Spartans let lead slip against Nebraska

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Darqueze Dennard intercepted a pass and appeared to run it back for a touchdown — then the return was negated by a penalty.

Later, Michigan State allowed a 38-yard pass on fourth-and-10 when a stop would have put the game out of reach.

Finally, when Dennard seemed to have broken up a third-down throw to the end zone, he was called for pass interference. At that point, the Spartans had given No. 21 Nebraska one chance too many.

Taylor Martinez threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Turner with 6 seconds left, giving Nebraska a 28-24 win over Michigan State on Saturday night that kept the Cornhuskers tied with Michigan atop the Big Ten Legends Division.

"Maybe one of the toughest games I've experienced here," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. "I thought we had every opportunity to win the football game. Whether that plays out on the field, whether that's some kind of way, I'm not sure how at times."

The Cornhuskers (7-2, 4-1) scored two touchdowns in the final 7:02 to erase a 24-14 deficit. The winning score was set up by a pass interference call in the end zone on Dennard, which gave Nebraska the ball at the 5 when the Cornhuskers would have otherwise had to attempt a tying field goal.

"There were a lot of calls I would like to take a look at," Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said. "But who am I to judge? It didn't look good."

Le'Veon Bell ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns for Michigan State (5-5, 2-4).