Michigan State didn’t just beat Michigan on Saturday night. It flipped the mood around the entire program.
That’s the kind of thing a rivalry win can do, especially when the Spartans came in buried under a six-game losing streak and carrying an injury report that looked endless. The setup didn’t point toward anything dramatic.
Michigan had its own issues, sure, but they seemed far more manageable than what Michigan State had been dragging through. Then the Spartans walked into Michigan Stadium and put together their most complete performance of the season in a 15-6 win.
The record still isn’t pretty. Michigan State is 3-6 overall and 1-5 in Big Ten play, and a fifth straight losing season still feels likely. But in a year that’s been framed as a rebuilding and foundational season, beating your biggest rival on the road changes the temperature fast.
For Pat Fitzgerald, that matters in a big way. Even a rough finish like 2-10 would have been hard to sell.
A 3-9 season with a late win over Rutgers wouldn’t exactly light up the fan base or the donors in East Lansing, either. But knocking off Michigan gives the program something much more valuable: belief.
That’s the kind of boost coaches can ride for a while after an unexpected rivalry win, and Fitzgerald made clear how much he thinks faith drives a turnaround.
"I learned a long time ago, when I was a player (at Northwestern), when we were trying to turn a program around, it’s about faith," Fitzgerald said. "It’s about having belief without evidence, and that’s what I’ve talked to the guys about in different ways. But that’s been ingrained in my heart and in my mind since I was a player."
He expanded on that idea, too.
"Like, which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Confidence, how does it all work out?
Well, you’ve got to have faith, and you’ve got to believe. I don’t think that has wavered since we’ve gotten together.
We’ve had some tough outcomes, we’ve had some tough games, we’ve had some calls we’d love to have back, but this is a huge catalyst."
The win also changed the conversation around Alessio Milivojevic. The quarterback had been under real pressure lately, which is the reality at that position in the transfer portal era.
He hadn’t played well enough this season to make his grip on QB1 for 2027 feel secure, and the thumb injury he picked up against Northwestern only added more uncertainty. He sat out the next week at UCLA, then was listed as available for this game and was seen with tape on the thumb of his throwing hand during warmups and the contest.
Fitzgerald didn’t hold back on what he thought of the performance.
"'Les is one of the toughest guys I’ve ever coached, period," Fitzgerald said. "He’s just a warrior.
The way he played today, the way he managed the game... I think he’d maybe like to have one throw back the whole game.
Yeah, I mean, he looked pretty darn special today."
Milivojevic didn’t light up the stat sheet, but he did exactly what Michigan State needed. He completed his first start against Michigan with 188 passing yards, no touchdowns and no turnovers against a defense ranked third. PFF said Michigan got to him for 18 pressures, the most he’s seen all season, and he did it while posting season-low numbers in ADOT at 6.4 yards and time to throw at 2.38 seconds.
That kind of outing makes it a lot harder to imagine Michigan State moving on from him this offseason than it would have been a few weeks ago. The Spartans did move on from Rocky Lombardi after 2020 despite a Paul Bunyan victory, but Milivojevic is a different case.
For his part, Milivojevic sounded like a quarterback who knew exactly what the night meant.
"It’s an amazing feeling," Milivojevic said after the win. "One of the best feelings of my entire life, to be honest. Just seeing my teammates so happy, just knowing how much work that we’ve put in together since January, since Coach Fitz got here, and just seeing it come to life in a game like this and on a big stage like this, it’s awesome."
In Other News...
Pat Fitzgerald Just Dropped Michigan State Into A Huge CFP Debate
Pat Fitzgerald has already put Michigan State in the middle of one of college footballs biggest arguments, and he did it by taking a broad view of where the sport is headed. The Spartans head coach backed expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams and even floated the idea that a 48-team format could work, drawing parallels to the way the NCAA Tournament and the NFL have grown their postseason fields over time.
Fitzgerald also used the moment to sharpen his critique of how college football is run, saying coaches and players should have a bigger voice in the decisions that shape the sport. He pointed to the Protect College Sports Act as a possible step forward, while also casting doubt on whether it will actually get through, which leaves Michigan State tied to a larger debate that is still very much unresolved. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Tullis Just Gave Michigan State A Needed Backfield Spark
Jalen Tullis was not supposed to be a central part of Michigan States backfield plan, but injuries opened the door and he made the most of it in East Lansings biggest rivalry setting. In the Spartans win at Michigan Stadium, the running back handled 25 carries for a career-high 86 yards and gave MSU the kind of steady, physical presence it needed to tilt the ground game in its favor.
For a team trying to find its footing under Pat Fitzgerald, Tullis emergence mattered beyond one afternoon. Michigan State controlled possession and tempo with its run game, and the victory brought the Spartans their first Big Ten win under Fitzgerald while also snapping a six-game skid against Michigan. Whether Tullis role keeps growing is the next question, but he clearly gave this offense a spark it had been missing. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Found Unexpected Heroes In A Rivalry Win
Michigan States rivalry win over Michigan had the feel of a game the Spartans had to scrape together in real time, and they did it while missing several key players to injury. The 15-6 result snapped a six-game losing streak and turned into a night where the next-man-up approach mattered as much as any pregame plan, with younger and lesser-known contributors suddenly carrying major responsibility.
Sophomore wide receiver Bryson Williams was one of the most notable stand-ins after stepping in for an injured teammate, while Brandon Tullis delivered his best game yet with 86 yards on 25 carries. On defense, Eli Coenen was on the field for nearly every snap and helped anchor a unit that kept Michigan out of the end zone, giving Michigan State a hard-earned answer to a rivalry that had gone the other way for too long. [Read more 🡒]