EAST LANSING -- Michigan State's nine-year bowl streak under Mark Dantonio ended quietly on Saturday after the Spartans' 17-16 loss to Ohio State.
Nobody mentioned it in postgame interviews, but after the Spartans' eighth loss of the year, the team now maxes out at four wins. That's one short of the five required to be under consideration for a bowl.
With one game left on the schedule, the team's biggest motivator is now gone. Dantonio will still tell his players to play for the future this week as they prepare to face No. 8 Penn State, despite the fact that the future will no longer include a bowl game for the 2016 season.