The proud tradition of Michigan State football, one that saw consensus National Championships in 1952 and 1965 and what perhaps was considered to be at least part of the national crown after the 1966 Game Of The Century 10-10 tie with Notre Dame, had fallen on hard times. With College Football Hall Of Fame coaches Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty and great players George Saimes, Bubba Smith, Clinton Jones, and George Webster among so many others dotting their lifetime roster, the Spartan program had fallen into a valley of mediocrity marked by a few disastrous seasons in the post-Daugherty years between 1973 and 1983. With a total of ten victories in three years, the school reached out to former Spartan player and assistant coach George Perles. Perles had played for Daugherty in 1958 and became a graduate assistant coach after suffering a knee injury that ended his playing career. He returned to MSU as an assistant after a successful high school coaching reign in Detroit and in 1972 embarked on a fantastic ten years with the great Pittsburgh Steeler teams. As defensive line coach, defensive coordinator, and assistant head coach to Chuck Noll, Perles was credited with developing the Steel Curtain Defense, the great line of the Joe Greene era, and Pro Football Hall Of Fame linebackers Jack Ham and Jack Lambert. After becoming the first head coach of the USFL Philadelphia Stars, Perles returned to Michigan State determined to instill the "old" Spartan attitude of winning and playing non-stop, head-hunting football from whistle to whistle. He changed the uniforms to an old-school look, placing a large white Michigan State "S", a white one-inch center stripe and one-and-a-half-inch white player numerals on both the front and rear of the traditional green shell. He brought back the "Northwestern-style" sleeve stripes commonly used in the 1950's and '60's by many teams and identified with the great Spartan teams of the past. Most of all, he brought back winning with his second squad going to the 1984 Cherry Bowl, the '85 team to the Hall Of Fame Classic, and the 1987 squad to the Rose Bowl.
  

Picked for no better than middle-of-the-pack going into the 1987 season, Michigan State surprised everyone with their 9-2-1 record that held up for the Big Ten title with a 7-0 conference mark. With Lorenzo White coming off of injury, four close losses, a new starting quarterback in Bobby McAllister, and the absence of a bowl bid to mark 1986, the Rose Bowl berth was no more than a distant dream as '87 kicked off. McAllister to speedy receiver Andre Rison and the return of White to top-form led to the turnaround. Center Pat Shurmur and tackle Tony Mandarich manhandled opponents up front and the defense was anchored by top-of-the-charts linebacker Percy Snow, resulting in an opening day victory over Southern Cal and a team that grew stronger game by game.