Michigan State Once Again Proves It's College Football's Team of Destiny in 2015

INDIANAPOLIS — As L.J. Scott stumbled forward and found himself met by not one but two Iowa defenders, who were keeping the Michigan State running back from entering the end zone for what appeared to the third time in as many plays in the fourth quarter of Saturday's Big Ten Championship Game, a familiar feeling of disappointment came over the Spartans faithful in Lucas Oil Stadium.

That, however, was soon followed by another emotion Michigan State has become accustomed in 2015: the exhilarating ecstasy that accompanies an unexpected victory.

As Scott kept his feet churning and eventually palmed the football across the goal line, the true freshman might as well have been simultaneously punching the Spartans' ticket to the College Football Playoff. The herculean effort capped off a 22-play, 82-yard touchdown drive that ate nine minutes, four seconds off the clock in the fourth quarter and resulted in Michigan State's lone touchdown in its 16-13 win over the Hawkeyes.

"I was just trying to make a big play for my brothers," Scott said. "We knew what we had at stake."

Had Scott been stopped short on the third-down rush, it would have left 27 seconds and just one play standing between the Spartans and the end of their playoff hopes. With the way Michigan State's 2015 campaign has played out, that might as well have been an eternity.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

In three tent-pole regular-season matchups, Michigan State found itself seemingly on the ropes. And just like they did Saturday, the Spartans found a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

It started in Week 2 when Oregon came to East Lansing for a Top 10 matchup and found itself trailing the Spartans by three points with 2:01 left in the game as it took over in MSU territory. But while Ducks quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. appeared poised to put an early dent in the Spartans' postseason aspirations, his 2nd-and-6 overthrow of wide receiver Byron Marshall proved to be a costly one.

One play later, MSU defenders Chris Frey and Lawrence Thomas sacked Adams to push the Ducks out of field-goal range. One play after that, the Spartans sealed their first narrow escape of the season as Adams' attempt on 4th-and-16 fell incomplete.

The Spartans' 31-28 win over Oregon, however, paled in comparison to their dramatic victory against rival Michigan on Oct. 17, which saw Michigan State fail to lead the Wolverines until the conclusion of the final play of the game. That was when, with 10 seconds left, the Spartans blocked Michigan punter Blake O'Neill's attempt, with the ball bouncing directly into the hands of Jalen Watts-Jackson.

The Michigan State defensive back proceeded to return the ball 38 yards for a touchdown to seal a 27-23 Spartans victory—as well as his place in MSU history.

"Our football team knows how to win," said Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio. "We can play it out. We don't count ourselves out."

While the Spartans' win over the Wolverines was certainly unique, their most unlikely triumph came in a Nov. 21 clash in Columbus with defending national champion Ohio State. Having suffered a loss to Nebraska two weeks prior, Michigan State needed to beat the Buckeyes to keep its Big Ten title and playoff hopes alive. And it would have to do so without star quarterback Connor Cook, who missed his Ohio homecoming due to a lingering shoulder issue.

In a game that saw rain and a wintry mix infiltrate Ohio Stadium, the Spartans again failed to take a lead until the final play. This time, it was kicker Michael Geiger playing the role of hero, with his 41-yard kick giving Michigan State a 17-14 win and control of its postseason hopes.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Perhaps that's why even when the Spartans were struggling Saturday, panic never set in. Iowa appeared headed for the College Football Playoff after scoring the first touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter, with a clearly injured Cook unable to move the ball on a consistent basis throughout the night.

"Obviously I wasn't 100 percent," Cook admitted after the game.

Taking over on its own 18-yard line with 9:31 left and trailing 13-9, Michigan State's fortunes appeared bleak. But Scott helped engineer the 22-play drive—which featured a heavy dose of the running game, including a gritty 4th-and-2 conversion option keeper from Cook near the Hawkeyes' goal line.

"I looked at him in the huddle. I said, 'Can you do this, get it up in there?'" Dantonio said of his running back. "He said, 'Yeah, I could get it.'"

Three plays later, Scott—or more accurately, Scott's arm—was in the end zone. With that, the Spartans once again escaped a devastating defeat, landing on the right side of destiny.

With a playoff appearance looming, it remains to be seen how much Michigan State's good fortune will continue. But at this point, it's easy to see that this is more than luck. No fewer than four times the Spartans have found themselves nearing familiar disappointment—remember when "Sparty No!" was a thing?—only to continue to forge their own path.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

"We have great chemistry in our football team," Dantonio said. "Because of that chemistry, it creates energy, positive energy. That energy goes a long way. When you got to reach down when things aren't quite going so well for you, you got to reach down and you got to find something to grind out, to fight back in some way. We've been able to do that."

Those repeated escapes have presumably landed the Spartans in college football's Top Four, with Cook's injured shoulder creating doubt as to whether this team will be capable of competing with the likes of Clemson, Alabama and Oklahoma.

But anyone who's watched Michigan State this season knows to never say never with this team, as these Spartans have made a habit of finding a way. 

"Championship football teams do that," Dantonio said. "They just know how to do it."

After Saturday's exciting, yet familiar-feeling comeback, it'd be hard to disagree.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter, @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand.