dame 14–13.

Fourth quarter

ND – Anthony Johnson 1-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 8:16. Notre Dame 21–13. Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards.

Top passers

MSU – Dan Enos – 18/28, 200 yards, TD
ND – Tony Rice – 8/15, 90 yards

Top rushers

MSU – Hyland Hickson – 26 rushes, 84 yards
ND – Ricky Watters – 16 rushes, 89 yards, 2 TD

Top receivers

MSU – Courtney Hawkins – 6 receptions, 83 yards
ND – Raghib Ismail – 2 receptions, 27 yards

Miami (FL)

#2 Miami (FL) at Michigan State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Hurricanes	3	7	10	6	26
Spartans	3	7	3	7	20

Date: September 30
Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan
Game attendance: 76,217
Referee: Jim Kemerling
TV announcers (ABC): Gary Bender, Dick Vermeil, Cheryl Miller

Scoring summary

1	7:56	MIA	Huerta 32-yard field goal	MIA 3–0

1	3:59	MSU	Langeloh 46-yard field goal	Tied 3–3

2	5:32	MSU	Enos 19-yard run (Langeloh kick)	MSU 10–3

2	2:14	MIA	Carroll 5-yard pass from Torretta (Huerta kick)	Tied 10–10

3	11:52	MIA	Johnson 38-yard run (Huerta kick)	MIA 17–10

3	6:42	MIA	Huerta 27-yard field goal	MIA 20–10

3	2:48	MSU	Langeloh 27-yard field goal	MIA 20–13

4		MSU	Harlon Barnett 35-yard interception return	Tied 20–20

4	5:04	MIA	Huerta 27-yard field goal	MIA 23–20

4	0:54	MIA	Huerta 52-yard field goal	MIA 26–20

^[13]

At Iowa

Michigan

#5 Michigan Wolverines (3–1) at #21 Michigan State Spartans (2–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan	7	3	0	0	10
Michigan St	0	0	0	7	7

at Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan

Date: October 14, 1989
Game time: 3:30 p.m.
Game weather: Sunny, 82 °F (28 °C)
Game attendance: 76,913
Referee: Ron Winter
TV: ABC
Box Score

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Michigan	Passing	Elvis Grbac	8/15, 76 Yds, INT
	Rushing	Tony Boles	22 Rush, 100 Yds
	Receiving	Greg McMurtry	2 Rec, 33 Yds
Michigan St	Passing	Dan Enos	21/31, 214 Yds, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Blake Ezor	27 Rush, 69 Yds
	Receiving	Courtney Hawkins	8 Rec, 89 Yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	UM	MSU
1	12:20	12	61	6:31	Michigan	Leroy Hoard 1-yard touchdown run, J.D. Carlson kick good	7	0
2	5:44	13	56	6:00	Michigan	35-yard field goal by J.D. Carlson	10	0
4	9:51	8	52	3:16	Michigan St	Courtney Hawkins 4-yard touchdown reception from Dan Enos, John Langeloh kick good	10	7
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							10	7

Illinois

At Purdue

Michigan State Spartans (2–4) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–5)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Michigan St	0	28	28
Purdue	0	21	21

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Date: October 24, 1989
Game attendance: 41,402
^[14]

Courtney Hawkins set single game school receiving yardage record^[15]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Michigan St	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving	Courtney Hawkins	7 Rec, 193 Yds, TD
Purdue	Passing	Eric Hunter	18/26, 253 Yds, 3 TD, INT
	Rushing
	Receiving

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	MSU	PUR
3					Michigan St	Courtney Hawkins 80-yard touchdown reception from Dan Enos, kick good	14	0
4					Purdue	Calvin Williams -yard touchdown reception from Eric Hunter, Larry Sullivan kick good	28	7
4		5	69		Purdue	Rod Dennis 20-yard touchdown reception from Eric Hunter, Larry Sullivan kick good	28	14
4		2	41		Purdue	Abe Hoskins 34-yard touchdown reception from Eric Hunter, Larry Sullivan kick good	28	21
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							28	21

