EAST LANSING — For three quarters, Michigan State football once again he found himself in a winnable game.
Until it wasn’t. For the seventh time in the last two months.
Penn State – mired in its own six-game losing streak and with an interim coach – put on a fourth-quarter masterclass in ball-control offense on Saturday, November 15. Nittany Lions ran the ball 12 times in a row and ate up more than nine minutes behind, scored, then crushed the Spartans for a 28-14 victory it seemed more unbalanced than it actually was for much of the game.
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But it still resulted in another defeat – the seventh in a row – for coach Jonathan Smith close another tumultuous week in a program that he is struggling to resurrect.
“I think they want to fight back and keep working, even with the way we practiced this week leading up to this, and really with the way these guys played throughout the game,” Smith said. “I mean, they play hard and go for it.”
Penn State’s Devonte Ross scores a putback against Michigan State during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
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MSU (3-7, 0-7 Big Ten) trailed 14-10 early in the fourth quarter. But two sacks and a penalty forced the Spartans punter at the start of the period, and the Nittany Lions (4-6, 1-6) jumped shot after shot on the ground.
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The Nittany Lions rushed for 72 of 76 yards in 13 plays that lasted 9:05. And the 4-yard touchdown to Devonte Ross was essentially another running play – a QB pop pass to the receiver in jet motion.
It was one blow after another for an MSU team that has absorbed a lot over the past couple of months.
“That motivation, they earn it,” Smith said. “It’s not a practice full of explosive plays.”
It was the fourth time during a losing streak that MSU was able to end it before its opponent pulled away. This includes taking a fourth-quarter lead before losing in overtime to Minnesota on November 1 and letting a third-quarter lead disappear in a loss to Nebraska on October 4. Spartans trailed by a fourth-quarter touchdown at USC on September 14, the skid’s first loss.
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MSU was outscored 431-208 in the fourth quarter during the losing streak, with its seven opponents going on 31 more plays. Michigan (91) and UCLA (68) also ran for all their yards in the fourth quarter against MSU. Those two, along with the loss to Indiana (53) were the three unwinnable fourth quarter games for the Spartans.
Penn State finished with an 11:27 to 3:33 possession advantage in the fourth quarter Saturday.
“It stings. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, not being able to get the job done,” defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren said. “But from here there is no choice but to continue. We will get to the other side.”
November 15, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, United States; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen (13) runs for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory credit: Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images
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No matter how hard they fight, Smith and his Spartans are on the brink of ignominy.
Not counting canceled and lost seasons due to NCAA violations, MSU’s seven-game losing streak matches its third-longest streak in school history, the final set of Mark Dantonio’s 2016 season which featured a 3-9 and no bowl berth for the only time in his 13-year tenure. The second longest is eight games, which included a loss to end 1981 and seven straight games to start 1982 under coach Muddy Waters.
The program’s record is 10 straight losses during the 1916-17 seasons, with Chester Brewer and his Michigan Agricultural College Aggies going winless during their nine-game schedule in 1917. Since joining the Big Ten, the Spartans have not posted a conference victory just once – going 0-5-1 in 1958 under Duffy Daugherty, who also went 1-5 in his first season in 1954.
“These guys are going to work,” Smith said. “We need to get better.”
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Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article was originally published on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football takes another big hit in the fourth quarter
