Michigan State Football: 10 most painful losses of Mark Dantonio era

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 21: Darqueze Dennard #31 of the Michigan State Spartans breaks up a pass intended for DeVarius Daniels #10 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on September 21, 2013 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Michigan State 17-13. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

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BLOOMINGTON, IN – OCTOBER 1: Justin Layne #13 of the Michigan State Spartans and Ben Bach #18 of the Indiana Hoosiers battle for the ball that would fall incomplete at Memorial Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

9. Indiana begins lost season (2016)

Michigan State began the 2016 season as the No. 12 team in the country and rose all the way to No. 8 after the beatdown the Spartans gave then-No. 18 Notre Dame on their own field.

However, the Spartans suffered a disappointing 30-6 home loss against Wisconsin the following week and then looked to bounce back against an average Indiana team in Bloomington. The Hoosiers didn’t have the greatest track record against the Spartans and it looked like that would continue as Michigan State raced out to a 14-0 lead.

Indiana then scored three unanswered touchdowns to take a 21-14 lead with under five minutes to play, but a Tyler O’Connor touchdown pass to Josiah Price sent the game into overtime.

That’s when the Spartans were blanked and Indiana kicked a walk-off field goal, sending the 2016 team into a downward spiral.

Michigan State fell from the rankings and went on to lose five more games in a row — totaling seven straight — and I’d like to think this Indiana loss was the main reason for that downward spiral.

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