(AP) -- Michigan State finished one game over .500 after winning its final game by one point.

It was an appropriate ending to a season full of close victories and excruciating defeats.

The Spartans played nine games decided by four points or fewer, including their first seven in Big Ten play. They ended on a high note Saturday night with a 17-16 win over TCU in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, but the offseason will bring plenty of questions for a team that just a few months ago was hoping to make a run at a conference title.

Michigan State needed to replace quarterback Kirk Cousins in 2012. Andrew Maxwell became the starter, but in the bowl he split time with Connor Cook.

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