The momentum flipped in a split second, and Spartan Stadium was stunned. For the first time all season, the majority of fans stuck around through the end of the game just to be disappointed again, as MSU dropped its fifth consecutive game. 

Northwestern seized possession and never looked back after the turnover. Four chunk plays of 10 or more yards allowed the Wildcats to line up their own game-clinching field goal, which they drilled to win the game 24-21.

It was back-to-back disastrous endings for a program attempting to get back on its feet. Last week, the fault fell on the offense’s inability to convert on the two-point conversion. A week later, the blame fell on the special teams unit.

“Two weeks in a row now, we've ended up on the short end of games that you know we've got to coach better to be able to get over the hump to win those games,” head coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “We'll take a look at a lot of plays to date that were missed opportunities in all three phases.”

The pattern is quickly becoming impossible to ignore. MSU has had clear opportunities to win each of the last two games, only to watch those chances disappear on the final play.

Completely different circumstances led to the same result.

“I get paid to win, and we're not winning, so it starts and ends with me,” Fitzgerald said.

The impact of these losses is beginning to extend beyond the scoreboard. After another defeat, it’s up to the Spartans to search for answers, which they didn’t seem to have in their postgame interviews. 

Everyone was in shock: reporters, players and coaches included. Players were particularly crushed, as indicated by their concise answers and devastated body language. It’s the brutal reality of a five-game losing streak for a program that has come agonizingly close to ending games on the other side, only to watch another opportunity slip away.

For sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, the tight-margin losses make the defeats hurt even more. Either way, it’s his job to get the team refocused and ready to practice for the next game regardless of the previous result.

“Every loss stinks,” Milivojevic said. “Obviously, a close one like this stings a little more, but every loss, you never want to lose a game.”

The Spartans will look to turn frustration into motivation as they move forward. Yet, the more times MSU underwhelms late in games, the more it’s time to question the state of the locker room.

Fitzgerald and offensive captain Milivojevic share a similar sentiment of being along for the journey and solely focusing on improving week-to-week. All coaches and leaders say that, but it’s clear this group is getting better — it just needs to keep doing so.

“I know no one's gonna put their head down and not stop working,” Milivojevic said. “So I know we're gonna go back in and work and prepare to go win the next game.”

For a program trying to rebuild under Fitzgerald, the challenge is no longer simply getting into position to win. It is finding a way to finish.

MSU (2-5, 0-4 Big Ten) will travel from coast to coast to take on another ranked opponent, No. 12 UCLA (5-0, 3-0 Big Ten). Kickoff time is yet to be determined.