“I guess this trumped that game, too,” Dantonio said with a smile. “You play Michigan in-state and when you win away, it’s special.”

For the first time since 1967, MSU (6-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) has beaten the Wolverines (5-1, 1-1) in three consecutive games. And Dantonio, who coached from the press box for the first time since suffering a heart attack Sept. 19, said Saturday’s game is something he’ll never forget.

“We’ve done something that hasn’t been done in 47 years, winning three in a row,” Dantonio said. “That’s something you can talk about the rest of your life. Not just as a head football coach, but as a coach and person in this program.”

Through the first quarter, it appeared as though Saturday’s game was going to be the exact opposite of the high-scoring affair most expected.

Although U-M had amassed 138 yards, the Wolverines only had three points. MSU also struggled with only 51 total yards on offense and no scores.

U-M threatened to score on the first drive of the game, marching to the MSU 10-yard line. But when quarterback Denard Robinson dropped back to pass on third-and-four, junior safety Trenton Robinson stepped in front of his pass and intercepted it in the endzone.

“That was huge,” defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said. “You can bend, but we didn’t break, and we ended up making a play when we needed to.

“That’s the game of football.”

Trenton Robinson’s interception was the the first of three by the Spartans’ defense, which became the first unit to hold Heisman hopeful Denard Robinson in check.

Coming into the game averaging 382.6 yards of total offense per contest, Denard Robinson had almost 100 yards less than that (285) Saturday.

“I think we did an outstanding job as far as limiting them, especially (Denard Robinson),” Dantonio said. “He’s a very exciting player. In a blink of an eye he can score on you, but we made it tough on him a little bit.”

Senior linebacker Greg Jones said it didn’t take anything fancy to slow down Robinson, simply emphasizing the importance of everyone on the defense knowing their assignment.

“Coming out, we just told everybody to do your job,” Jones said. “Take care of your job, and everything will take care of itself.”

In the second quarter, the Spartans’ offense began to follow suit with the defense.

Taking a page out of the U-M playbook, MSU scored on two big plays in the second stanza. The first score, a 61-yard run by sophomore Edwin Baker, gave MSU its first lead of the game less than four minutes into the second quarter.

The Wolverines responded immediately with a nine-play, 60-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Robinson to to tight end Martell Webb, giving U-M a 10-7 advantage.

On the ensuing MSU drive, the Spartans were faced with 3rd-and-15 from their own 22-yard line. Junior quarterback Kirk Cousins hit junior reciever Keshawn Martin short of the marker on the play, but Martin ended up running for a 17-yard gain and a first down.

Three plays later, Cousins faked a handoff to Martin and handed the ball off to freshman running back Le’Veon Bell, who scampered 41 yards for the score and a 14-10 lead.

“We kind of played a little chess match there early and saw what they were potentially giving us, and we thought we’d have a couple things to go against it,” offensive coordinator Don Treadwell said. “It worked well in our favor this particular game.”

With a 17-10 lead entering the second half, thanks to sophomore kicker Dan Conroy’s 38-yard field goal in the final minute of the first half, MSU came out firing on both sides of the ball.

The Spartans scored on yet another long play when sophomore quarterback Kirk Cousins hit senior receiver Mark Dell for 41-yard touchdown pass on the first possession of the half.

When it looked like the Wolverines were going to respond, sophomore cornerback Johnny Adams intercepted another Denard Robinson pass in the endzone.

MSU marched 93 yards in 10 plays on the next drive, scoring on an eight-yard run by sophomore running back Larry Caper to take a 31-10 lead.

U-M would score one more touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, but after blowing a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter in 2007, Jones said the Spartans were determined to finish the game.

“I don’t think any of us wanted to feel that again,” Jones said. “I think that was motivation toward the end to just win.”

Denard Robinson’s third interception of the day and another field goal from Conroy with seven minutes left in the game ensured the win for MSU, which is 6-0 for the first time since 1999.

“I felt like this was a winners take all type of game, as far as bragging rights if you wanna brag,” Dantonio said. “But also as far as the conference goes, as far as moving up in the polls and doing the difference things that we had to do.”

While U-M posted a season low in total offense (377) and points (17), MSU put up a season high of 536 yards.

The Spartans’ offense was led by Baker, who rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown.

Baker’s running mates — Bell and Caper — each added a touchdown of their own.

Through the air, Cousins led MSU with 284 yards and a touchdown. Dell led all receivers with 93 yards on three catches and a touchdown, while Martin had six catches for 69 yards.

Defensively, senior cornerback Chris L. Rucker had an interception to go with Adams and Trenton Robinson, who also had seven tackles.

Dantonio now moves to 3-1 against the Wolverines since coming to MSU as a head coach.

And although his return to the team brought a lot of attention, he said it’s all about the players after the win.

“Great win by our football team, great program win,” Dantonio said. “I’m so very proud of our football team and what they’ve been able to accomplish.”