Fitzgerald Sets Lofty Year 1 Goals for MSU, Starting New Tradition
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CHICAGO --- Any sort of talk about "baby steps" for Michigan State is out of the question for the Spartans' new coach.
Pat Fitzgerald returned home to Chicago and didn't sell expectations short for how MSU will do in his first year with the program. He's immediately looking to put Michigan State back on top of the conference, despite the team's four-year bowl drought. The Spartans' last Big Ten title also came in 2015.
"You're going to have 18 head football coaches walk up here and have an expectation to win the Big Ten Championship, and if you don't have that expectation, I don't know why you do it," Fitzgerald said on Wednesday. "I have no idea why you do it. That's our expectation."
ESPN's Football Power Index gives MSU only a 32.7% chance of reaching six wins and making a bowl game. The odds of finishing on top of the 18-team Big Ten are all the way down at 0.1% (so you're saying there's a chance?). Michigan State's shot at the College Football Playoff is 0.8%. Fitzgerald's words feel more like a statement about his mentality than him calling his shot, but it would be a prophetic-esque statement to look back on if MSU were to catch everybody off-guard.
Where Fitzgerald's Belief Comes From
A big part of what will make the Fitzgerald experiment in East Lansing interesting is the jump up in resources he's getting compared to his time at Northwestern. Fitzgerald even joked on Wednesday that he was looking forward to experiencing what it's like to be on the good side of a home-field advantage for the first time.
"I wasn't going to walk to East Lansing; I was going to sprint," Fitzgerald said about when he got the job. "The opportunity, once it was presented to myself, Stacey, and our family, it was a no-brainer."
Fitzgerald also said the amount of resources he's getting at MSU is a step up from what he received at Northwestern. Much of Fitzgerald's existing pedigree as a coach has to do with him doing "more with less" while he was with the Wildcats.
Northwestern had finished in the AP Top 25 just twice since 1949 when he became the head coach there, and both of those years were while he was playing linebacker at NU (No. 8 finish in 1995, No. 15 finish in 1996). Fitzgerald led the Wildcats to four AP Top 25 finishes, as well as two appearances in the Big Ten championship game.
Low Outside Preseason Expectations
Fitzgerald is also hardly blissfully unaware of the lack of preseason hype surrounding his program. Michigan State was recently picked to finish 16th in the conference in an unofficial preseason media poll conducted by Cleveland.com.
"We'll talk about that at the end of the year," he said about his team's placement. "I can read. It's not my first rodeo. Somebody's got to be placed where we're placed. It's fine. We'll roll the ball up and go play."
New "No. 1" Tradition
MSU also officially released its preseason roster on Wednesday. One thing that catches the eye is the lack of a player wearing No. 1 on the roster. That's often one of the first numbers players will gravitate towards when the opportunity presents itself, but the number is being reserved for now.
Fitzgerald used to have a tradition at Northwestern where he'd give the No. 1 to somebody who represents the team's values the most. He's decided that he's going to bring over that tradition to Michigan State and let the players decide who gets to wear the number.
"Everybody has played against the guy --- this is a general statement --- [the person] who wore No. 1 was usually the guy who thought he was No. 1, and I'm kind of anti-No. 1. I like the guy that cares about his teammates more than himself. I like the guy that cares about the program more than himself. The giving of yourself for the greater good; to me, that's family...
"I think that's what jersey No. 1 represents: who the Spartan is. We're gonna have that tradition started up this year. Our Unity Council nominates a group of names that we'll present to the team next week, and then a team will vote on who they believe the Spartan is."
Even if the eventual recipient of the jersey number doesn't want to change to No. 1, they'll get a No. 1 sticker on the back of their helmet.
No. 1 is also a uniform worth honoring at Michigan State. Between Charles Rogers, Andre Rison, and Jayden Reed, it's one of the most historic jersey numbers MSU has.
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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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