Madison, Wis. - It began with a flash of brilliance, but as the season has carried on, MSU's hopes have dimmed.

Mistakes and injuries wore on the Spartans again as they lost their third straight game, this time a 56-21 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.

The loss likely dropped the Spartans (7-4 overall, 4-3 Big Ten) out of contention for a New Year's Day bowl game and also dropped them out of The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today top 25 polls.

"We got our tails kicked, right up between our shoulders," head coach John L. Smith said. "Not much more I can say about that. We weren't ready to play, and I have to take credit for that."

But the Spartans' main concern wasn't the polls. It was their pass coverage, especially against wide receiver Lee Evans. The Spartans sent several coverages at him, but none were effective, allowing the receiver to catch five touchdowns on 10 catches for 258 yards.

Evans' touchdown collection set a new school record and tied the Big Ten record of Minnesota's Omar Douglas in 1993.

"They just threw it up in the air, just threw it up and let him reach it," Smith said. "He couldn't do that on air, could he?"

Whether it was single coverage by either cornerbacks Roderick Maples, Darren Barnett or Ashton Watson or help from safeties Greg Cooper, Derron Ware or Jason Harmon, the coverages failed. Sophomore safety Eric Smith did not make the trip to Wisconsin (7-4, 4-3) after "blowing out a knee" in practice this week and will miss the rest of the season, according to John L. Smith.

Wisconsin quarterback Jim Sorgi did find other targets, but only sparingly, throwing for 380 yards on 16-for-24 passing and five touchdowns.

For the Badgers, the passing game set up the run game. With running back Anthony Davis out with an ankle injury and Booker Stanley injuring his left ankle in the first quarter and not returning, the Badgers had to depend on Dwayne Smith to carry the load.

Smith didn't let on that the Badgers were undermanned at the position, running for 211 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns.

"I've never had a day like this as a coach, and I hope I don't have anymore," Smith said. "As a coaching staff, we didn't prepare them to play and our kids didn't come to play with abandon. They didn't play with emotion, and that's our fault. I'm embarrassed, and I hope our football team is embarrassed."

MSU once again could not establish a running game, depending solely on the arm of senior quarterback Jeff Smoker. But Smoker could only muster so much, throwing for 207 yards and two touchdowns on 16-for-31 passing.

Smoker threw two interceptions in the game, attempting to hit receivers who were double-covered.

"I'm trying to make some things happen that maybe aren't there, throwing the long ball," Smoker said. "But I'm trying to make plays out there. That's what I want to do."

With the game out of hand at 35-7, Smoker did notch an impressive five-play drive, capped by sophomore receiver Aaron Alexander lying out for a 30-yard touchdown catch in the right corner of the end zone.

But the play was too little, too late as the Badgers countered with a seven-play, 62-yard touchdown drive of their own to close out the Spartans' comeback hopes.

MSU did reach the quarterback some, sacking Sorgi two times, but the Badgers reached the quarterback more, sacking Smoker five times.

"They did a good job of changing it up with the blitz, and they ran a lot of man things underneath and locked us up," Smith said. "They outcoached us, plain and simple.

"If you can't block three, there's no reason for them to bring five."

The Spartans were hurt by the absence of sophomore left tackle Stefon Wheeler, who normally would protect Smoker's blind side. But instead, the quarterback was hit several times, including a second-quarter sack that forced a fumble.

With Wheeler out with a neck injury, sophomore tackle Gordon Niebylski replaced him, only to be replaced himself by junior tackle Sean Poole, who played the majority of the game.

The Spartans now return home for their final game of the season against Penn State (3-8, 1-6) on Saturday.