Leading No. 18 Nebraska 24-21, head coach Mark Dantonio had to make a choice.

Facing a fourth-and-two from the Huskers’ 39-yard-line, Dantonio could choose to either go for the first down, or punt it away and hope this time, his defense could hold the lead late in the game.

Dantonio elected to punt, and the Cornhuskers drove 80 yards to score a game-winning touchdown in the last six seconds, toppling the Spartans 28-24.

“As a player, you always want to go for it,” Bell said. “Whether it’s fourth-and-14 or fourth-and-one, you always feel like you want to go for it, you always feel like you can get it. I feel like the way we were running the ball, I definitely felt like I would have gotten it.”

Hindsight is always 20/20, and it’s not certain the Spartans would have made it past the sticks in the first place.

But what is certain is MSU now has fallen to 5-5 overall (2-4 Big Ten), having lost by four points or less for the fourth time this season.

“As painful as it is, and how heartbreaking it is, it doesn’t end the season,” junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell said. “This is not the last game; we still have two to play.”

Maxwell was nine-of-27 passing on the day for 123 yards and a 46-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wideout Tony Lippett.

MSU’s offense combined for 361 total yards, its highest output since Oct. 6, when MSU bested Indiana on the road.

But it wasn’t enough to stop the Cornhuskers and quarterback Taylor Martinez, who rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns while also throwing for two scores and 160 yards.

The biggest heartbreaker might have come on a controversial pass interference called on junior cornerback Darqueze Dennard — who had two interceptions on the day, one of which was a touchdown return called back on a personal foul call — on Nebraska’s final drive.

The call gave Nebraska a first and goal at MSU’s five yard-line, and Martinez found wide receiver Jamal Turner for the game-winning score two plays later.

After the game, junior linebacker Max Bullough — who finished with 10 tackles and one tackle for loss ­— was asked if losing close games was a learning experience for his team.

“We’ve had enough learning experiences, in my opinion,” he said. “I think we need to start finishing the game on our part, whatever play that is and we need to finish the game.”

The Spartans now have two weeks before they take the field again against Northwestern on Nov. 17.