A finish for the ages at the Big House

— -- If you're old enough, you might remember exactly where you were when the Stanford band ran onto the field while California was lateraling the football five times for a touchdown on a kickoff return on the final play of its 25-20 victory on Nov. 20, 1982.

Or where you were when Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie scrambled to his right and heaved a 48-yard Hail Mary to roommate Gerard Phelan to beat Miami 47-45 on Nov. 23, 1984.

Or where you were when Colorado quarterback Charles Johnson snuck across the goal line -- on fifth down! -- to beat Missouri 33-31 in 1990. Or where you were seven years later, when the Tigers lost again after Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost's pass was kicked into the air and caught by receiver Matt Davison in the end zone for a tying touchdown on an infamous "Flea Kicker" play (the Cornhuskers won 45-38 in overtime).

From Boise State's hook-and-ladder and Statue of Liberty trick plays in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl to Auburn's "Kick Six" return of a missed field goal to beat Alabama on the final play of the 2013 Iron Bowl, there are a few plays in college football history that we'll remember forever -- or spend the rest of our lives trying to forget.

Michigan and Michigan State fans -- and anyone else who was still watching their game -- will probably never forget what they saw in the final 10 seconds of the Spartans' improbable 27-23 victory at the Big House.

With the No. 12 Wolverines up 23-21, they only had to punt from the MSU 47 and successfully defend the ensuing Hail Mary pass by the No. 7 Spartans to win their sixth consecutive game under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh. 

Then something unbelievable happened.

With only 10 seconds left, Michigan punter Blake O'Neill bobbled a low snap. O'Neill tried to regain control of the ball and punt it, but he was hit by Spartans safety Grayson Miller, and the ball popped into the air. The ball fell right into the arms of Michigan State's Jalen Watts-Jackson, who caught it and ran for the end zone.

Michigan State's Jermaine Edmonson delivered a couple key blocks, and then Watts-Jackson barreled through Michigan tight end Jake Butt near the goal line to score a 38-yard touchdown to win the game.

Just like that, "Little Brother" kicked "Big Brother" you-know-where.

"This is why football is loved so much in America," Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said. "It's because things like this happen. Every now and then, they happen."

No one could have imagined it happening in this game. In fact, after Spartans quarterback Connor Cook's pass fell incomplete on fourth-and-19 with 1:47 to go, the game seemed over. But Michigan State's defense stood up, and Dantonio used his three timeouts to set up the final crazy play.

"You go from 10 seconds, a guy punting the ball [and] you're thinking, 'OK, this is done,'" Dantonio said. "And then all of a sudden, life gets flipped upside down."

How improbable was Michigan State's victory? ESPN's Stats & Info estimated the Spartans had a 0.2 percent chance to win before the final play. According to Stats LLC, it was the first time an FBS game ended with a game-winning touchdown scored by a defensive or special-teams player with no time left since Auburn's Chris Davis returned a missed 57-yard field goal for a 100-yard touchdown to upset No. 1 Alabama 34-28 on the final play of the 2013 Iron Bowl.

Even more unbelievable: Watts-Jackson spent Saturday night in a hospital after dislocating his hip. A Michigan State official told ESPN.com he was injured after several players piled on top of him during a celebration in the end zone. It was the first touchdown of his college career.

"This is something you tell your grandkids about," Miller said. "I'm at a loss for words."

So was Harbaugh. 

"A mistake was made," Harbaugh said. "Mistakes were made. It's very unfortunate circumstances."

The Wolverines have suffered plenty of heartache at the Big House. In 1994, Colorado's Kordell Stewart threw a 64-yard Hail Mary pass to Michael Westbrook for a touchdown on the final play to give the Buffaloes a 27-26 victory. In the 2007 opener, FCS member Appalachian State blocked Michigan's last-second field goal to secure a 34-32 victory, one of the biggest upsets in college football history.

But the way Saturday's game ended was worse. It was more painful because of how the Wolverines controlled the game until the end and, more importantly, because of whom it was against. It was Michigan's seventh loss in its past eight meetings with the Spartans.

"Football is a crazy, crazy game," Dantonio said. "You can't hardly explain it."

The Spartans and Wolverines (and the rest of us) will spend the remainder of their lives trying to fathom what exactly happened in the final 10 seconds Saturday.

Playoff teams after Week 7

1. Utah : There were sloppy moments for the Utes against Arizona State, but Devontae Booker scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to secure a 34-18 win and end an 11-game losing streak against the Sun Devils. The Utes are the Pac-12's sole remaining unbeaten team. They travel to play USC in Week 8.

2. Baylor : Bears quarterback Seth Russell has been responsible for 32 touchdowns this season. That's the most through six games by any FBS player over the past 10 seasons. Russell had five touchdown passes and one scoring run Saturday in a 62-38 win over West Virginia.

3. LSU : The Tigers survived a 35-28 win over Florida at Death Valley to move to 6-0. LSU plays Western Kentucky next week and then gets a week off before its Nov. 7 showdown at Alabama.

4. Ohio State : J.T. Barrett isn't making it easy for Urban Meyer to keep him as the Buckeyes' No. 2 quarterback. He might have finally unseated  Cardale Jones by providing the spark in a 38-10 win over Penn State. Barrett scored two red zone touchdowns in the first half and passed for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter after taking over for Jones in the third quarter.

