Full Michigan State 2026 Football Schedule Unveiled

The 2026 slate for Michigan State football is set.

MSU's full schedule was unveiled on Tuesday afternoon, as was the case for every other Big Ten team, when every game was revealed during a special on the Big Ten Network. Here are all the dates of the Spartans' games next fall.

2026 Schedule

Michigan State Spartans head football coach Pat Fitzgerald points while introducing himself to the crowd at a men's basketball game against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. Fitzgerald was officially hired by MSU on Monday. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Note: Bold indicates home game

Sept. 5 - Toledo

Sept. 12 - Eastern Michigan

Sept. 19 - at Notre Dame

Sept. 26 - Nebraska

Oct. 3 - at Wisconsin

Oct. 10 - Illinois

Oct. 17 - Northwestern

Oct. 24 - at UCLA

Oct. 31 - BYE

Nov. 7 - at Michigan

Nov. 14 - Washington

Nov. 21 - Oregon

Nov. 28 - at Rutgers

Schedule Highlights

Sep 7, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; A detailed view of Michigan State Spartans helmet on the field before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Notre Dame

The first big game of the season will be the huge non-conference road test against Notre Dame in Week 3. It will be the first time "The Battle for the Megaphone" will be played since 2017, and the Spartans' first trip to South Bend since 2016.

This will be the first litmus test of the Pat Fitzgerald era. Michigan State plays Toledo and Eastern Michigan before it faces the Fighting Irish, but MSU's measuring stick isn't the MAC. There's a high chance Notre Dame could be a top-10 or even top-5 team when the Spartans go down there. Even a serious fight would be a sign of Michigan State's program going in a positive direction.

Northwestern

The most storyline-rich game this season will definitely be MSU's home game against Northwestern. People love a good "revenge" game, where somebody faces their old team, and that will be the case for somebody on both sides of this one.

For Michigan State, it's Fitzgerald, who was fired after 17 seasons as the head coach at NU in the wake of a hazing scandal. Fitzgerald sued for wrongful termination, though, and eventually settled with the school back in August for an undisclosed amount.

On the other side, there's quarterback Aidan Chiles. He was MSU's starting quarterback in 2024 and 2025, but was benched towards the end of this past season in favor of Alessio Milivojevic, who is back for 2026.

Fitzgerald vs. his alma mater. Chiles vs. Milivojevic. That should be a fun one.

Nov 19, 2022; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald walks the sidelines during the second quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Michigan

It goes without saying, but the annual matchup against the Wolverines is... a pretty big deal. One of the big tasks Fitzgerald has in front of himself is to try to turn the tide of the in-state rivalry. Michigan has beaten MSU four straight times.

On the plus side, the rivalry has taken a bit of a reset. UM fired Sherrone Moore and subsequently hired Kyle Whittingham, who was previously the head coach at Utah for 21 seasons. The meeting in Ann Arbor will be the second time in three seasons that both Michigan State and Michigan will have first-year head coaches.

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