Michigan State vs. Michigan 2012: Bowl game in question for Spartans after yet another close loss

Michigan State let a fourth-quarter lead slip away Saturday, as they fell to Michigan on a last second field goal, 12-10.

The loss drops Michigan State to 4-4 on the season and 1-3 in the conference. They have now lost four out of their last six contests. The story of the season has been losing the close games. Excluding the 17-point loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 15, the Spartans' losses have come by a total of six points, one of which was in double-OT.

At one point ranked No. 10 in the nation, Michigan State's hopes for the 2012 season have dropped from a BCS bowl bid to simply a bowl bid. SB Nation's Michigan State blog, The Only Colors, writes that a bowl game is by no means a given at this point.

A bowl game is seriously in question at this point.

Wisconsin seems a likely loss...That means we need two out of three from Nebraska, Northwestern, and at Minnesota. Thanks to home field (and Minnesota being the weakest of the bunch), we're probably going to be slight favorites in all three - but we haven't handled close games well for much of the year, and our offense doesn't seem to be capable of making it not a close game. Getting two out of four is probably not better than a 60% chance right now.

As mentioned by The Only Colors, the Spartans' next game comes against the Wisconsin Badgers on the road next Saturday. Wisconsin has won five of their last six games, including a 38-13 victory over Minnesota this past week.

Michigan State vs. Michigan 2012: Drew Dileo's big catches help Wolverines end losing streak

After the Michigan Wolverines ended a four-game losing streak to the Michigan State Spartans with a 12-10 win Saturday, Michigan blog Maize 'N Brew had a short and sweet reaction to the win:

Drew Dileo is the man. That is all.

Dileo had four catches for 92 yards, including a catch on the final drive that set up Michigan's winning field goal with the Wolverines trailing, 10-9.

Michigan State blog The Only Colors, meanwhile, pointed to the many opportunities the Spartans missed out on that would've potentially made Michigan need more than a field goal on the final drive of the game:

The missed FG. Getting stopped at the goal line late and settling for the FG. (I think it was the right call at that point - get the lead and put your faith in the defense to make it hold up - but as with the FG that was missed, going for it isn't indefensible either.) Dropped long balls that could have gone for touchdowns or at the very least set up another FG attempt or two. The incomplete pass that stopped the clock and gave Michigan an extra timeout to work with when we were trying to grind clock after forcing the punt. Any one of those could have swung the game.

Michigan came into the game ranked No. 23, and improved to 5-2 with the win. Michigan State is now .500 on the season at 4-4, essentially eliminated from the Big Ten title picture. The team still needs two wins in the last four games just to be bowl-eligible.

Mark Dantonio glad Michigan State no longer has to face Denard Robinson

Michigan State has done a good job against Denard Robinson during his career. That doesn't mean he's been easy to prepare for.

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VIDEO: Michigan State vs. Michigan highlights

Highlights from Michigan's 12-10 win over Michigan State on Saturday.

Michigan State vs. Michigan 2012 results: Wolverines get 12-10 victory

It was slow-going, and defense ruled the day as the Michigan Wolverines kicked a field goal in the final seconds to triumph over the Michigan State Spartans, 12-10, on Saturday.

Early in the third quarter, Michigan State embarked on a 10-play, 80-yard drive that was capped off by a 2-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Maxwell to Paul Lang. That looked like it would be the deciding factor in the game, but Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson had something to say about that.

After being stuffed for most of the game, Robinson hit Drew Dileo for a 20-yard reception, which took the ball to the MSU 21-yard line. With nine seconds to go, Brendan Gibbons kicked a game-deciding 38-yard field goal to seal the win for Michigan. They drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty due to the ensuing celebration, but they sealed the win, regardless.

The stat-line was very similar for both teams on offense, with Robinson and Maxwell putting up similar numbers through the air. It was about as close a game as you could get in that regard, but Michigan's consistency overcame Michigan State's ability to find the end zone in the third.