Next four in contention

1. Clemson : Quarterback Deshaun Watson threw for 420 yards with three touchdowns on 27-for-41 passing in leading the Tigers to a 34-17 win over Boston College. The Eagles had surrendered only two offensive touchdowns this season.

2. TCU : After giving up three touchdowns to Iowa State in the first quarter, the Horned Frogs threw a shutout in the final three quarters of a 45-21 victory on the road. The teams combined for 617 yards of offense in the first half.

3. Alabama : The Crimson Tide's defense nearly outscored Texas A&M in a 41-23 victory and became the first FBS team since 2012 to return three interceptions for touchdowns in a game. Freshman defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick became the first Alabama player with two pick-sixes in a game.

4.  Michigan State : Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio admitted he was numb -- "But a good numb, like putting ice on it" -- after his team's improbable win over Michigan. Michigan State will have to avoid slipping up against some of the Big Ten's weaker opposition before visiting Ohio State on Nov. 21.

Heisman candidates

1.  Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU: Fournette didn't get 200 rushing yards against the Gators, but he piled up 180 yards with two touchdowns on 31 carries against one of the country's best run defenses. He has 1,202 rushing yards through six games.

2. Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU: The Horned Frogs didn't need any late-game magic against Iowa State. Boykin was spectacular again, as he completed 27 of 32 passes for 436 yards with four touchdowns. He also ran for 74 yards with one score.

3. Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor: Coleman is quickly putting together one of the best statistical seasons by a receiver in FBS history. He had 10 catches for 199 yards with three touchdowns in the Bears' win over West Virginia. He has 16 touchdown catches in six games -- already a school record for an entire season.

4. Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama: Texas A&M's defense had no answer for Henry, who ran 32 times for a career-high 236 yards with two touchdowns. He ran for 153 yards in the first quarter and averaged 7.4 yards per carry.

Tweets of the night

Best moments

2. Laying the points with Wyoming will cost you the shirt on your back.

3. Michigan's Blake O'Neill fired up the Big House crowd with an early 80-yard punt against Michigan State.

4. Everybody seems to score against Kansas these days -- even Texas Tech's 308-pound offensive lineman Le'Raven Clark.

Best plays

1. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer went back to his Florida playbook for the jump pass Tim Tebow made famous. Quarterback J.T. Barrett hit former quarterback Braxton Miller for a 5-yard score with the play against Penn State.

2. Yeah, Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman will make you look rather silly.

3. The Hat strikes again. Les Miles caught Florida napping with a fake field goal. The Tigers lined up for a 33-yard field goal, but kicker Trent Domingue instead ran wide and took a lateral toss from holder Brad Kragthorpe for a 16-yard touchdown run.

4. Blew it? No way. Pittsburgh's Chris Blewitt kicked a 56-yard field goal with just over a minute left to lift the Panthers to a 31-28 win at Georgia Tech.

Worst plays

1. Michigan's botched punt in the final seconds against Michigan State will live in infamy.

2. We might need a public service announcement: If you catch a kickoff at the one-yard line, you can't run back into the end zone for a touchback. Northern Illinois found that out the hard way.

3. Michigan linebacker Joe Bolden, a team captain, was ejected for targeting after he was blocked into a player. Worse, the play was reviewed and the ejection was confirmed.

4. Arizona State was awarded a safety after No. 4 Utah committed an illegal forward pass in the end zone on a kick return. Almost as bad was the official's getting the signal wrong when announcing the call.

Quotes of the night

1. "I think there was a time in the first quarter when they thought, 'Maybe coach hasn't been lying to us forever, and we can do this.' I think there was a moment of realization today, but I'm not sure when it was. My message to the team was you don't have to be better than you are. You don't have to be someone you aren't. The best you is what we need." -- Memphis coach Justin Fuente on the Tigers' 37-24 upset of No. 13 Ole Miss.

2. "They're the No. 2 team in the country. It's the best Baylor team I've seen -- ever." -- West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen.

3. "I told those guys, 'Playing quarterback is just like being the head coach.' That's part of playing that position. You take the pats on the back along with the slaps in the face. Today was kind of a slap in the face." -- Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, whose quarterbacks combined to throw four interceptions, including three pick-sixes, in a loss to Alabama.

4. "How good we are, I have no idea. But I do know this: This team plays extremely hard and has a lot of guts." -- Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, after the No. 17 Hawkeyes moved to 7-0 for the first time since 2009 with a 40-10 victory at No. 20 Northwestern.

Stats that matter

19: Years since Memphis upset a ranked opponent before Saturday's 37-24 victory over No. 13 Ole Miss. The Tigers' previous most recent win over an AP-ranked foe came against No. 6 Tennessee (and quarterback Peyton Manning) on Nov. 9, 1996.

46: Consecutive possessions on which Michigan's defense didn't allow points, a streak that ended with Michigan State tailback LJ Scott's 11-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter. It was the first points scored on the Wolverines since they played UNLV on Sept. 19, and that ended a three-game shutout streak.

955: Rushing yards by FSU's Dalvin Cook through six games, after he ran for 163 yards in the No. 11 Seminoles' 41-21 win over Louisville. According to Stats LLC, it's the highest total by an ACC running back through six games since 1996, surpassing the previous total of 888 by Virginia's Thomas Jones in 1998.

93: Career touchdowns for Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott, after he threw for three and ran for one more in the Bulldogs' 45-20 win over Louisiana Tech. Prescott joins Heisman Trophy winners Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel as the only players in SEC history to throw 50 touchdowns and run for 30.