The anticipation surrounding a new era of Michigan State football has been building for months. Now, with Friday night four days away, first-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald and his team are buzzing with anticipation ahead of the season’s opener.
MSU will take the field at Spartan Stadium against Toledo on Friday at 8:00 p.m., with Fitzgerald leading the program for the first time. The former Northwestern head coach has the opportunity to revitalize a program that hasn’t seen a winning record or bowl game since 2021. New pieces are in place across the program, and excitement for this season has washed over everyone involved.
“The hunger and the want and the need — [the fans] deserve it, and we’ve got to go out and play that way,” Fitzgerald said at his press conference on Monday.
That hunger has been building since Fitzgerald was hired in November, and now that students have returned to campus, Fitzgerald and his team have sensed a shift in East Lansing; a shift toward passion and thrill for the 2026 campaign.
“There was definitely a different buzz in the air,” Fitzgerald said when describing the shift in energy.
Friday’s game will reveal much more than just what its new head coach brings to the program. A new group of 32 transfers ranks among the most in the country in volume, however the team lost 37 players to the portal after the team’s 5-7 season a year ago. Eleven new coaching hires in addition to the new roster will certainly have major impacts on the outlook of the season.
The roster turnover this Spartan team has endured will set the stage for a season filled with competition and many positional battles. With the high number of transfers, Fitzgerald and his staff have the opportunity to build the roster around their culture and vision for the program.
According to Ourlads, 12 out of those 32 newcomers are projected to start on either side of the ball, meaning many of these players will make an immediate impact. As the Spartans take the field Friday night, the opener will be the first chance for fans to see how these new pieces fit together.
One of the few returning players is redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, who will look to set the standard after a disappointing end to last season. He enters the season with a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but Fitzgerald believes he can lead the offense after drastically improving throughout the offseason.
“I think pressure is a privilege. I really do. I think that means you’re prepared for an opportunity,” Fitzgerald said. “So, I look forward to the challenge. I don’t look at it as pressure. I look at it as an unbelievable opportunity.”
That opportunity will finally arrive on Friday night.
For Fitzgerald, the opener serves as a starting point for his tenure. For MSU, it represents a chance to begin a new chapter.
“The fan base has been amazing. Spartan nation has been incredible since day one,” Fitzgerald said. “Now we have to do our part."
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