The Next Big Challenge MSU's Fitzgerald Faces in Michigan Aftermath
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EAST LANSING -- This is a rebuilding or foundational season for Michigan State. It's already been tested a multitude of times following losses, and it has held up. Now, it needs to hold up when things seem to be going well.
MSU sits at a measly 3-6 overall with a 1-5 Big Ten record, but the vibes no longer feel 3-6ish after the Spartans went to Ann Arbor and handled arch-rival Michigan 15-6 this past Saturday. A win in that game makes things 70 degrees and sunny for a little bit, but the Washington Huskies could give a you-know-what about that.
"You've got to grow up. You've got to mature," Pat Fitzgerald said about the process of moving on from the Michigan game. "This is a test. It's a hard test. This is a very, very well-coached team. They've lost three (of their) games by what, three, four, and three (points)."
The Season Chugs Along
It's great to beat the Wolverines, especially at Michigan Stadium, but Michigan State would certainly like to avoid having its first 3-9 finish since 2016. This will be the interesting thing to observe when Washington comes to Spartan Stadium this Saturday (4:15 p.m. ET, BTN): Can MSU somehow keep up the same intensity and execute the same way against a non-rival?
"The better news for me as a head coach: well, now you've put it on tape," Fitzgerald said. "We've been trying to set the standard. You've now put the standard on tape. So now you know we're going to hold you to that in everything that you do."
Fitzgerald said during his postgame presser on Saturday that the victory could be a "catalyst" for his program. There is still a world where the Spartans lose out, and Fitzgerald would still remain firmly in the good graces of the fans, administration, and donors, but grabbing another game or two and maybe finishing 5-7 with a supremely flawed roster and a ridiculous number of injuries would only generate more excitement for 2027.
Michigan State and new athletic director Dan Bartholomae were already projecting confidence that the NIL situation will be better next season than it is this season, even before Saturday. Beating UM on the road will only make Bartholomae's and Fitzgerald's fundraising efforts easier, but maybe there are a few detractors out there who pause because of Michigan's obvious flaws. Proving it against another Big Ten opponent would be an additional bit of insurance.
The end goal for Fitzgerald is to have a "bedrock" foundation. The progress in that aspect has been obvious this season, even if it has come with some ugly football at times. Michigan State's "bedrock" can't just be responding to losses, though. Winning cannot be treated as something unexpected. Go out and do it again.
Fitzgerald's Overall Response
One thing that really struck me was how calm Fitzgerald looked right after the win on Saturday night. He's a coach who isn't afraid to let his emotions show out there, but when Alessio Milivojevic killed the final seconds of the game in victory formation, Fitzgerald barely cracked a smile.
Perhaps it was to be sportsmanlike to Michigan's Kyle Whittingham. It was an emphasis of Fitzgerald's to his team that they'd go out to midfield and shake their opponent's hand, but he didn't look like a coach who had just beaten his new arch-rival on his first try and snapped a six-game losing streak. He wasn't even smiling as he walked up Michigan Stadium's tunnel, Paul Bunyan Trophy in hand, only really grinning during a short conversation with linebacker Jordan Hall.
It's not to say there wasn't any celebration going on. Michigan Stadium's tunnel is literally as far as it could possibly be from the press box, and the fact that I got to the tunnel before Fitzgerald got there shows how long the team took to savor that moment. My "final score" post on X was sent at 11:12 p.m., and my own video of Fitzgerald with the trophy went out at 11:25 p.m., so call it 12-13 minutes.
Fitz with Paul. pic.twitter.com/INTT4gKVdI
— Jacob Cotsonika (@jacobcotsonika) November 8, 2026
One reason to be confident in how Michigan State will handle the moment is that the details are still being looked at closely. The Spartans didn't substitute fast enough on one critical third-down play, so they worked on sprinting all the way off the field on Monday. MSU got an excessive celebration after forcing one of its four turnovers on Saturday, so they worked on celebrating together instead of running down to the other end zone.
Alas, the overall focus level will be the big thing to watch against Washington. If Michigan State can be as laser-focused every week as they were at Michigan, it can certainly beat Washington and Rutgers (Oregon may be another story). If it looks like a team still basking in the win from last week, then that's a step in the wrong direction for Fitzgerald's desired foundation.
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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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