The amount of torture that Michigan State football fans have been put through over the past decade is something that truly needs to be studied by future scientists.
Instead of sending people to prison in the future, they could just lock them into a room and show them high(low)lights of Michigan State football between 2016-2026. That’s a form of torture that honestly should be illegal, but Spartan fans have been living it for the past decade.
Obviously I’m being a tad overdramatic (not really) but the program’s nosedive back into irrelevance after the golden years of Mark Dantonio has been downright gut-wrenching.
Michigan State fans have been subjected to a decade with just four bowl berths and three different coaching changes. The Spartans are on their fourth different coach since 2016.
There’s been a persisting theme over the past decade that hasn’t subsided no matter the head coach — and no, I’m not talking about injuries even though that’s true, too. The theme has been late-game meltdowns. It often gets overlooked because Michigan State has been irrelevant for the past five years, but some of the blown leads that the Spartans have had have almost been mind-boggling.
They just don’t make sense. They came in games that looked to be in the bag — like Michigan State’s loss to Northwestern on Saturday — but Michigan State found a new, interesting way to lose.
Luckily for the most tortured fanbase in the state of Michigan, the pain that it’s suffered over the past decade has been tracked and can be seen in the statistical form of number of blown leads.
So close...this has to be one of the most painful graphs...@bigten @B1Gfootball pic.twitter.com/kaL8wEuDzf
— Trevor Barnes (@trevorbarnes) October 19, 2026
Since 2016, Michigan State has had an 80 percent win probability or higher in the fourth quarter 62 times and out of those 62, the Spartans have blown seven such leads. That means that Michigan State has lost 11.3% of the games that it was supposed to have in the bag, the third-highest number in the Big Ten behind Nebraska and Purdue.
First off, I will say that having that high of a win probably just 62 times over 10 years in the fourth quarter is not great. It averages about six wins per year, but that’s not what this program was under Dantonio and it needs to get back to that.
However, most of those seven blown leads in the fourth really stand out.
Reminiscing on 10 years of Michigan State football meltdowns
When you think of fourth-quarter meltdowns, a few come to mind, including the one as recent as Saturday against Northwestern.
Pat Fitzgerald had a chance to beat his former school and his Spartans held a 21-13 lead in the fourth quarter. It looked like they had a win in the bag even when Northwestern tied it up because Liam Boyd was lining up for a go-ahead field goal with a minute left. The chip-shot was blocked, Aidan Chiles led the Wildcats 60 yards down the field in a minute, and Northwestern walked it off with a field goal.
Now that we have that one out of the way, let’s talk about the most memorable one that every Spartan fan wishes to forget.
Yup, we are talking about Michigan State vs. Illinois in 2019. If you’re easily triggered or don’t want to get worked up today, I’d suggest scrolling on. This was the game that shaped a lot of the current pessimism within the Michigan State fanbase.
Up 31-10 heading into the fourth in what was one of the most fun games of another disappointing season, Michigan State looked to have a fifth win secured. With just 15 minutes standing between Dantonio’s team and sweat-free victory, Illinois decided to pop off for 27 fourth-quarter points in one of the most shocking comeback losses in recent college football history.
Again, if you’re easily triggered, look away.
There have been other brutal losses that come to mind like the Iowa and Minnesota games last season and honestly most of the 2022-2025 era was blocked from my memory.
What I do know is that being a Michigan State fan isn’t for the weak and that one day all of this torture is going to turn into a title. Quick little manifestation.
Sorry to ruin your day, but brighter days are ahead under Fitzgerald.
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