How MSU Can Handle Injury Woes Against Wisconsin

The Spartans will have to battle to defeat Wisconsin.

Sep 19, 2026; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Pat Fitzgerald arrives before the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Spartans were already having a rough time before the Nebraska Cornhuskers game, having just lost to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and leaving a lot to fix. But the team as a whole was still generally fine, and they had a lot to look forward to in their first home Big Ten game.

Everything changed when the ball was snapped, though, as the Cornhuskers dismantled everything MSU put together, and to add insult to injury, many Spartans were injured in the game. It felt like someone new had to come off the play every drive, if not every few plays.

Michigan State’s Cam Edwards leaves the field on a cart after suffering an injury against Nebraska during the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in East Lansing. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Going into this week against the Wisconsin Badgers, it was expected that some big names might be out, including Cam Edwards, who is out for the rest of the season, and Jordan Hall, who left the game with something that looked like more than a minor issue.

But the availability report is out, and things look more dire than some might have expected, putting the Spartans at a major disadvantage that they will have to fight through to have a chance to beat the Badgers.

The Sheer Difference in Numbers

Michigan State’s head coach Pat Fitzgerald, center, walks the end zone with the team before the football game against Nebraska on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in East Lansing. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

• Missing a star or two for the week is one thing, since the team as a whole is still mostly intact and units still have most of their normal players ready to go. That is not the case for MSU this time around, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

• The Spartans currently have seven players listed as out against Wisconsin, one doubtful, and seven questionable. In the best-case scenario, MSU will be missing only seven players.

Sep 26, 2026; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Pat Fitzgerald protests a call that favored the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first quarter at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

How MSU Can Combat Injury Woes

• But look at Wisconsin: they currently have only three players out and only three questionable. The best-case scenario for them is that they miss only three, and the worst-case is that they miss six, which is still fewer than MSU's best-case scenario.

• It will be a tough game to handle for Pat Fitzgerald, and it will be a game where MSU's grit will have to shine in every player, from the starters to players getting major time who didn't know if that would even happen this season. The sheer difference in the number of starters and major players will make the game incredibly difficult, though not impossible.

• Michigan State will need a big performance on both sides of the ball in its road conference opener against a Badgers team that has won three straight.