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.
This story originally appeared on SBNation.com.