2026 Michigan State Spartans football team

2026 Michigan State Spartans football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record0–0 (0–0 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorNick Sheridan (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorJoe Rossi (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinatorMax Bullough (1st season)
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
2026 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
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 March 20, 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.

Offseason

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

DateOpponentSiteResult
September 5Toledo*
September 12Eastern Michigan*
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
September 19at Notre Dame*
September 26Nebraska
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
October 3at Wisconsin
October 10Illinois
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
October 17Northwestern
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
October 24at UCLA
November 7at Michigan
November 14Washington
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
November 21Oregon
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
November 28at Rutgers
  • *Non-conference game

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

See also: 2026 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Michigan State–Notre Dame football rivalry
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

See also: 2026 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
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

See also: 2026 Wisconsin Badgers football team
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

See also: 2026 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
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

See also: 2026 Northwestern Wildcats football team
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

See also: 2026 UCLA Bruins football team
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

See also: 2026 Michigan Wolverines football team and Michigan–Michigan State football rivalry
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

See also: 2026 Washington Huskies football team
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

See also: 2026 Oregon Ducks football team
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

See also: 2026 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
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

Personnel

Coaching staff

Name Position


Pat Fitzgerald Head Coach
Joe Rossi Defensive Coordinator (retained)
Max Bullough Co-Defensive Coordinator & LB Coach
James Adams Safeties Coach
Hank Poteat Cornerbacks Coach
Winston DeLattiboudere III Defensive Line Coach
Nick Sheridan Quarterbacks Coach
Devon Spalding Running Backs Coach
Nick Tabacca Offensive Line Coach
Courtney Hawkins Wide Receivers Coach (retained)
Brian Wozniak Tight Ends Coach (retained)
LeVar Woods Special Teams Coordinator & Assistant Head Coach
Joel Welsh Strength & Conditioning Coach
Jacob Schmidt Chief of Staff & Program Operations
Bryan Gasser General Manager

Notes

References

  1. ^ "Michigan State fires Jonathan Smith: Top candidates, transfers, recruits". ESPN.com. November 30, 2025. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  2. ^ "Michigan State hires Fitzgerald, touts 'new era'". ESPN.com. December 1, 2025. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  3. ^ "Michigan State football coaching hire tracker: Who has Pat Fitzgerald hired?". Spartan Avenue. December 21, 2025. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  4. ^ Bondy, Robert. "It's official! MSU announces hiring of Max Bullough as co-DC, LBs coach". Spartans Wire. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  5. ^ "Why Pat Fitzgerald poaching Iowa coordinator is key move to begin Michigan State tenure". CBS Sports. December 19, 2025. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  6. ^ "Big Ten Announces 2026 Football Schedule". msuspartans.com. MSU Spartans Athletics. January 27, 2026.
  7. ^ "2026 Michigan State Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
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