Michigan State is staring at another reset, this time with Pat Fitzgerald taking over a program that hasn’t reached a bowl game in four seasons. The Spartans open the 2026 season on Friday, Sept. 4 against Toledo, and with fall camp set to begin Thursday, it’s time to map out how the whole schedule might shake out.
The opener is no cupcake. Toledo brought in Mike Jacobs after Jason Candle left for the UConn job, and Jacobs arrives with a strong résumé from Mercer, where he went 20-6 over two seasons and reached the FCS postseason both times. The Rockets were picked to finish third in the MAC by league coaches in July, so this isn’t just a warm-up for Fitzgerald’s debut.
Week 2 brings a slightly softer landing with Eastern Michigan, though there’s a familiar face waiting. Former Spartan starter Noah Kim will be back in East Lansing after leading the MAC in passing yards last season. The Eagles, meanwhile, were slotted seventh in the MAC preseason poll.
Then comes the first real gut-check: Notre Dame on the road in the first “Battle for the Megaphone” since 2017. The Fighting Irish are viewed as one of the favorites to win the national title, and Michigan State will have to deal with them in South Bend. Still, Notre Dame under Marcus Freeman has shown a strange early-season vulnerability, with losses to Marshall in 2022 and Northern Illinois in 2024.
That trip matters even more because it likely drops Michigan State into a tricky but manageable Big Ten stretch. Nebraska, Wisconsin and Illinois follow, and the Nebraska game feels like the hinge point.
The Cornhuskers should be fresher after a non-conference slate of Ohio, Bowling Green and FCS North Dakota, while MSU will be coming off the Notre Dame game. Even so, the Spartans are projected to be in position to build momentum if they can hang around.
The Wisconsin game in Madison looks like a real opportunity. Michigan State will already have handled a hostile setting by then, and the pressure is on Luke Fickell. Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph is talented and mobile, but he was turnover-prone against Sun Belt competition at Old Dominion, and that opens the door for MSU’s defense to make a play or two.
Homecoming brings Illinois to East Lansing, with Katin Houser returning to campus. Bret Bielema has turned Illinois into a more competitive team, and the expectation here is that the Illini keep that progress going. Michigan State, though, should be competitive deep into the game before coming up just short.
The Northwestern game stands out for a different reason. It will be Fitzgerald’s first matchup with his alma mater, and Aidan Chiles will also be back in East Lansing.
Northwestern finished 14th in Cleveland.com’s Annual media preseason poll, with Michigan State 16th, and ESPN’s College Football Power Index lists this as the only Big Ten game where the Spartans are favored. Beyond the storylines, it could be a major swing game for the season, especially if MSU is sitting around 3-4 or 4-3 before the schedule toughens again.
Out west, the Spartans are dealing with another difficult road trip to UCLA. Bob Chesney was the coach the author wanted Michigan State to hire, but UCLA got him after his run at James Madison, where he led the Dukes to the College Football Playoff.
MSU’s recent trips to the West Coast haven’t gone well, with Oregon handling the Spartans in 2024 and USC controlling last year’s game. UCLA wasn’t great in East Lansing last season, but the Bruins should be better in Pasadena.
Michigan is another uphill climb, and the rivalry still hasn’t tilted back in MSU’s favor. The Wolverines have gone four years without losing to the Spartans, and now they’ve brought in Kyle Whittingham, a veteran coach who didn’t need a reboot to build his staff and roster the way Michigan State’s new regime does. With the game in Ann Arbor, Michigan looks like a top-25 team and the safer pick.
Washington also looms as a serious challenge. The Huskies went 9-4 last season and kept quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who is being pegged as a sleeper Heisman candidate. Michigan State won’t be a massive underdog, but taking that one would qualify as a major upset.
The Oregon game might be the toughest of all. The Ducks are the best Big Ten team on the Spartans’ schedule, and the setup is awkward for them: a Friday night game sandwiched between a home date with Michigan and a rivalry game against Washington. Even so, Oregon has too much going for it, with Dante Moore back in his home state and an offensive line that was a Joe Moore Award finalist last year.
The finale at Rutgers offers a better chance to close on a positive note. Rutgers was picked second-to-last in the Big Ten preseason media poll, and that gives Michigan State a shot to leave the year with something to build on. The record may not jump off the page, but the scores should tell a story of a team starting to move in the right direction.
In Other News...
Michigan State Just Made Its No. 1 Jersey Mean Something Bigger
Michigan States No. 1 jersey is getting a different kind of weight this season, one tied less to standing out and more to standing with everyone else. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald has set up a new tradition around the number, with the idea being that it should reflect selflessness and commitment to the team rather than simple status or talent alone.
The process starts with nominees from a unity council, then moves to a team vote, which gives the honor a more collective feel inside the locker room. And if the player chosen does not want to wear the jersey, there is still a way to recognize the nod from teammates, keeping the symbol in place even without putting it on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Enters Fall Camp With One Huge Test For Nick Sheridan
Fall camp arrives with Michigan State asking a lot of a revamped offense, and most of the attention lands on Nick Sheridan. The new offensive coordinator inherits a unit that brings back only two starters, so the Spartans are leaning on transfers, young players and a few familiar pieces to sort out what this group can actually become before the season starts. The offensive line should provide at least some stability, with most of the starting spots expected to be settled even if injuries and availability prompt a few shuffles.
The real pressure point is still in the passing game, where the Spartans need answers at receiver and tight end. Those spots are filled with players who have to prove they can handle Big Ten speed and physicality, and camp will be less about fine-tuning than identifying who can be trusted when the games count. For Sheridan, the challenge is not just installing an offense, but building one that can survive the uncertainty at the positions that usually make it go. [Read more 🡒]
Jaxon Kohler Still Looms Over Michigan States Late Roster Plans
Jaxon Kohlers situation has become one of the more unusual late-offseason wrinkles for Michigan State, with the outgoing senior now exploring a possible return to college basketball after a court decision reopened eligibility under the new 5-in-5 system. For Tom Izzo and his staff, the timing matters as much as the rule itself. A roster that had started to take shape suddenly has another moving piece, and the ripple effect reaches both planning and recruiting.
Kohlers name is now in circulation well beyond East Lansing, which only adds to the uncertainty around what his next step will be. Izzo has already pointed to the complicated nature of the change and the way it affects how programs map out their rosters, and that leaves Michigan State waiting along with everyone else. What happens next could influence not just where Kohler lands, but how the Spartans manage the rest of their offseason work. [Read more 🡒]