Pat Fitzgerald isn’t interested in anybody handing Michigan State a pat on the back after a loss.
That much was clear after the Spartans dropped a 27-10 decision to No. 3 Notre Dame on Saturday, a result that still counted as a defeat but looked a lot different than the kinds of lopsided beatdowns MSU has absorbed against elite opponents in recent years. Michigan State never truly threatened to win, but it also didn’t get buried the way it often has in matchups like this.
Afterward, Fitzgerald made it plain that he wasn’t celebrating the effort. He said he probably wouldn’t sleep that night and added that the Spartans would be "a completely different team" when Notre Dame comes back to East Lansing next year.
"Yeah, there's no such thing as a moral victory," Fitzgerald said Saturday night. "You guys [in the media] are going to get to know me, but I'm a competitive S.O.B., so I'm not very happy right now. You fix it by getting back to work."
That doesn’t mean the performance was meaningless. For a fan base trying to figure out what this version of Michigan State is supposed to look like, Saturday offered a glimpse of a team that at least belonged on the same field as one of the country’s top programs. That’s a lower bar than anyone at MSU wants long term, but compared with the recent history against AP Top 5 teams, it was still a step.
Across six games against AP Top 5 opponents from 2022-25, the Spartans lost by an average of 31.8 points per game. Last season’s lone such matchup came at then-No.
3 Indiana, where MSU fell 38-13. The Spartans weren’t necessarily awful in that one, either, but the difference between the programs was obvious.
Against Notre Dame, the gap was still there. It just didn’t feel nearly as crushing.
Fitzgerald acknowledged that some of the positive reaction coming out of the game doesn’t sit well with him.
"Listen, we're taking the standard up and getting it to where it needs to be, and it's my job to get it there," Fitzgerald said Monday. "I'd be lying to you if I didn't tell you that I think a little bit of that is rat poison.
Like, 'Hey, good job. You played hard.'
That drives me nuts."
He also said, "Stacy asked me if I punched the wall after the game, because she knew how I was going to react. I was like, 'No, I'm older now.
I'm not going to do that.' We need to earn that support, and not winning games is not winning it.
I'm thankful and grateful for the support, but we're raising the standard of expectation, and we should be held accountable for that."
That mindset fits a coach who knows the clock is always ticking. Fitzgerald has talked openly about this being a work in progress, and even he has made it clear that Michigan State is nowhere near finished.
He also knows he doesn’t have the luxury of a long runway. His predecessor, Jonathan Smith, was fired after just two seasons, the shortest tenure for a permanent head coach in East Lansing in nearly a century.
"I wish I had three years to build it, but that's not how the world works," Fitzgerald said. "That's not how football works. So, pedal's down, and the hard work is ongoing."
Smith’s $30+ million buyout, which the school will be paying off until after 2030, should give Fitzgerald more breathing room. But the bigger factor may be whether he can keep showing a clear plan and then produce enough on-field evidence to make that plan believable.
Michigan State has spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons trying to define itself, and the identity has never fully settled in. There were flashes - Iowa in '24 was one example - but nothing stuck. Fitzgerald at least brings 17 seasons at Northwestern, something many MSU fans already had some familiarity with, while Smith came in from Oregon State with a much more isolated profile.
So far, Fitzgerald hasn’t seemed eager to abandon the values that defined his Northwestern teams. He has modernized where needed, including bringing in 32 transfers this offseason. Michigan State also has only 15 scholarship commitments in its 2027 recruiting class, the third-fewest in the Big Ten, a number that may make sense in an era with a hard roster limit and the need to keep room open for portal additions.
None of that guarantees the plan will work. A vision is one thing; making it real is another.
Fitzgerald is aiming for an immediate jump this season, and the next stretch will tell a lot. Saturday’s game against Nebraska and the rest of a relatively manageable conference schedule will go a long way toward determining whether Year 1 ends up looking like a success.
In Other News...
Michigan State Faces A Bigger Nebraska Test Than Fans Expected
Michigan State heads into Saturdays 5 p.m. ET kickoff on the Big Ten Network trying to steady itself after taking its first loss and moving to 2-1. Nebraska, meanwhile, is unbeaten at 3-0, though the Cornhuskers have built that record against lower-tier competition, which has left a little uncertainty about how sturdy their start really is.
The matchup is drawing a sharper analytical read than the betting market. SP+ sees Nebraska holding a clear edge and expects the Cornhuskers to pull away by a wider margin than the current line suggests, a sign that this could be a tougher test for the Spartans than some fans were expecting. For Michigan State, the bigger question is whether the result will confirm Nebraska as a legit step up or show that the gap is not as wide as the numbers imply. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan States Title Hopes May Ride On One Lingering Weakness
Michigan State is back on the practice floor with the season opener on Nov. 2 looming, and the early buzz around Tom Izzos group is exactly what you would expect from a program with title expectations. A strong preseason ranking should follow, Jeremy Fears Jr. gives the Spartans another steady hand in the backcourt, and the freshman class led by Jordan Scott and Cam Ward adds the kind of long-term talent that keeps a roster from feeling top-heavy.
Even with all that optimism, the frontcourt still carries the one question that could shape how far this team goes. The Spartans are sorting through their center options, with Anton Bonke expected to be the starter but still pushed by Jesse McCulloch and Ethan Taylor, and that kind of internal competition usually says as much about uncertainty as it does depth. For a team talking openly about national championship goals, settling that spot may end up being the difference between a good season and one that matches the hype. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Has A Few Rising Players Who Could Change Big Ten Play
Michigan State finished its non-conference slate with a little of everything, including wins over Toledo and Eastern Michigan and a loss to Notre Dame, and the next stage of the season figures to hinge in part on a handful of younger players. The Spartans have already shown a willingness to mix in second-string quarterback Cam Fancher in specific offensive situations, while tight end Jayden Savoury and wide receiver Charles Taplin have been earning more run as the staff looks for answers and depth across the lineup.
Those incremental changes matter because the Big Ten grind tends to reward teams that find useful pieces before the league schedule settles in. Trey Lisle, a transfer on the defensive line, also saw a bigger workload against Notre Dame, a sign Michigan State may have more flexibility in how it deploys him if the rotation keeps expanding. For a team still sorting out its identity, those rising roles could become the difference between simply getting through September and finding something more sustainable when conference play gets going. [Read more 🡒]