EAST LANSING - Wisconsin had lost the last four games in East Lansing, but Michigan State saw no advantage playing at home today.

The Badgers snapped the Spartans’ nine home-game winning streak, topping them, 30-6.

There was no Hail Marry pass by Kirk Cousins, no Le’Veon Bell to lead the Spartans to a late victory.

“They forced us into making mistakes,” Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio said. “Wisconsin played good, fundamental football.”

This is the first time the Spartans haven’t scored an offensive touchdown in Big Ten play since their, 37-6, loss at Iowa in 2010.

In his first Big Ten game of the season, Spartan quarterback

Tyler O’Connor was sacked four times and threw three interceptions.

This time, these turnovers decided the game.

Adding a fumble by LJ Scott to those interceptions, it makes four turnovers to Wisconsin’s two.

Opposite from how the Spartans handled the Badgers’ turnovers, Wisconsin tallied 21 more points on the scoreboard.

Instead of Damion Terry, it was Brian Lewerke who replaced O’Connor late in the fourth quarter.

Dantonio said Terry is “a little banged up.”

Aside from offensive mistakes, Michigan State’s defense was missing an important component: senior captain linebacker Riley Bullough.

Bullough is tied for the team lead with 12 tackles and two quarterback hurries.

Although he wasn’t wearing a helmet and a jersey, Bullough was very much present and very much a leader on the sidelines, helping coach his teammates through the game.

Faced against Wisconsin’s main running back, Corey Clement, who was listed questionable until late in the week, Michigan State’s secondary couldn’t cover Clement’s running plays.

With Wisconsin converting on third and fourth downs, the Spartan defense was forced to stay on the field for long periods of time, tiring them throughout the course of the game.

It was not an underdog Michigan State team that doesn’t show much of their playbook until it’s necessary.

This Spartan team played until the end, but not with the same desire to win as seen when Notre Dame was quickly catching up to them.

This might not have been their best performance, Michigan State’s coaches and players refuse to abandon one another on bad days.

They take responsibility for what happened and will work to improve from there.

In a rivalry where the last three matchups between these teams have been decided in the last three minutes, today’s Michigan State trailing trend was ongoing since the first quarter.

Wisconsin quarterback, redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook excelled in his first career-start, being the center of his offensive line and making the necessary plays to leave Michigan State with a 24-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Hornibrook performed with vital confidence heading into four more weeks of Big Ten Conference games.

In back-to-back weeks, the Badgers will travel to Michigan on October 1, then host Ohio State on October 15.

The Spartans head to Indiana on October first, then stay home a couple of weeks, hosting BYU on October 8 and Northwestern on October 15.