All the Spartans could do was watch as the final seconds ticked away in Saturday's 31-22 loss while No. 5 Penn State poured onto the field in celebration of a Big Ten Championship and BCS berth.
"I have to congratulate Penn State," MSU head coach John L. Smith said. "(They're a) heck of a football team. They deserved the championship."
Having lost six of the final seven games, MSU's season came to an end Saturday. For a second straight season, the Spartans will be watching holiday bowl games from the comfort of their living rooms.
"We stopped ourselves all year long," sophomore running back Jehuu Caulcrick said. "No one really stopped us but ourselves."
Penn State (10-1 overall, 7-1 Big Ten) went on an 11-play, 65-yard drive on the game's opening possession to take an early 3-0 lead off a field goal.
The Spartans (5-6, 2-6) attempt to answer the score was interrupted when junior quarterback Drew Stanton threw an interception.
The two teams engaged in defensive football and played a game of strategic field position until the Nittany Lions blocked a punt in the second quarter and returned if for an easy six points.
"The kicking play was a big, big play because right after that we came back and drove right down the field," Penn State head coach Joe Paterno said.
A 33-yard touchdown scramble from quarterback Michael Robinson was good enough to put Penn State up 17-0 going into the break as fans booed the Spartans' effort as they exited to the locker room.
The Spartans were able to score on their first possession of the second half on a 25-yard run from senior running back Jason Teague, but another Stanton interception put Penn State on the MSU four yard line, prompting another easy touchdown.
Stanton finished the game 23-of-36 for 233 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions.
"Too many mistakes in a game like that," Smith said. "In a big game like this, you can't afford to have the turnovers we had."
Junior wide receiver Jerramy Scott scored a rushing touchdown to put the Spartans back to within 10, but Penn State proved to be just too much for the Spartans to handle as the Nittany Lions cruised to their first Big Ten Championship since 1994.
Eric Fish can be reached at fisheric@msu.edu.
