By Keith Sargeant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The signature win that Rutgers coach Chris Ash needed to silence his critics and assure recruits that he would indeed be returning for a fourth season was in the Scarlet Knights' grasp Saturday.

They let it go like it was a hand grenade.

Michigan State 14, Rutgers 10.

Has 1-11 ever felt so disappointing?

Rutgers lost in typical Rutgers fashion: With mistake after mistake.

Rutgers had a 10-7 lead with 4:49 remaining, but failed to contain a erratic backup quarterback who completed 19 of 43 passes, allowing QB Rocky Lombardi to run for a first down at the RU 22 on a key third down.

Then safety Saquon Hampton took a bad angle on Cody White's run, surrendering a 22-yard TD run that was the difference in the game.

Rutgers' last drive, marked by questionable play-calling, ended in a last-gasp pass into double coverage that was intercepted at the 3-yard line.

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Morry Gash | AP Photo

In the wake of a competitive Homecoming loss to Northwestern, Ash was asked about a November schedule that included four straight perennial Big Ten powers -- Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State.

"I can't control what everyone thinks -- the only thing I can control is my attitude and my effort and my actions to help our football team get better and that's it,'' Ash said. "You know, November is what it is. We've got some good teams coming up. That's the league.''

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Conventional wisdom was that the Scarlet Knights would get walloped against some of the best teams the Big Ten had to offer.

But after a blowout loss to Michigan was sandwiched between competitive defeats against Wisconsin and Penn State, Rutgers entered its season finale Saturday against Michigan State with renewed confidence that it could compete against Big Ten powers.

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That confidence was on display against Michigan State, which looked like a shell of the team that was ranked No. 11 in The AP Top 25 poll.

The Spartans (7-5) may be headed to a bowl for the 11th time in 12 years under Mark Dantonio, but they entered the game reeling after losing to Ohio State and Nebraska over the past two weeks.

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Rutgers quarterback Gio Rescigno starts vs. Michigan State

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.@RFootball opens up the scoring in East Lansing!



Travis Vokolek hauls it in, and it's 7-0 Scarlet Knights: pic.twitter.com/G35nbLSjT5 — Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) November 24, 2018

The Scarlet Knights led 7-0 after receiving a gift-wrapped touchdown in the first quarter.

But that was it for their offense.

Michigan State's attack was inept for most of the game, but Dantonio's squad did just enough to avoid giving Rutgers a signature win.

Cody White's 22-yard scoring run with 3:57 to play helped give Michigan State a 14-10 lead, and the Scarlet Knights' last-chance rally fell short with a Gio Rescigno interception near the goal-line with 1:32 remaining.

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Tied 7-7 at halftime and at the end of the third quarter, Rutgers wrested control in the fourth quarter on the strength of its defense.

After forcing a Michigan State punt near its end zone, the Scarlet Knights took over at Spartans' 25-yard line.

After three rushing plays that gained a total of nine yards, Justin Davidovicz put Rutgers on top with a 34-yard field goal with 7:52 to play.

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But that lead was short-lived as Michigan State went on top with a four-play, 35-yard scoring drive capped by White's 22-yard touchdown.

One year after out-gaining Rutgers 431-112 in total yards en route to a 40-7 triumph, Michigan State gained just 310 yards.

Rutgers' most inspired defensive effort of the season went for naught as the offense gained just 217 total yards.

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Rutgers upsets Michigan State: Recap, stats, box score

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The Scarlet Knights will move forward knowing that Ash, their embattled third-year coach, will indeed be returning next season.

NJ Advance Media reported Monday that Ash would return for a fourth season barring an unforeseen event over the ensuing week. Two top university officials said the result of the Michigan State game was not something that could change Rutgers Athletics Director Pat Hobbs' thinking on the decision.

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Spoke to two high-ranking university officials who say Chris Ash is returning as Rutgers football coach for his 4th season. 'He's not on the hot seat.' The story: https://t.co/1oCoiYutXU #rutgers — Keith Sargeant (@KSargeantNJ) November 19, 2018

As it turned out, Ash and Co. made any notion that he was on the hot seat to be an afterthought.

Competitive efforts against Northwestern, Indiana, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State secured Ash's job.

Expect Hobbs, who has a long-standing policy against commenting on any of his teams until after a season, to confirm that Ash is returning with a statement on Sunday.

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Ash's record stands at 7-29 after three seasons.

That's the worst winning percentage (.194) of any Rutgers coach in the program's 149-year history.

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Al Goldis | AP Photo

Rutgers' first two full recruiting classes under Ash have ranked 42nd nationally/9th Big Ten and 57th nationally/13th Big Ten, according to the 247Sports.com rankings.

The current recruiting class, which has signing dates on Dec. 19, 2018, and Feb. 6, 2019, is ranked 67th nationally/13th Big Ten by the same scouting service.

Any chance that Rutgers could head into the offseason with some recruiting momentum ended as Michigan State rallied with a gut-check victory.

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Ohio State stuns Michigan in emphatic blowout: Recap

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Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.