Three plays later, Michigan scored a touchdown, turning what could have been MSU’s spark into fuel for a 31–20 Wolverines victory — their fourth straight in the rivalry.

"We got opportunities twice on their side of the field, fourth down, don’t get it done, and it’s not good enough to overcome some of the penalties we inflicted on ourselves," MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said. "I was told he was offsides. And I’ve seen that call go either way."

Simply put, a controversial offsides call was the difference between the Spartans’ offense taking over at the MSU 40 and the Wolverines retaining the football with a third-down attempt just three yards away. That extra snap negatively affected the Spartans beyond merely gaining possession — it cost them their defensive captain.

Junior linebacker Jordan Hall found himself lying on the turf waiting for trainers, suffering an injury that would sideline him for the rest of the quarter during a play many believe should not have even happened.

As Hall was taken for an X-ray, the Wolverines scored 14 unanswered points, digging a deeper hole for an MSU offense that struggled to find consistency.

Questionable or not, penalties played a major role in the outcome, holding Michigan State back with self-inflicted wounds. By the time the clock hit 0:00, the Spartans had committed 12 penalties for 105 yards — double Michigan’s six. That was unfamiliar territory for a team that entered the game averaging just five penalties per contest, tied for 27th nationally.

"We didn’t want the extra penalties past the whistle, but didn’t obviously execute well within the whistle," Smith said. 

The offense, specifically, was undisciplined — responsible for nine of the 12 penalties, multiple coming at critical points.

The most notable came with 10:24 left in the second quarter. Standing at the 2-yard line, the Spartans suddenly moved 15 yards backward after a personal foul on redshirt senior running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver. What could have been devastating was bailed out by a Michigan pass interference call on the next play, restoring the lost yardage and gifting MSU a first down.

The decision to call Bell offsides will be a play Spartan fans won’t forget. After one questionable call, MSU went from having the ball in a 10–7 game to trailing 17–7 and losing its defensive captain for the final 12 minutes of the quarter. But there were other deciding moments the Spartans cannot blame on anyone but themselves.

Junior quarterback Aidan Chiles’ fumble on the opening drive was one of them, handing the ball back to Michigan at the MSU 34 just three plays after kickoff.

"We just couldn’t execute as well as we could," Chiles said. "There’s a few plays I wish we got back, but you know you can’t change the past."

Regardless, a disappointing rivalry loss, one many Spartans feel should have gone their way, turns into an endless game of what-ifs. What if Bell was ruled onside? What if Chiles didn’t struggle early? What if Smith made different decisions?

The only answer that matters is the final score: 31–20 on the night of Oct. 25.

"We’re not frustrated," Hall said. "We’re just going to keep attacking each week. Of course we want things to go differently, but if you go into that with frustration things will never get done."

The Spartans will look to break their five-game losing streak Saturday as they travel to face Minnesota on the road.