2026 Michigan State Spartans football team

Record0–0 (0–0 Big Ten)

Headcoach

Pat Fitzgerald (1st season)

OffensivecoordinatorNick Sheridan (1st season)

2026 Michigan State Spartans football

Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	0–0 (0–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pat Fitzgerald (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Nick Sheridan (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Joe Rossi (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Max Bullough (1st season)
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium
Seasons ← 2025 2027 →

2026 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Illinois	0	–	0	0	–	0
Indiana	0	–	0	0	–	0
Iowa	0	–	0	0	–	0
Maryland	0	–	0	0	–	0
Michigan	0	–	0	0	–	0
Michigan State	0	–	0	0	–	0
Minnesota	0	–	0	0	–	0
Nebraska	0	–	0	0	–	0
Northwestern	0	–	0	0	–	0
Ohio State	0	–	0	0	–	0
Oregon	0	–	0	0	–	0
Penn State	0	–	0	0	–	0
Purdue	0	–	0	0	–	0
Rutgers	0	–	0	0	–	0
UCLA	0	–	0	0	–	0
USC	0	–	0	0	–	0
Washington	0	–	0	0	–	0
Wisconsin	0	–	0	0	–	0
Championship: December 5, 2026
As of April 15, 2026 Rankings from AP poll

The 2026 Michigan State Spartans football team will represent Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Spartans will play their home games at Spartan Stadium located in East Lansing, Michigan, and will be led by first-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Coaching changes

Following the conclusion of the 2025 season, the school fired head coach Jonathan Smith after two seasons.^[1] On December 1, 2025, the school named former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald the team's new coach.^[2] Fitzgerald retained defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, receivers coach Courtney Hawkins, safeties coach James Adams, and tight ends coach Brian Wozniak.^[3] Former MSU linebacker Max Bullough was hired as a co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach^[4] and LeVar Woods was named special teams coach.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site
September 5	Toledo*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI
September 12	Eastern Michigan*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI
September 19	at Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (rivalry)
September 26	Nebraska	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI
October 3	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI
October 10	Illinois	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI
October 17	Northwestern	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI
October 24	at UCLA	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA
November 7	at Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)
November 14	Washington	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI
November 21	Oregon	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI
November 28	at Rutgers	SHI Stadium Piscataway, NJ
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Sources:^[6]^[7]

Game summaries

vs Toledo

Toledo Rockets (0–0) at Michigan State Spartans (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Rockets			0
Spartans			0

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

Date: September 5

Statistics	TOL	MSU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Toledo	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Eastern Michigan

Eastern Michigan Eagles (0–0) at Michigan State Spartans (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Eagles			0
Spartans			0

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

Date: September 12

Statistics	EMU	MSU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Eastern Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Notre Dame

Michigan State Spartans (0–0) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Spartans			0
Fighting Irish			0

at Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana

Date: September 19

Statistics	MSU	ND
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Notre Dame	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Nebraska

Nebraska Cornhuskers (0–0) at Michigan State Spartans (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Cornhuskers			0
Spartans			0

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

Date: September 26

Statistics	NEB	MSU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Nebraska	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Wisconsin

Michigan State Spartans (0–0) at Wisconsin Badgers (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Spartans			0
Badgers			0

at Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin

Date: October 3

Statistics	MSU	WIS
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Wisconsin	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Illinois

Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) at Michigan State Spartans (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Fighting Illini			0
Spartans			0

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

Date: October 10

Statistics	ILL	MSU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Northwestern

Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) at Michigan State Spartans (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Wildcats			0
Spartans			0

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

Date: October 17

Statistics	NU	MSU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at UCLA

Michigan State Spartans (0–0) at UCLA Bruins (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Spartans			0
Bruins			0

at Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California

Date: October 24

Statistics	MSU	UCLA
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
UCLA	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Michigan

Michigan State Spartans (0–0) at Michigan Wolverines (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Spartans			0
Wolverines			0

at Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan

Date: November 7

Statistics	MSU	MICH
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Washington

Washington Huskies (0–0) at Michigan State Spartans (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Huskies			0
Spartans			0

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

Date: November 14

Statistics	WASH	MSU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Washington	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Oregon

Oregon Ducks (0–0) at Michigan State Spartans (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Ducks			0
Spartans			0

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

Date: November 21

Statistics	ORE	MSU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oregon	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Rutgers

Michigan State Spartans (0–0) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Spartans			0
Scarlet Knight			0

at SHI Stadium • Piscataway, New Jersey

Date: November 28

Statistics	MSU	RUTG
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Rutgers	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Name	Position	Season
Pat Fitzgerald	Head Coach	1st
LeVar Woods	Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator	1st
Joe Rossi	Defensive Coordinator	3rd
Nick Sheridan	Offensive Coordinator	1st
Max Bullough	Co-Defensive Coordintator/Linebackers Coach	1st
James Adams	Safeties Coach	2nd
Andrew Bindelglass	Rush Ends Coach	1st
Winston DeLattiboudere III	Defensive Line Coach	1st
Courtney Hawkins	Wide Receivers Coach	7th
John McNulty	Quarterbacks Coach	1st
Devon Spalding	Running Backs Coach	1st
Nick Tabacca	Offensive Line Coach	1st
Brian Wozniak	Tight Ends Coach	3rd

v t e Michigan State Spartans football
Venues	Old College Field (1902–1922) Spartan Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Indiana Michigan Notre Dame Penn State
Culture & lore	Sparty "Victory for MSU" Marching band Zeke the Wonder Dog 1966 "Game of the Century" 2001 Michigan game 2006 Northwestern game Trouble With the Snap
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
National championship seasons in bold

2026 Michigan State Spartans football team

Coaching changes

Schedule

Game summaries

vs Toledo

vs Eastern Michigan

at Notre Dame

vs Nebraska

at Wisconsin

vs Illinois

vs Northwestern

at UCLA

at Michigan

vs Washington

vs Oregon

at Rutgers

Personnel

Coaching staff

Notes

References

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