The 1980 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State University in the 1980 Big Ten Conference football season. The Spartans finished in ninth place in the Big Ten Conference (Big Ten), compiled a 3–8 overall record (2–6 against Big Ten opponents), and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 278 to 221.^[1][2] The team's .273 winning percentage was the worst in program history since the winless 1917 season.^[3] The team played its home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

In January 1980, Michigan State hired Frank "Muddy" Waters as its new head football coach after Darryl Rogers resigned to take over as Arizona State's head coach. Waters had played for Michigan State from 1946 to 1949 and had been a head coach at Hillsdale College (1954–1973) and Saginaw Valley State (1975–1979).^[4]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback John Leister with 1,559 passing yards, Steve Smith with 667 rushing yards, Ted Jones with 568 receiving yards, and placekicker Morten Andersen with 57 points.^[5] Punter Ray Stachowicz was selected by both the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press International (UPI) as a first-team player on the 1980 All-Big Ten Conference football team.^[6][7][8] Several Michigan State players also ranked among the Big Ten leaders in various statistical categories, including the following:

• Morten Andersen ranked third in the Big Ten with 12 field goals made and a 66.7 field goal percentage, and seventh with 56 points scored.^[9]
• John Leister ranked fourth in the Big Ten with 247 pass attempts and 14 interceptions, and fifth with 1,559 passing yards and 1,658 total yards.^[9]
• Thomas Morris ranked second with 185 punt return yards and third with 7.1 yards per punt return.^[9]
• Steve Smith ranked fourth with nine touchdowns from scrimmage and sixth with 180 plays from scrimmage and 54 points scored.^[9]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 13	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 17–20	46,377
September 20	at Oregon*	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	L 7–35	30,431
September 27	Western Michigan*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 33–7	75,123
October 4	No. 7 Notre Dame*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	L 21–26	76,821
October 11	at Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	L 23–27	105,263
October 18	Wisconsin	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 7–17	76,173
October 25	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 25–36	69,231
November 1	No. 9 Ohio State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 16–48	77,153
November 8	Northwestern	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 42–10	60,157
November 15	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 30–12	30,329
November 22	Iowa	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 0–41	55,123
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel