“We were having success at that, and that’s my responsibility.”

In overtime, all it takes is 25 yards to get into the end zone, and with junior running back Javon Ringer averaging 15.4 yards per carry, he could have potentially dashed in on two attempts.

Instead, four straight incomplete passes thrown by junior quarterback Brian Hoyer nailed the coffin shut for the Spartans.

In his dreams

For Hoyer, the Northwestern game didn’t end after his final pass fell incomplete.

Late that night, he had nightmares about his pass in overtime where he threw it just out of reach of senior tight end Kellen Davis, who was wide open near the end zone.

“It was rough because I’d fall asleep, and I’d see that play in my dreams again and again,” Hoyer said. “Just hoping that in my dream, that maybe he caught the ball.”

In the end, it was a split-second decision that had him tossing and turning for hours in his bed.

Hoyer said his trigger finger was just a little too quick on the play, and had he waited and caught Davis in stride, it would have been a touchdown.

“I’ve thrown it to him a million times in practice and maybe I rushed it a little bit,” Hoyer said.

Tackling the problem

With Indiana on tap Saturday, the Spartans will be facing another spread offense, and they are stepping up efforts this week to ensure they can pull the Hoosiers to the turf.

“I think practice this week has to become as realistic as we can make it,” Dantonio said.

“But we also have to be smart and not get our guys hurt.”

The Spartans only made 68 percent of their tackles against Northwestern and that is not going to cut it, Dantonio said.

Against a spread offense, tackling in the open field is key and little adjustments such as a defender’s initial steps or alignment can make all the difference, he said.

“When you step on the field, there’s a game speed that the opposing team brings to the field,” Dantonio said.

“And you can only do so much in practice … we’re not going to sit there and tackle Javon Ringer in the open field.”