MSU-Northwestern is All About Everything Else For Both Sides
In this story:
Saturday will be a battle between the future and the past for both Michigan State and Northwestern. Who is considered "the past" and who is "the future" depends on who you're rooting for.
MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald is Northwestern's past; he's definitely part of the Spartans' future. NU quarterback Aidan Chiles is Michigan State's past; he's also definitely part of Northwestern's future.
Fitz v. Northwestern
The term "revenge game" has entered the sports lexicon for situations like these. Fitzgerald was fired by Northwestern in July 2023 in the wake of a hazing scandal around the football program there. He was out of college coaching for three seasons, settling a wrongful termination lawsuit with NU in August 2025 that also had the school say in a statement that evidence "did not establish that any player reported hazing" to him.
Fitzgerald was once essentially Northwestern football. He became known as one of the best linebackers in college football history, winning both the Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik Awards twice. Northwestern's run to the Rose Bowl in 1995 was the program's first season just getting above .500 in nearly a quarter-century. Imagine if the rut MSU's football program is in right now lasted another 20 years.
Then, Fitzgerald worked his way up to being NU's head coach at just 31 years old. Northwestern used the momentum of that '95 Rose Bowl to be more respectable than it had been in the '70s and '80s, but it was Fitzgerald who made winning seasons a regular thing in Evanston for the first time in the modern era.
His best teams at Northwestern weren't four-team CFP-caliber or as scary as Mark Dantonio's best ones in East Lansing, but there weren't many coaches punching above their weight class the way Fitzgerald was for a fair amount of time there.
"This week and this game is not about me," Fitzgerald said on Monday. "It's about the players on both teams. I'm very proud of my experience as a player there and the great teammates I had. I'm very proud of the teams and the coaches I worked with and the players I had the privilege to coach there.
"I'm very thankful for that experience, but I'm a Spartan, and I'm proud to be a Spartan. Our sole focus is getting our team better and getting prepared to play a top-25 team and find a way to be ready to go, you know, at noon on Saturday."
Chiles v. Michigan State
The story of Chiles at Michigan State was supposed to be one of great triumph, not one of disappointment or of falling short. Chiles' transfer to MSU was perhaps the most exciting part of Jonathan Smith's hiring ahead of the 2024 season.
He was ranked as the second-best quarterback in the transfer portal that offseason by 247Sports, only behind Julian Sayin (Alabama to Ohio State), and ahead of the likes of Dante Moore, Cam Ward, Will Howard, Riley Leonard, Dillon Gabriel, Jayden Maiava, and plenty of other interesting names. Chiles was ranked 58th overall and seventh among QBs in the class of 2023 by the same site, which would make him one of the highest-rated QB prospects to play for MSU in some time.
Chiles struggled a bit during the 2024 season, but he was still a true sophomore quarterback whose 19th birthday was a few weeks into the season. His decision-making clearly needed work, but his legs and the occasional "wow" throw kept the line on at the end of the tunnel.
The light didn't really get any closer in 2025, though. Chiles wasn't throwing as many picks, but there weren't as many high-end plays, either, and the offense wasn't scoring enough points. All that led to him being benched for Alessio Milivojevic with four games remaining in the season.
Milivojevic played well enough that it became relatively clear he should get his own shot at being Michigan State's QB1 for 2026 under Fitzgerald. He also had three remaining years of eligibility, whereas Chiles only had one at the time. Chiles is now eligible to play in college for 2027 with the NCAA's new 5-for-5 system, though.
"I'm excited," Chiles simply said when asked about the matchup following NU's win over Ball State on Saturday. "Do I look excited? Hell yeah."
Chiles' first year with Northwestern has been highly successful so far. He's helped the Wildcats be ranked for the first time since Fitzgerald's departure, with 1,172 passing yards, 15 total touchdowns, and zero interceptions in just five games.
The reason for the improvement may be pretty simple: coaching. Chip Kelly, one of the most influential offensive minds in modern college football, is Northwestern's offensive coordinator. Jerry Neuheisel is the Wildcats' quarterbacks coach; he was the story of college football for a time in 2025 because of how he did as UCLA's interim offensive coordinator. The Bruins scored 38 points at MSU last year with Neuheisel calling plays.
"This game is not about me," Northwestern head coach David Braun said Monday. "This game is not about the fact that Coach Fitz is one of the most revered individuals to ever grace this program as a player and as a coach, and this isn’t about Aidan playing his former program.”
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.
Follow jacobcotsonika