1971 Michigan State Spartans football team

1971 Michigan State Spartans football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	6–5 (3–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Duffy Daugherty (18th season)
Defensive coordinator	Denny Stolz (1st season)
MVP	Eric Allen
Captain	Eric Allen, Ron Curl
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium

1971 Big Ten Conference football standings

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

The 1971 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1971 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 18th season under head coach Duffy Daugherty, the Spartans compiled a 6–5 overall record (5–3 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in a tie for third place in the Big Ten Conference.

Four Spartans were selected by either the Associated Press (AP) or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1971 All-Big Ten Conference football team: running back Eric Allen (AP-1, UPI-1); offensive guard Joe DeLamielleure (AP-1, UPI-1); defensive tackle Ron Curl (AP-1, UPI-1); and defensive back Brad Van Pelt (AP-1, UPI-1).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 11	Illinois		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 10–0	42,083
September 18	at Georgia Tech*	No. 18	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 0–10	50,646
September 25	Oregon State*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 31–14	62,184
October 2	at No. 4 Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	L 2–14	59,075
October 9	No. 2 Michigan		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	L 13–24	80,093
October 16	at Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 28–31	74,847
October 23	Iowa		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 34–3	60,383
October 30	at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 43–10	63,399
November 6	at No. 9 Ohio State		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 17–10	86,616
November 13	Minnesota		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 40–25	61,419
November 20	at Northwestern	No. 19	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 7–28	30,012
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total • Michigan 7 3 0 14 24 Michigan State 0 7 0 6 13 Date: October 9 Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI Game attendance: 80,093

Scoring summary Q1 12:17 MICH Taylor 38 yard run (Coin kick) MICH 7–0 Q2 MICH Coin 27 yard field goal MICH 10–0 Q3 MSU Kolch 1 yard run (Shlapak kick) MICH 10–7 Q4 MICH Taylor 2 yard run (Coin kick) MICH 17–7 Q4 MICH Slade 7 yard run (Coin kick) MICH 24–7 Q4 MSU Allen 1 yard run (run failed) MICH 24–13

On October 9, 1971, Michigan State lost Michigan, 24–13, in front of 80,093 spectators, the largest crowd to that time in the history of Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. Billy Taylor rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Tom Slade started his first game at quarterback, completed three of nine passes for 45 yards, and rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown. With Michigan State athletic director Biggie Munn in critical condition following a stroke, the Spartans kept the game close. Michigan State trailed 10–7 late in the third quarter and had the ball at Michigan's 14-yard line. At that point, Michigan's Butch Carpenter forced a fumble that was recovered by Mike Keller. The Wolverines then sealed the game with a two-yard touchdown run by Taylor and a seven-yard touchdown run by Slade. Michigan kicker Dana Coin converted three point after touchdown attempts and kicked a 27-yard field goal.