“It’ll never be over,” Dantonio said. “And that’s the thing that everybody needs to realize. For us to realize. That we’ll play again — we’ll play again.”

In the two teams’ 105th meeting, it came down to the final seconds, when Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons lined up on the left sideline and drilled a 38-yard field goal attempt to give the Wolverines their first victory over the Spartans in five years.

The Spartan defense held Michigan out of the end zone for all 60 minutes but Michigan hit four field goal attempts, just enough to edge the Spartans at home.

It was the first time since a 5-0 victory against Purdue in 1995 the Wolverines won a game at home without scoring a touchdown.

The game’s only touchdown came when junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell found redshirt freshman tight end Paul Lang in the back of the end zone for a two-yard pass that gave the Spartans a one-point lead in the third quarter.

Maxwell finished with 192 yards on 21-of-34 passing, with the touchdown and one interception on the day.

“They gave us exactly what we prepared for, exactly what we saw on tape,” Maxwell said of the Wolverine defense. “Give them credit though, they played hard. We did a good job there in the first half, but they gave us what we thought we were going to get. We just have to do a better job of executing.”

The biggest problem for the Spartans came on the timing of the lack of execution.

A 45-yard completion to junior wide receiver Bennie Fowler was wasted when senior kicker Dan Conroy missed a 38-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter.

For the most part, the Spartans were able to shut down Michigan’s dual-threat quarterback Denard Robinson, holding him to 52 yards on 19 carries.

But late in the fourth quarter, Robinson took a draw play 44 yards to MSU’s 31-yard line, and although Michigan didn’t come away with any points, the drastic change in field position had the Spartans starting from their own eight on the ensuing drive.

Finally, with two minutes remaining in the game, the Spartan defense needed to keep the Wolverines out of field goal range to secure a victory.

They were unable to, and Gibbons drove in the final nail of MSU’s coffin.

“If you look at it, it’s just one play here, one play there,” senior guard Chris McDonald said. “It could go either way, we could be standing here a different record, but we’re not, so you just have to take the positives out of it and respond.”

If the Spartans don’t respond soon, for the first time since Dantonio’s arrival, they could find themselves on the outside looking in come bowl selection time.

MSU needs at least six wins to become bowl eligible, and with games against Wisconsin, Nebraska and Northwestern looming, those two wins are far from guaranteed.

“We need to, as a team, to keep moving forward, just more of the same to get back,” junior linebacker Max Bullough said. “We have a big one coming up this weekend.”