Then they left, and about 10 minutes later, surprisingly returned, this time with their smiles accompanied by Big Ten Legends Division Champion hats proudly displayed on their heads, a trophy and MSU Athletic Director Mark Hollis and head coach Mark Dantonio.

Along with celebrating the Old Brass Spittoon, Michigan had defeated Nebraska and although the No. 12 MSU football team maintained all week they didn’t want or need the Wolverines help, they got it. And by result, the Spartans were penciled in to play in the inaugural Big Ten Championship game.

“I want to congratulate our senior class, winningest senior class in the history of Michigan State football,” said Dantonio taking the podium with the trio behind him. “They are doing things that haven’t been done in a long time here and they’re doing things that need to be done for the first time in this modern era of football in the new Big Ten.”

Beyond that, Dantonio wanted to keep the focus on Northwestern because if the Spartans sleep through the regular season finale the division trophy could be sent to Ann Arbor and shared with Michigan.

For the Spartans, the actual game wasn’t about division titles. Giving it little thought it could be won Saturday, the game was about starting fast and enjoying the last moments of their time in front of the home crowd.

Cousins made sure that would be the case, as he connected with Cunningham twice on the first two drives and once for a 63-yard touchdown.

On a play-action pass, Cousins found Cunningham wide open for the score and without breaking a sweat MSU’s all-time leader in receptions had eclipsed 100 receiving yards and put his team up 10-0.

“I couldn’t ask for a better way to get sent out,” said Cunningham, who finished with two touchdown grabs and 132 yards. “My senior day, my family being here pre-game, every catch I had and you just have to soak it all in.”

Keshawn Martin wasn’t about to allow Cunningham to completely steal the show. After all, it was Martin’s final home game as well, so when Cousins targeted him for the first time of the day, he made it count, sliding past a defender and zipping into the end zone. The 47-yard touchdown strike made it 17-0 before the first quarter ended.

Martin had more damage to do two drives later. Following an Indiana field goal and a 67-yard kick return by Nick Hill, Martin rushed around the right end for his second score.

“He took some, what looked like average plays and made them spectacular,” Roushar said. “You could see his suddenness… Most of those are run, pass checks for us and Kirk did a good job getting the ball out to him and Keshawn just took over.”

It would be all seniors, all day, with a little dose of junior running back Edwin Baker — who also scored twice — mixed in.

That trend continued right up until the final minutes of the third quarter. With an 86-yard interception return by Johnny Adams putting the game way out of reach for the Hoosiers, 48-3, each Spartan senior began to take their curtain call.

Cousins, who finished with three touchdowns and 272 passing yards, came out first, followed by Foreman, who took a handoff on his final play and will finish his career averaging three yards, then Cunningham, Martin and Nichol.

Cousins said it was something they talked about all week, starting fast and trying to have their “basketball team” moment, when coach Tom Izzo subs each player out individually to get an ovation from the fans.

“We wanted to be able to leave this stadium — especially with all the accomplishments that this class has had — and to do it in style,” Cousins said.

The final win added even more to the class of 2011’s already long list of accolades. Now, the winningest class in school history ends their final two seasons having not lost a home game in two years.

“It’s an honor,” senior safety Trenton Robinson said. “A lot of people can’t say they have done that. … It’s a great feeling to go out on top and to know we’re going to be playing in the championship game.”