MSU's Fitzgerald Shares View of UM Rivalry Ahead of First Matchup
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EAST LANSING --- The Michigan State-Michigan rivalry can confront MSU's head coach anywhere, even at Home Depot.
"I'm at Home Depot, and two women are helping me when I'm buying a snow shovel and some salt..." Pat Fitzgerald said Monday. "They're like, 'Coach, we're fired up for this week!' and we had a little conversation about some things, and so, you know, I get it. I get it completely, and so will our guys."
Getting 'It'
Fitzgerald has been good at "winning the press conference," quote-unquote. It felt like he won Monday's presser, with the exception of his statement that the MSU-UM rivalry is built on "respect," when it's certainly the opposite, between the "little brother" labels and Michigan trying to prevent MSU's admission into the Big Ten. Even then, it's pretty rare to have a coach who would say otherwise out in public. It's also Year 1; give him some time.
The energy levels from Fitzgerald are usually high on Mondays, even through a season that has resulted in a 2-6 record up to this point. There was a little extra sharpness to Fitzgerald's words this week, though. Perhaps it was the bye week allowing a tiny bit more rest, but it felt more Michigan-related than anything.
What fans will like to see is that Fitzgerald didn't do any tiptoeing around what this one means to the fanbase and to his program. There were no "this is another game"-type statements that pretend this week is the same as Illinois week or Rutgers week.
"That's why you come to Michigan State, that's why you play in the Big Ten, and that's what makes college football so special," Fitzgerald said. "There's nothing more important, and nothing bigger, than rivalries, and this is a huge game for us, and we're excited for the opportunity."
This will also be the first truly significant rivalry Fitzgerald has been a part of. Illinois was probably Fitzgerald's biggest rival at Northwestern, but that in-state rivalry doesn't really match the bitterness and history of the Spartans vs. the Wolverines.
"Aren't rivalries great?" Fitzgerald also said. "Isn't it great? I love it. I love everything about it. Sibling rivalries, it doesn't matter. Your buddy is back in the back, you know, playing the turkey bowl game. You want to win. You want to win at all costs."
Importance of Game to MSU
This game is sort of... it... for the Spartans. A 2-6 overall record and a 0-5 mark during Big Ten play already have fans a bit dazed, even with the understanding that this is the first year of yet another program rebuild. Basketball season officially tipped off on Monday, but all the attention will probably shift to Tom Izzo's squad if Michigan State drops the biggest game of the year, especially when the remaining schedule of Washington, Oregon, and Rutgers is very uninspiring.
There is a significant sect of the MSU fanbase that will consider this season at least a mild success with a victory on Saturday night, even if the Spartans lose those three games after that and finish 3-9. Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham said this game is "the Super Bowl, particularly for them (at Michigan State)," and he's right in that assertion.
Fitzgerald also needs something to point to as a sign of things to come. A vision has to be sold when you're the head coach of a struggling program, but that sell job becomes a lot easier when you have a real-life example to point to. Somehow, someway, finding enough pieces to take down Michigan in Year 1 would be the perfect thing to point to, even if the Wolverines seem beatable.
"We're not going to shy away from where we want to be and what we want to do, and one of those things is to have Paul Bunyan always in our building," Fitzgerald said. "Right now it's not, and we're fully aware of that, and we know what we're going to have to do to get ready, and that's to prepare the best we've prepared all year."
At some point, Michigan State and Fitzgerald need to win a game. What you've done in one year has never had less correlation with what you'll do the next in college football, but it definitely feels like MSU needs something to hold onto. The Spartans aren't in possession of any of their four rivalry trophies, but Paul will always be the most important one. Get him back in the trophy case, and doubters become believers and a lost season becomes a step back towards relevancy.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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