1927 Michigan State Spartans football team

1927 Michigan State Spartans football
Conference	Independent
Record	4–5
Head coach	Ralph H. Young (5th season)
Captain	Paul M. Smith
Home stadium	College Field

1927 Midwestern college football independents records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Notre Dame			–					7	–	2	–	1
Detroit			–					7	–	2	–	0
Ball Teachers			–					5	–	2	–	1
Marquette			–					6	–	3	–	0
Haskell			–					5	–	3	–	1
Butler			–					4	–	3	–	1
John Carroll			–					3	–	2	–	3
Saint Louis			–					5	–	5	–	0
Lombard			–					4	–	4	–	0
Loyola (IL)			–					4	–	4	–	0
Michigan State			–					4	–	5	–	0
Northern Illinois State			–					1	–	4	–	1
Kent State			–					1	–	5	–	1
Valparaiso			–					1	–	5	–	0
Rankings from Dickinson System

The 1927 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State College as an independent during the 1927 college football season. In their fifth year under head coach Ralph H. Young, the Spartans compiled a 4–5 record and were outscored by their opponents 128 to 111.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	Kalamazoo	College Field East Lansing, MI	W 12–6
October 1	Ohio	College Field East Lansing, MI	W 27–0
October 8	at Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	L 0–21	27,864
October 15	Cornell (IA)	College Field East Lansing, MI	L 13–19
October 29	Detroit	College Field East Lansing, MI	L 7–24
November 5	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)	L 7–33
November 11	Albion	College Field East Lansing, MI	W 20–6
November 19	Butler	College Field East Lansing, MI	W 25–0
December 3	at NC State	Riddick Stadium Raleigh, NC	L 0–19
Homecoming

Game summaries

Michigan

Michigan State at Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan State 0 0 0 0 0 • Michigan 7 7 0 7 21 Date: October 27, 1927 Location: Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI

On October 8, 1927, Michigan State lost to Michigan by a 21-0 score. Michigan's first two touchdowns came on running plays by halfback Louis Gilbert and fullback George Rich, and the third came on a pass from quarterback Leo Hoffman to left end Bennie Oosterbaan.

NC State

Michigan State at NC State

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan State 0 0 0 0 0 • NC State 6 0 7 6 19 Date: December 3, 1927 Location: Riddick Stadium Raleigh, NC Game weather: Rain Sources:

In the season's final game, Michigan State traveled south to Raleigh to play NC State. On a muddy, waterlogged field, NC State won 19 to 0. The NC State team claims a Southern Conference title this year, with this contest arguably its biggest win. Their captain and hall of famer Jack McDowall was cited as the best player in this his final game, despite his only scoring play being a pass for an extra point.