As the ball sailed through the air just out of the reach of Aaron Alexander's hands and as Michigan linebacker Scott McClintock came up with it, MSU's dreams were dashed.
Hopes for an improbable run at the Bowl Championship Series ended when senior quarterback Jeff Smoker's last-ditch Hail Mary try from 49 yards away was intercepted and the Wolverines won, 27-20.
The loss dropped MSU (7-2 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) to No. 14 in The Associated Press Poll and No. 15 in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25. U-M (8-2, 5-1) is now No. 8 in both polls.
While several players, including Smoker, thought they saw Alexander come down with the football, the sophomore receiver fell to the ground, head sunken and distraught. But fellow receiver Matt Trannon, a sophomore, patted him on the head and helped him get up, signifying the teamwork that MSU has preached all season.
"He was just telling me to get up off the ground," Alexander said. "I was just trying to explain to him how much it hurt. Them winning on our field really hurt."
While the Spartans came back to make the game close in the end in front of the 75,129 fans at Spartan Stadium, they were run over for much of the game by Michigan running back Chris Perry, who ran a school-record 51 times for 219 yards in his last trip to Spartan Stadium.
"I didn't want to go 0-for-our-whole-career here at this stadium, at Michigan State," Perry said. "We had a tough game two years ago when they won a game with a second left. I mean zero."
Perry was so tired near the end of the game that he began leaning on the referee and having a conversation.
"I was just asking him if he could speed the game clock up for me," Perry said. "He said he couldn't do that."
The Wolverines went out to a 20-3 lead in the third quarter before MSU's offense started clicking.
Following a 26-yard touchdown pass from Michigan quarterback John Navarre to tight end Andy Mignery, the Spartans scored on a 73-yard touchdown pass from Smoker to sophomore receiver Agim Shabaj on the next play.
Later in the game, with MSU trailing 27-13 and Michigan looking to run the clock, the Spartans blitzed junior bandit Robert Flagg, who forced Navarre to fumble the football. Junior defensive end Clifford Dukes picked up the ball and went 65 yards for a touchdown.
From that point, Michigan attempted to run out the clock, gaining three first downs before being forced to punt with only 1:12 remaining, and the Spartans failed to score.
With sophomore safety Eric Smith out with a sprained shoulder and sophomore Derron Ware playing in his place, the Spartans coaches thought they could not take the risk of blitzing many players, instead double-teaming Wolverines receivers. But this allowed for U-M to run for more than 200 yards, while Navarre still threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-31 passing.
"They're the best personnel, without a doubt, that we've seen," head coach John L. Smith said. "They're going to run it, and at what point do we pull somebody out from being able to bracket a guy or double a guy? It becomes a great chess match."
Wide receiver Braylon Edwards led the Wolverines with 103 yards on seven catches and two touchdown receptions.
On the other side, MSU struggled to run the football and control the game, rushing for only 36 yards and getting nearly doubled in time of possession, holding the ball for only 20 minutes and 22 seconds of the 60 minutes played.
"I was real antsy," Smoker said. "As an offense, you just want to get out there and play.
"To see a guy chip away like that, little by little, is real frustrating," he said of Perry's record-breaking day.
While they struggled to move the ball early, Smoker still completed 21-of-40 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown. The final play of the game was the first interception that Smoker had thrown in 22 quarters of play, spanning more than 200 passes thrown.
"I hate to lose to anybody," Smoker said. "It's been a long time since we lost a game, and there is such a difference between winning and losing. I just hate this feeling."
Staff writer Joe Guillen contributed to this report.
Jon Styf can be reached at styfjona@msu.edu.