Box Score Hero: Neither offense really put up big numbers in this game and as such, neither side had a player who truly stood out. Denard Robinson is usually the guy to go in this section and he had the yardage to back it up, with 96 yards on the ground and 163 yards through the air, but it was still a "down" performance for the generally prolific quarterback.

Rankings Ramifications: Both teams have been ranked by the AP this season, but both are unranked as of now. With a win, the Wolverines are in a much better place and stand a bigger chance of getting back into the rankings.

But Did They Cover? Michigan was favored to win this game by as much as 10 points, so if you happened to go with that, you didn't do so well. The over/under hovered around 45 points as well, so that was not a smart bet either. Defense ruled the day and it shows in the final score.

Next Week's Schedule: The Wolverines will take on Nebraska on ESPN 2 Oct. 27, while the Spartans will continue their road trip in Wisconsin on the same day.

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This story originally appeared on SBNation.com.

Michigan State vs. Michigan score: Spartans take 7-6 lead heading into 4th quarter

After being silent through the entire first half of play, the Michigan State Spartans got on the board in the third quarter, and took the lead in doing so. After forcing a punt on Michigan's opening drive to start the second half, the Spartans drove 80 yards off of 10 plays, with a drive capped off by an Andrew Maxwell touchdown pass to Paul Lang. A 19-yard reception by Aaron Burbridge and a 14-yard rush from Keith Mumphery moved the drive along and set up the touchdown.

That put the game at 7-6, the score heading into the fourth quarter.

Michigan's points came on a pair of field goals, and their offense has looked very off, which can be attributed to a lack of rushing success by dual-threat quarterback Denard Robinson. He's thrown for 128 yards, but has rushed for just 53 yards off of 16 carries. When he has that kind of stat line, Michigan generally does not do well.

Still, Michgian has more rushing yards on the day, with 95 to Michigan State's 64, but neither offense has really been able to get rolling in this one.

Michigan State vs. Michigan score: Wolverines lead, 6-0, at halftime

The Michigan Wolverines struck first in their rivalry game against the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday. After a scoreless first quarter, the Wolverines took their third possession and turned it into an 11-play, 77-yard drive that ended in a Brendan Gibbons field goal from 24 yards out.

That put the score at 3-0 and, after a 3-and-out on the following drive, they managed to put up another field goal inside the final two minutes of the half to take a 6-0 lead into halftime.

Michigan State had an opportunity to put points on the board following Michigan's first field goal, when Andrew Maxwell rebounded from a sack for a loss of 10 yards by hitting Bennie Fowler on a 45-yard completion. They then ran the ball six straight times, including five from Le'Veon Bell, and were forced to try to kick the field goal from the Michigan 21-yard line. Dan Conroy missed the 38-yard field goal so the game stayed at 3-0 in favor of Michigan.

Denard Robinson has been passing the ball well, with 108 yards off of eight completions, with just 13 attempts. He's tried to run it much more, with 12 carries, but he's been stuffed a lot, with just 17 yards.

Michigan State vs. Michigan score: Game tied with no points after first quarter

Through one quarter of play, neither the Michigan State Spartans nor the Michigan Wolverines have managed to put points on the board. Michigan State took the opening kickoff, but were quickly forced into a three-and-out. Their second drive also stalled out, and they didn't manage a first down until their third possession. Andrew Maxwell finally found Tony Lippett for a couple of passes that set them up with said first down.

That was their only first down of the day though, and Mike Sadler was forced to punt near the 50-yard line, but not quite in Michigan territory.

The Wolverines had a three-and-out to start their drive, and managed to go eight plays and 39 yards in their second drive, but were forced to punt just as they got into Michigan State territory. Denard Robinson has been contained thus far, gaining just four yards on six carries, while passing for just 37 yards. If the Wolverines hope to win, they need to get Robinson going, while the focus will the Spartans will remain on stopping the prolific quarterback.

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Michigan State will attempt to pull off its fifth straight win over the rival Wolverines on Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor.

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Michigan State's Demetrious Cox playing role of Denard Robinson on scout team

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Michigan State vs. Michigan to kick off at 3:30 p.m.

The in-state rivals get an afternoon kickoff for their Saturday matchup.