Making matters worse, their third loss drops them in the BCS standings below No. 13 Michigan (10-2) and ties them with No. 19 Nebraska (9-3) — effectively ending MSU’s chances for a BCS bowl game bid and sending them to the Outback Bowl to take on No. 16 Georgia.

“I’d be lying to you if I told you I’m moving forward and feeling great and will be OK,” senior quarterback Kirk Cousins said Sunday. “It’s tough to come that close (to a Rose Bowl) two years in a row — it’s almost a tease.”

The Outback Bowl will be played on Jan. 2, 2012 in Tampa Bay, Fla., and the game marks head coach Mark Dantonio’s fifth-straight bowl appearance in his five seasons at MSU.

Despite having another bowl game appearance, the Spartans said they’re having a hard time understanding why they dropped so far in the BCS rankings when they’re still considered one of the top teams in the Big Ten and when other teams rose without playing this weekend.

“If we played a hard-fought game, we shouldn’t be out of a BCS bid,” senior wide receiver B.J. Cunningham said. “(Wisconsin) won the Big Ten, but I feel like we deserve a BCS bowl bid — period.”

The BCS standings are generated by two polls — the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and the Harris Interactive College Football Poll — and a computer ranking. They each count as a third of a team’s BCS score and are averaged for the team’s rank to determine national championship game participants, automatic qualifiers and at-large bids.

Along with the BCS national championship game and the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Orange Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl are BCS-supported games.

In addition to Wisconsin — who will take on Oregon at the Rose Bowl — Michigan jumped above MSU in the BCS standings and will play No. 11 Virginia Tech at the Sugar Bowl.

After MSU’s loss Saturday, players expressed concern for the team falling back nationally after participating in the conference championship game.

But MSU athletics director Mark Hollis said it’s hard to criticize a system such as the BCS without having a solution to offer.

“For the Big Ten, this is the first opportunity to take two teams to a championship game — arguably the best in the conference — and have one of those that lose get a setback,” Hollis said Sunday.
“It has been the norm at other conferences that have championship games, and it’s a hard pill to swallow.”

Despite the disappointing finish Saturday night, Cousins said he can’t believe how far MSU has come, and is now at the point where the Spartans want more than just a bowl game.

“It’s funny that we were sitting here this morning disappointed that we’re ranked … 12th in the country (by The Associated Press) and disappointed that we’re playing in a New Year’s Day-type bowl game on ABC,” Cousins said.

The Spartans said their spirits were raised Sunday evening at the team’s banquet at Kellogg Center.
They were able to set their disappointment aside and reflect on how much they have accomplished this season.

Among those achievements, they said they want to add a bowl game victory — which would be the first since the 2001-02 season — when the Spartans defeated Fresno State, 44-35, at the Silicon Valley Football Classic.

For a senior class that has had many first or first-since accomplishments, a bowl game win would be at the top, Cunningham said.

“It’s going to be a fun experience to get down in Tampa, play a good team in the SEC and come out with a win,” he said.

“Our seniors have never won a bowl game. Been there four years straight, and now this fifth year, (we’ve) got to get here and win one.”