Michigan State’s next two Saturdays may end up telling the whole story of this season.
The Spartans are heading into an unusual Big Ten homestand with plenty on the line, and the margin for error is already thin. Win both games, and MSU can give its season real life. Drop both, and bowl hopes in Fitzgerald’s first year would be all but gone.
That’s the reality facing a team that has spent much of the fall trying to find its footing. And as Fitzgerald put it Monday, the response to the frustration has to be internal.
“When things don’t go your way, that frustration has got to become motivation. That’s the only way to approach it,” Fitzgerald said at Monday’s press conference.
Saturday’s opponent gives MSU a real opening. Illinois is 2-3, just like the Spartans, and one of seven Big Ten teams still searching for a conference win. The Fighting Illini have been vulnerable on both sides of the ball, allowing 381.8 yards and 26 points per game, while averaging only 18 points against Big Ten opponents.
Their latest setback only added to the concern. Illinois lost its homecoming game 24-17 to Purdue last week, and Purdue hadn’t won a Big Ten game since Nov. 25, 2023.
For Michigan State, though, the problem is obvious: the offense has not done nearly enough in league play. The Spartans are averaging just 8 points in Big Ten games, and that has to change fast if they want to get the first conference win.
“You got to create explosive plays, and you need to convert on third down and in the red area, and if you do that, you’re going to score points,” offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said at Tuesday’s press conference. “We need to do a better job there.”
The next two weeks also shape up as a pivotal stretch because Northwestern follows Illinois into East Lansing. The Wildcats are 3-1, with blowout wins over Colorado and Penn State and a six-point road loss to No.
7 Indiana as their only defeat. MSU does get a small break in that Northwestern has not won on the road, and former Spartan quarterback Aidan Chiles will be making a return to East Lansing after starting 20 games there.
Before that, the Spartans will face another familiar face in Illinois quarterback Katin Houser.
If MSU can sweep the homestand, the season outlook changes quickly. A 4-3 record would keep a bowl bid within reach, especially with Michigan, Washington and Rutgers still ahead. Those three teams are all winless in conference play and sit in the bottom five in the league in scoring.
The schedule then includes a bye week before Michigan in Ann Arbor, a home date with Washington and the regular-season finale at Rutgers.
But if MSU comes out of these two games empty-handed, the path gets brutal in a hurry. An 0-2 homestand would essentially end any realistic bowl push and leave Fitzgerald’s team staring at a 2-5 trip to Pasadena, California, to face No.
21 UCLA, which is scoring 44.8 points per game. That would be a steep ask for an MSU offense that hasn’t topped 35 points in any game this season.
A loss Saturday would also mean the Spartans would need to win their final four games to get to bowl eligibility, including the visit from No. 13 Oregon to Spartan Stadium.
A split would keep things alive, but only barely. Two wins, though, would do much more than that.
“You get the privilege to play at Michigan State. The privilege to play in the Big Ten.
The privilege to compete against Illinois. If you’re not fired up to do that, then you probably shouldn’t play,” Fitzgerald said.
MSU (2-3) and Illinois (2-3) kick off at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Spartan Stadium. The game will air on FS1.
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Even in defeat, Michigan State had some production it can build on, with Alanna Bankston finishing with 14 kills and Malayah Long handing out 32 assists. But the bigger takeaway is that Big Ten play has already started to sharpen the margins, and the Spartans saw firsthand how quickly a strong start can be tested when a ranked opponent settles in and controls the match. [Read more 🡒]
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Michigan State Opened Its No. 3 Season Looking Every Bit The Part
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Freshman goaltender Joshua Ravensbergern settled in well enough in his first start, turning aside 16 shots as the Spartans controlled the game in front of him. For a team carrying high expectations into the fall, the opener offered the kind of balanced performance Michigan State wants to build on, even if the larger questions about how this group will hold up against tougher opposition are only beginning to take shape. [Read more 🡒]