Michigan State’s 2026 schedule runs into its most interesting stretch at the end, when the Spartans get three straight games that could define how the season finishes. There’s a ranked Washington team coming to East Lansing, a Friday night showdown with No. 2 Oregon under the lights, and then a road trip to Rutgers that could end up carrying real weight if MSU is chasing a bowl-clinching win in Game 12.
The final three dates on the slate are set for Saturday, Nov. 14 against Washington, Friday, Nov. 20 against Oregon at 8 PM EST, and Saturday, Nov. 28 at Rutgers.
That Oregon game is the headliner. A Friday night visit from the Ducks should bring a heavy atmosphere inside Spartan Stadium, especially with Coach Fitzgerald trying to show Michigan State can go toe-to-toe with the top of the Big Ten. Friday night lights, baby!
Washington enters the matchup coming off a 9-4 season and a Bucked Up LA Bowl win over Boise State. Jedd Fisch’s second year was a step forward, with three more wins than his first season and a 5-4 mark in Big Ten play.
The Huskies’ four losses came with a clear pattern: they never topped 14 points in any of them. Even with Kalen DeBoer gone, Washington is still rebuilding around a Top-15 recruiting class, its first since 2019.
At the center of everything is quarterback Demond Williams Jr. He put together a huge season, throwing for more than 3,000 yards and 25 touchdowns while adding 600 rushing yards and 6 scores on the ground.
That 600-yard rushing total was the third-most by a quarterback in Washington history. The numbers also showed how much Washington leaned on him: his passer rating dropped from 161.0 to 107.8 in those four losses when opponents focused on taking away his legs.
Williams has also already been part of the off-field noise. In January, he reportedly signed an NIL agreement with Washington for more than $4 million. A few days later, he said he was entering the transfer portal, then roughly 48 hours after that, he changed course and announced he would stay.
Washington lost a lot of production with RB Jonah Coleman and WR Denzel Boston, who combined for roughly 1,600 scrimmage yards and 26 total touchdowns. Still, the Huskies have enough firepower to make life difficult, especially with WR Dezmen Roebuck coming off a true freshman season that included 560 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Their offensive line brings back four starters. For Michigan State, the formula is straightforward: get pressure, keep Williams from turning broken plays into chunk gains, and make Washington play a different kind of game.
The challenge only gets bigger a week later when Oregon arrives.
The Ducks finished 13-2 last season, with both losses coming to Indiana. Dan Lanning has gone 48-8 in his career at Oregon, and even though the Ducks missed the Big Ten Championship Game after that midseason loss to the Hoosiers, they still made the playoff as the No. 5 seed.
They beat No. 12 seed James Madison 51-34 in the opening round, rolled past No. 4 Texas Tech 23-0 in Round 2, and then ran into Indiana again in the Peach Bowl, where they lost 56-22 in the semifinals.
Oregon’s offense starts with quarterback Dante Moore, who has legitimate Heisman buzz heading into the season. Last year he threw for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns while completing 71.8% of his passes.
Unlike Williams at Washington, Moore is more of a pocket thrower, using his arm talent to control games through the air. There’s a world where Moore wins the Heisman and becomes the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Fun fact: Dante played at Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School in Detroit.
The Ducks were every bit the offensive force you’d expect. They led the Big Ten in rushing yards per attempt at 5.4 and rushing touchdowns with 35. RB Jordon Davison scored 15 rushing touchdowns as a true freshman, and WR Dakorien Moore brings the kind of speed that could turn him into a breakout pass-catcher this season.
Michigan State does get a little help from the schedule here. Oregon has to travel to East Lansing in the middle of November for a night game, and it will be Senior Night since it’s MSU’s last home game.
The Ducks also have their rival Washington waiting the following week. That gives this one real trap-game potential, even if Oregon is loaded.
Then comes Rutgers, and by late November this game could matter a lot more than it looks on paper right now.
Rutgers went 5-7 overall and 2-7 in the Big Ten last season, beating Purdue and Maryland in conference play and handling Ohio, Miami (Ohio), and Norfolk State out of conference. Greg Schiano, the all-time wins leader in Rutgers football history, is in his seventh season of his second stint as head coach. His first run in Piscataway lasted from 2001-2011.
Last year’s Rutgers team was not typical of a Schiano defense. The Knights struggled badly on that side of the ball, allowing almost 32 points per game and more than 200 rushing yards per game.
They gave up 35 or more points in six games, including their final three losses. After the season, Schiano fired almost everyone on his defensive staff.
Offensively, Rutgers will lean on WR KJ Duff and RB Antwan Raymond. Duff is a 6’6” receiver who led the country with 22 contested catches, and he also posted 241 receiving yards against Purdue last year, the second-highest single-game total in Rutgers history.
Raymond ran for more than 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns while adding 225 receiving yards as a receiver out of the backfield. At quarterback, Dylan Lonergan is set to take over after transferring from Boston College as Rutgers replaces Athan Kaliakmanis, who was taken in the seventh round of the NFL Draft in April.
For Michigan State, that final game in New Jersey could end up carrying real meaning. It has the potential to be the one that gets the Spartans into a bowl or pushes them past Vegas’ 4.5-win total. Rutgers could wind up as Michigan State’s fifth or sixth win in Year 1 under Fitz.
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Martinezs value goes beyond the depth chart. Even while he was recovering, he stayed involved with the team, and that presence helped keep him connected to the defense he is expected to help lead. The Spartans voted him one of their six captains, a clear sign of how much respect he has in the locker room. For a team trying to build a new identity, getting a veteran voice like Martinez back now feels especially important. [Read more 🡒]
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With Jeremy Fears also part of that backcourt picture, Medlock gives the Spartans another option who could ease pressure on the offense right away. Divine Ugochukwus transfer opens the door for Medlock to become the primary backup point guard, and the early expectation is that he could settle into a meaningful role rather quickly, with minutes there for the taking if he adjusts the way Michigan State hopes. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan States Gonzaga Test Just Got Even More Demanding
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Lee also spent time in the NBA Summer League, a sign that Gonzaga views him as more than a depth piece heading into a season with big expectations. For the Spartans, the matchup on Dec. 19 now looks even more demanding, with the Bulldogs bringing in a guard who adds both experience and another layer of talent to a roster already built to test anyone they face. [Read more 🡒]