Michigan State gets back to East Lansing with some real juice after finally breaking through in the rivalry game, but Saturday brings a quick reset. The Spartans host Washington looking to turn last week’s 15-6 win at Michigan into something more than a one-off spark.
That victory meant plenty in the moment. Michigan State had dropped four straight in the series, and snapping that skid gave the Spartans a lift after a difficult stretch over the last four seasons. Alessio Milivojevic helped steady the offense with 188 passing yards, Brandon Tullis added 86 on the ground, and Liam Boyd delivered the cleanest day of all by going 5-for-5 on field goals.
Still, Pat Fitzgerald made it clear the Spartans can’t carry the emotion of that result into this week and expect it to do the work for them.
"It's rat poison if you allow it to be," he said. "We moved on.
The guys were great (Monday) morning. We had a really focused workout."
Michigan State is 3-6 overall and 1-5 in the Big Ten, and the next step is a home conference win - something the Spartans have not managed yet after losses in their stadium to Nebraska, Illinois and Northwestern. Fitzgerald said the challenge now is to let the Michigan win go and get back to business.
"It's a new life lesson of being able to let go of success, understand why that happened, and then moving forward and getting ready for a very good Washington football team," Fitzgerald said.
Washington arrives with a different mood after a 28-25 home loss to Penn State. The Huskies were buried early, trailing 28-6 at halftime before their second-half push came up short.
Even so, the road has treated Washington better than home in Big Ten play. The Huskies are 2-1 away from Seattle in league games, with wins at Purdue and Nebraska, despite losing three conference home games this season.
Jedd Fisch knows what Michigan State brings into the matchup.
"Another Big Ten team that's big and physical," Washington coach Jedd Fisch said of Michigan State. "They play good defense and played really good defense this past week against Michigan. We'll have our work cut out for us."
Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. returned to the lineup for his first start since Oct. 9 after recovering from a rib injury and threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns with one interception against Penn State.
In Other News...
Washington Faces A Bowl Pressure Test It Cant Afford To Waste
Washington heads to East Lansing with more than just a nonconference road trip on the line. The Huskies are trying to steady themselves in a game that carries real postseason weight, and the matchup with Michigan State gives this one a different feel than a typical early-season test. Staff analysis around the game has centered on how Washington matches up on both sides of the ball, with the offense and defense each carrying their own questions into a setting that can quickly turn uncomfortable for a visiting team.
For Washington, the pressure is tied to the bigger picture as much as the opponent in front of it. The Huskies need a result that keeps their bowl path moving in the right direction, and this is the kind of game that can shape the rest of the season if it goes the wrong way. The predictions around the matchup reflect that uncertainty, with the stakes rising because of what comes after and because this trip may end up saying a lot about how much margin Washington still has left. [Read more 🡒]
Washington Bowl Push Suddenly Faces A Brutal Michigan State Problem
Washingtons trip to Michigan State hit an unexpected snag Friday when the team could not leave Seattle as planned because of a nationwide flight stoppage ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration. The disruption stemmed from a system-wide telecommunication and network router issue that affected air traffic control centers, leaving the Huskies stuck in place as they tried to sort out what came next.
The delay adds another layer of uncertainty to a game that was already supposed to be a key road test, and it now leaves the schedule in limbo. Washington was back on campus looking into other travel options, while the bigger question is whether the matchup gets moved or whether the Huskies end up having to play on very little rest. [Read more 🡒]
Washington Faces Its First Real Test Against Unbeaten Utah
Utah and Washington arrive in Salt Lake City unbeaten, but the tone of the matchup feels different from the warm-up games that came before it. Utah had to work through a halftime deficit to get past Weber State, leaning on a strong second half and a career-high 21 points from Alec Anigbata, while Washington kept rolling with another convincing win as coach Danny Sprinkle continued to stress the Huskies emphasis on long-range shooting.
For Washington, this is the first real chance to see how that perimeter-heavy approach holds up against a team with size, experience and a little more urgency around the margins. The Huskies have looked sharp early, but facing Utah on the road should reveal more about how sustainable that formula is when the shot-making gets tighter and the margin for error gets smaller. [Read more 🡒]