Michigan State Football: 3 takeaways from disappointing loss at Purdue

1. Michigan State still controls its own destiny

One thing you can say about this Michigan State team is that it never stops fighting. The defense was getting boatraced all afternoon long and maybe 1-2 more third-down stops would have made a difference between winning and losing here, but the Spartans never threw in the towel.

It would have been easy to give up when Purdue went up 37-21 with about six minutes to go, but the offense came out and pushed the ball down the field quickly to score a touchdown and convert a two-point conversion, making it 37-29.

All the Spartans needed to do was stop the Boilermakers on their ensuing drive, but a 40-yard screen pass and run crushed those comeback hopes.

Still, Michigan State was in the game until the very end. Even if their worst game of the season by a mile, the Spartans had a chance to win late. That’s sometimes all you can ask for.

Even with the loss, Michigan State is 8-1 on the year and tied for first in the Big Ten East with Penn State and Ohio State still on the schedule. Michigan State will drop out of the top four of the playoff rankings, but it will still have control of its own destiny.

Win out and win the Big Ten title, and this loss won’t even matter.