At Indiana

Minnesota

Northwestern

At Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan St	7	3	7	14	31
Wisconsin	0	3	0	0	3

MSU: Ezor 3 run (Langeloh kick)
MSU: Langeloh 23 FG
WIS: Thompson 36 FG
MSU: Ezor 1 run (Langeloh kick)
MSU: Enos 7 run (Langeloh kick)
MSU: Ezor 56 run (Langeloh kick)
Attendance: 29,776
Rushing: MSU Ezor 30-187; WIS Hunt 7-19
Passing: MSU Enos 7-14-64; WIS Wilson 18-27-202
Receiving: MSU Hawkins 2-23; WIS Miller 7-67

^[16]

Aloha Bowl (vs. Hawaii)

Personnel

1989 Michigan State Spartans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR		James Bradley
RB		Tico Duckett
QB	`4`	Dan Enos	Jr
RB	`26`	Blake Ezor	Sr
QB		John Gieselman
RB		Ty Hallock
WR		Courtney Hawkins
RB		Hyland Hickson
OL		Jim Johnson
OL		Matt Keller
OL		Bob Kula
TE		Carlos Marino
RB		Steve Montgomery
OT	`77`	Eric Moten	Jr
OL		Jeff Pearson
TE		Kurt Prins
RB		Rob Roy
RB		Scott Selzer
WR		Brian Smolinski
QB		Randy Vanderbush
OL		Roosevelt Wagner
TE	`29`	Duane Young	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`36`	Harlon Barnett	Sr
LB		Tony Briningstool
LB		Chuck Bullough
DL		Travis Davis
DB		Ventson Donelson
LB		Dixon Edwards
DB		Alan Haller
DB	`9`	Mike Iaquaniello	Jr
LB	`51`	Carlos Jenkins	Jr
DL		Bill Johnson
LB		Brian Jones
DB		Todd Murray
DL		Tim Ridinger
LB	`48`	Percy Snow	Sr
DE	`91`	Jim Szymanski	Sr
DE	`66`	Matt Vanderbeek	Sr
DL		Chris Willertz
DL		Bobby Wilson
DB		Freddie Wilson

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P		Josh Butland
K		John Langeloh

Head coach

George Perles

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

1990 NFL draft

The following players were selected in the 1990 NFL draft.^[17]

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL team
Percy Snow	1	13	Linebacker	Kansas City Chiefs
Travis Davis	4	85	Nose tackle	Phoenix Cardinals
Harlon Barnett	4	101	Defensive back	Cleveland Browns
Bob Kula	7	175	Tackle	Seattle Seahawks
Jim Szymanski	10	259	Defensive end	Denver Broncos
Ventson Donelson	12	309	Defensive back	New England Patriots

References

"Nasty Spartans; MSU mugs Miami of Ohio in rainy season opener, 49–0". The Muskegon Chronicle. September 17, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
"Notre Dame digs deep to bury Michigan St". The Houston Post. September 24, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
"Hurricanes, backup QB tip Spartans". Wisconsin State Journal. October 1, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
"Hawks go down trying". The Gazette. October 8, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
"U-M defense stymies MSU". The Saginaw News. October 15, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
"Spartan's fumble sets up Illini victory". The Saginaw News. October 22, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
"Boiler comeback too late". The Republic. October 29, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
"MSU wallops Indiana". The Grand Rapids Press. November 5, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
"Spartans bid Gophers aloha in fourth, 21–7". Detroit Free Press. November 12, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
"MSU buries Wildcats". Lansing State Journal. November 19, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
"UW leis down for Spartans". The Post-Crescent. November 26, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
"Spartans smash Hawaii". Quad-City Times. December 26, 1989. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
"Miami 26, Michigan State 20". United Press International. September 30, 1989. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
Bedics, Mark (October 30, 1989). "Rally Leaves Spartans Grateful". The Purdue Exponent Archives. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
Bedics, Mark (October 30, 1989). "Rally Leaves Spartans Grateful". The Purdue Exponent Archives. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
Ocala Star-Banner. "Saturday's Summaries." pg. 8C. 1989-Nov-26. Retrieved 2023-Jan-17.
"1990 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2007.