EAST LANSING — Nothing was going right, a constant theme for Michigan State football’s offense all season. Only this looked far worse than anything else during a roller-coaster season. This was Rutgers. At home. On Senior Day. But it was happening, an unbelievable upset in the making. An interception on a botched field goal, and then another on the first drive of the second half. Three straight three-and-out possessions. Trailing by three points to a team that hadn’t won a Big Ten game in more than a year. A nightmare scenario playing out in front of a half-full Spartan Stadium. “We’re just not executing to what I think we’re capable of,” sophomore receiver Cody White said. “It’s a little frustrating. But knowing us as an offense, we just gotta stay positive.” Finally, it broke. A William Przytup punt flipped the field, and Brandon Sowards’ punt return set up MSU deep in opposing territory with inside of five minutes left. Rocky Lombardi’s 13-yard keeper prevented another stalled possession, and White took the flip from his quarterback on the next play for a 22-yard touchdown that gave the Spartans a 14-10 victory over the lowly Scarlet Knights on Saturday. “Oh, relief. It’s relief,” said Lombardi, who went 19 of 43 for 173 yards, a TD and an interception. “After a grind, especially in the second half – we really struggled – it was awesome seeing (White) get in the end zone. I just went down to my hands and knees and I was like, ‘Oh, thank God.’ " “Because we needed this win.” The Spartans (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten ) now must wait to learn their bowl fate. The season is over for Rutgers (1-11, 0-9), which has lost 12 straight league games. MSU coach Mark Dantonio said one of the prevailing missions was to get to seven wins and put the Spartans in a position for a better postseason landing spot. “Took a step forward today and we'll see how it all shakes out in the bowl season, but just got to keep getting better,” Dantonio said. “We had some guys open and missed some throws but hey, a win is a win and like I've said before, they all count one.” But the offensive malaise that has troubled the Spartans continued. MSU’s defense gave up a rare first-quarter touchdown, a 27-yard throw from Rutgers QB and Warren De La Salle grad Giovanni Rescigno to tight end Travis Vokolek to put the Scarlet Knights up 7-0 with 2:19 left in the opening period. Finally, late in the second quarter, the Spartans started moving the ball – thanks in large part to a pair of 15-yard penalties by Rutgers that aided an 81-yard drive. Lombardi found senior tight end Matt Sokol on a corner route for an 18-yard touchdown with 3:09 remaining to tie the score. That was MSU’s first touchdown in 153 minutes and 56 seconds of game action, going back to Connor Heyward’s 80-yard TD run with 11 minutes to play at Maryland. The Spartans did not score one in losses to Ohio State and Nebraska, going a total of 35 offensive possessions between touchdowns. After another drive fizzled near midfield, a Przystup punt bounced off the heel of Rutgers’ Saquon Hampton and the Spartans recovered at the Scarlet Knights’ 13 with 53 seconds remaining. MSU’s offense again could not generate anything, and Matt Coghlin came in to attempt a 30-yard kick. However, the snap was low, holder Brian Lewerke improvised and had to improvise, running left before heaving a pass back to the right that was picked off. The Spartans had 310 yards of offense, including 81 yards rushing on 19 carries by Heyward, while their defense held Rutgers to 217 yards (109 through the air and 108 on the ground). “We know that we’re close," Lombardi said. "I mean, we’ve been close these last four or five weeks. We really have been just trying to put everything together. It just doesn’t seem to come together for us. “It’s something that’s easy. We were moving the ball today, we had some guys make some plays in big-time situations. It’s pretty easy to keep us involved and keep us energized. It’s just that one day, it’s gonna click.” Rescigno and Rutgers threatened again, moving to MSU’s 21, but cornerback Josiah Scott got his second interception on fourth-and-6. Connor Heyward helped MSU pull to the victory and escape an embarrassing loss. Now, the Spartans’ only known future is they will have a month or so of practices ahead. That means a lot more work ahead for the offense to try and find some production to match the defense. “We want to be the best defense in the country,” defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said. “We also want to be the best team in the country. But we can only control what we can control. And we need to be at our best always.” Download our Spartans Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!