EAST LANSING - The kick came from the right hashmark and stayed dead on line.
Matt Coghlin tried to use some late body language to ease the ball over, but it clanged off the right upright and he brought both hands to his face mask in disappointment.
The Michigan State kicker had just missed a 32-yard field goal with his team trailing Northwestern by seven points midway through the fourth quarter last year. It was Coghlin's second miss of the day off the right upright - the first was on a 51-yard attempt in the third quarter - and the Spartans went on to lose 39-31 in triple-overtime at Northwestern.