And now the wait for what’s next.

Because Michigan State football’s long nightmare of a season is over.

No. 11 Penn State wore down the Spartans’ defense with time-consuming drives early, squelched MSU’s offense all Friday night then pulled away for a 42-0 victory.

It was the second shutout loss of the season for Spartans (4-8, 2-7 Big Ten), who also lost 49-0 to No. 2 Michigan on Oct. 21.

By the second half, many of the season-long issues that plagued MSU showed up and frustrated most of the 51,927 fans in the finale. Katin Houser found little time to think and struggled all game against the ferocious defense of the Nittany Lions (10-2, 7-2).

And when J.D. Duplain’s shotgun snap midway into the third quarter sailed over Houser’s head for a 21-yard loss, followed by a run call on third-and-31, the Spartan faithful in the Ford Field stands unleashed one final round of boos for a coaching staff that all but certainly be gutted in the coming days.

MSU athletic director Alan Haller according to sources has targeted Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith to replace Mel Tucker, who was fired Sept. 27, though it is unclear if or when a deal might be reached. Smith’s Beavers were playing No. 6 Oregon as the Spartans were finishing up their dismal season in blowout fashion.

Interim coach Harlon Barnett, who took over when Tucker was suspended Sept. 10, finished this season 2-8.

Over early

MSU got dominated from start to finish, giving up 586 yards to the Nittany Lions while gaining just 68, including minus-20 rushing to PSU’s 283. The Spartans also committed six penalties for 30 yards and managed just five first downs to PSU’s 23.

Houser finished 11-for-19 for just 87 passing yards and was sacked six times. He was pulled in the fourth quarter for junior walk-on Andrew Schorfhaar after the Nittany Lions put the game away. Penn State sacked Schorfhaar to finish with seven in the game.

Infour games this season against teams currently ranked in the top 11 of the USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 5 Washington, No. 3 Michigan, No. 2 Ohio State and PSU), the Spartans were outscored 170-10 and 111-3 before halftime. Those three also outgained MSU, 2,306-693 and had an 105-41 edge in first downs.

On Friday, MSU went three-and-out on six of its seven drives in the second half. The other drive netted 1 yard after the bad snap and sack. The Spartans had minus-32 yards in the third and fourth quarters combined.

Offense never got on track

The game proved to be a perfect encapsulation of MSU’s season.

An offense that struggled to move the ball. A defense that missed tackles and gave up big plays the longer it stayed on the field. A special teams unit that committed mistakes. And a limited number of bodies playing through pain to finish things out.

The Spartans managed to put together a strong defensive effort on Penn State’s first three drives, stopping the Nittany Lions twice for field goals and watching kicker Alex Felkins miss another. It was a 6-0 deficit early in the second quarter.

MSU’s offense moved the ball 46 yards on its first drive before Houser was intercepted on a bad throw trying to find Tyrell Henry deep in PSU territory.

That was the only opportunity MSU had in Nittany Lions territory, crossing midfield just twice after that.

Penn State tacked on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Drew Allard to Kaytron Allen before halftime to take a 13-0 lead. Then in the third quarter, the Nittany Lions put the game away. Backup quarterback Beau Pribula threw an 8-yard touchdown and ran for a 2-yard score.

Allar hit Theo Johnson for a 21-yard score early in the fourth quarter, and Nicholas Singleton scored from 14 yards out less than 5 minutes later to give PSU a six-TD lead.

Allar finished 17 of 26 for 292 yards and two touchdowns. Allen ran for 137 yards on 15 attempts, while Singleton added 118 yards on 18 carries.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football ends season getting blanked, 42-0, by Penn State