Porous defense aside, Dantonio says red zone lapses to blame

MINNEAPOLIS - A consistent problem continued. An old problem resurfaced.

Michigan State's goal-line offense and pass defense were the main culprits in Saturday's 42-34 loss at Minnesota that dropped the Spartans back below the .500 mark at 4-5.

Yes, early mistakes, three turnovers, costly penalties and questionable replay calls all played a part in the Spartans' wild, Halloween night loss to the Golden Gophers (5-4 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) at TCF Bank Stadium.

But it's MSU's consistent tendency to be repelled by the opponent's goal line that has become issue No. 1.

"The reason I feel we lost the football game was the inability to score inside the five-yard line," MSU coach Mark Dantonio said.

And the secondary's startling step backward - allowing 416 passing yards to Minnesota's Big Ten-worst offense - was surprise No. 1. That secondary, which got no help Saturday from an anemic pass rush, had played well for four straight weeks after struggling early in the season.

So the Spartans (3-3 Big Ten) are in a three-week scrap to get to a bowl game, starting Saturday at Spartan Stadium against 4-5 Western Michigan.

MSU needs to win two of the final three to qualify, with a trip to Purdue and home game with Penn State wrapping the regular season.

The Spartans' bowl possibilities include the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (Dec. 26 in Detroit), the Insight Bowl (Dec. 31 in Tempe, Ariz.), the Alamo Bowl (Jan. 2 in San Antonio) and the Champs Sports Bowl (Dec. 29 in Orlando, Fla.).

They'll be home for the holidays if they don't figure out some things. And injuries are mounting.

Three starters - running back Larry Caper (concussion), safety Danny Fortener (concussion) and center Joel Nitchman (knee) - left Saturday's game and didn't return.

Left tackle Rocco Cironi also took a shot to the head and defensive end Trevor Anderson (ankle) played sparingly. Dantonio said Sunday that "four or five" players incurred concussions during the game.

That struggling secondary was down to senior reserve Ashton Henderson at safety for some possessions.

Freshman Edwin Baker was the only running back who got carries in the second half - other than one try for fullback Andrew Hawken at the 1-yard line, on the Spartans' second and most costly goal-line failure of the night.

Hawken lost a yard, then a failed run and pass forced Dantonio to opt for a field goal, making it 35-34 Gophers.

MSU has now been stymied inside the 5-yard line five times in the past four games.

"Even if people know what we are going to do, you still have to get that tough yard and that's what makes a championship team and a good team," MSU sophomore quarterback Kirk Cousins said. "We need to be able to do that."

MSU appeared to be in position to retake the lead after Chris L. Rucker recovered a fumble by Minnesota tight end Nick Tow-Arnett and returned it to the Minnesota 41.

There was a loud gasp of disbelief from the press box when the replay official overturned that ruling. On the next play, Tow-Arnett appeared to catch a pass and hit the ground, but the ball bounced up to Duane Bennett, who scored on a 59-yard play.

The replay review upheld the call that Tow-Arnett did not have possession.

"We can only look to see what we can control," Dantonio said of those reviews. "I can't control somebody in a booth. We have to play the cards that are flipped down, and in the end we (had) an opportunity. Even at the end of the football game, we had an opportunity (to come back)."

But the Spartans just kept making mistakes, with penalties helping stymie their next drive. After a defensive stop, a Kendell Davis-Clark penalty for running into Minnesota's punter was a fitting way for the Spartans' evening to end.

"I would say we took a step backward," Dantonio said, "not a step forward, obviously."