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Michigan State Spartans |
Southern Cal Trojans © |
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Played September 29, 1978 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, California |
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Teams' Belt Records
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Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
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W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
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| Michigan State | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | ||||||||
| Southern Cal © | 3 | 14 | 2 | 1 | .853 | 6 | 1 | 1 | .813 | 6 | 1 | 0 | .857 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
Previous Belt Meetings: None
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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Michigan State |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
9 |
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Southern Cal |
7 |
7 |
16 |
0 |
30 |
The 1-1 Michigan State Spartans coached by Darryl Rogers traveled to Los Angeles to meet the 3rd ranked, 3-0 Southern Cal Trojans of coach John Robinson. Southern Cal's All-American RB Charles White rushed for 2 touchdowns & QB Paul McDonald threw 2 touchdown passes as the Trojans defeated the Spartans 30-9 to retain The Belt. Midway through the 1st quarter, Michigan State took a 3-0 lead when PK Morten Andersen hit a 38-yard field goal. Late in the quarter, Southern Cal took the lead when McDonald threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to TE James Hunter. On their next drive, the Trojans took a 14-3 lead as White scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. Southern Cal dominated the 3rd quarter getting a 35-yard field goal from PK Frank Jordan, a 50-yard touchdown pass from McDonald to WR Calvin Sweeney, & White’s 3-yard touchdown run giving the Trojans a 30-3 advantage. The only points of the 4th quarter came when Michigan State's QB Ed Smith threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to RB Michael Hans. McDonald finished with 111 yards passing with 2 touchdowns but also 2 interceptions. Smith threw for 141 yards with a touchdown & 3 interceptions in the loss. Southern Cal finished the season 12-1; Pac-10 Champions & ranked 2nd nationally while the Spartans finished 8-3, Big Ten Co-Champs & ranked 12th nationally. Michigan State would play for The Belt again in 1982.
