It was the near-blocked punt that became a roughing the kicker penalty.

On a night when Notre Dame appeared to make every big play, the Spartans couldn’t manage to just get out of their own way.

By the end of the night, No. 11 Notre Dame (3-0) had delivered a 20-3 beatdown, pummeling the No. 21 MSU football team (2-1) to such a degree that crossing the 50-yard line became an accomplishment for the Spartans’ offense.

It was, by almost every statistical measure, the worst offensive performance in Mark Dantonio’s tenure as head coach, lowlighted by zero trips to the red zone, zero offensive plays of 20 yards or more, the fewest points scored at home since 1991 and the fewest points scored since Dantonio became the Spartans’ head coach.

MSU only had two plays in Notre Dame territory in the second half, junior running back Le’Veon Bell had just four second-half carries and junior receiver Bennie Fowler didn’t record a single catch.

With the national spotlight shining on East Lansing, it’s hard to consider that performance anything other than an embarrassment.

Since arriving on campus, Dantonio has raised the standard of excellence and expectation, and both he and his players said after Saturday’s game that the team’s performance was unacceptable.

But the biggest point that Dantonio made sure to hammer home, was that the helping of “humble pie” will be this football team’s defining moment.

“It’s always going to be about how you respond to diverse situations. That’s what this game should teach you, and that’s what it’s all about,” Dantonio said. “People have praised us and now they are going to say it’s an aberration. … The main focus will be what we do now and how we respond. We have to bring it next weekend.”

Make no mistake, the Spartans will bring it when they next take the field against a pitiful Eastern Michigan team (0-3), that was steamrolled by Purdue 54-16 on Saturday.

But once the nonconference season is over, and No. 16 Ohio State (3-0) comes to town in two weeks, that’s when MSU must find another level.

It was one year ago that a 31-13 whooping by Notre Dame showed the Spartans that to reach their goals, they simply needed to be better.

That team won eight of its next nine games on its way to the Big Ten
championship game, and that’s certainly the type of run that this team is capable of.

Don’t forget, as bad as MSU was this weekend, there isn’t a single Big Ten team ranked among the top 15 in the country.

This conference still is as much for the taking today as it was Saturday morning, and the Spartans’ opportunity to reach the Rose Bowl hasn’t been diminished.

“The message to our players is very simple; football can define you at times and that’s what this game will do,” Dantonio said. “We have to pick up the pieces. All of our goals are in front of us.”

There’s no doubt that last season’s loss to Notre Dame was the Spartans’ defining moment, and ultimately made them better.

It appears that moment has come again, and only time will tell if this team can respond.