EAST LANSING — I’m sure there are very few Michigan fans out there who are happy with the end result of Saturday’s game.

Let’s be honest. Tate Forcier finally looked human in the waning minutes of a game, and the Wolverines lost the first overtime game in program history, so there’s really not too much to get excited about.

So I understand your frustration.

But, if I can get you to remove those maize-and-blue-colored glasses just for a second (honestly, I’ll give them right back), you’ll have plenty of reasons to remember this game for a while.

That’s because college football has the best overtime system in sports, hands down.

Sure, there are tons of things to complain about the state of D-I college football. Some of you may not like the bowl system and lack of a playoffs, and others of you might take issue with marketing and selling merchandise for a team of players that legally can’t reap those benefits.

But there’s no question that they got this right.

College overtime just plays out so dramatically — and justly. Each team gets equal opportunity to tighten the chinstrap and win the game. No questions asked, none of this “We’ll take the wind” bullcrap. Just more football until one team comes out victorious.

I feel like it’s exactly what overtime should be. Exciting, tense, nerve-racking and not too far off the actual style of a real game.

I mean, go back to Nov. 1, 2003 in Lexington, Ky. — Arkansas vs. Kentucky. Five hours, seven overtimes, 1,100 yards of offense, 134 points and enough emotional peaks and valleys to give the healthiest person 17 heart attacks. The Razorbacks eked out a win in one of the craziest games ever played.

Obviously, that’s more of an exception than the rule, but I remember watching that game biting my nails with my butt on the edge of the seat.

Look at all of Michigan’s overtime games over the years, including five nail-biting victories.

Obviously, everyone remembers how crazy the Braylon Bowl of 2004 was, when Braylon Edwards single-handedly beat the Spartans, a performance that has come to define the six-game streak the Wolverines enjoyed over the Spartans from 2002 to 2007. Or when Alabama miffed an extra-point in its overtime to lose against Michigan.

I mean, c’mon — what more could you ask for from a game? The college football overtime rules enhance the intensity of the game — exactly what overtime should do.

Take for example, the NFL. It’s epitomizes American sport right now — every other sports entity wants to emulate it and its far-reaching popularity, but the NFL’s overtime is boring.

Well, not boring. Anticlimactic is probably a better word. It’s not exactly exhilarating to wait and see which team can manage to get into field-goal range first.

And unlike hockey, a game can’t be decided solely on an individual’s performance, like when a game is forced into a shootout.

So, yeah, you may have had a tough time getting over the game on Saturday. And you might have had to ignore a few text messages from friends in East Lansing. But at least you got to see a good game.

— Reid can be reached at andyreid@umich.edu.