MSU (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) takes on Northwestern (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) on Saturday, Oct. 17. Kick off is set for noon at Spartan Stadium. The game will air on Peacock.

As much as fans may be intrigued by the historic narrative connecting the two programs, both sides are approaching Saturday’s matchup like any other game. 

“This game is not about me,” Fitzgerald said. “I'm a Spartan, and I'm proud to be a Spartan. I'm honored to be here, and our sole focus is getting our team better, getting prepared to play a top-25 team and finding a way to be ready to go.”

“It’s a fun opportunity,” Chiles said. “That’s really all it is — another game, another nameless, faceless opponent coming out and competing. At the end of the day, we’re still cool. I’m going to talk to them after the game, but in between the lines, we got to play football the same.”

MSU fans will see a much more polished version of the former Spartan quarterback on Saturday. He's developed into one of the better dual threats in the Big Ten through five games at Northwestern. The quarterback who came over from Oregon State with former MSU head coach Jonathan Smith has thrown for 1,172 yards and nine passing touchdowns while logging six more scores with his legs. 

His biggest area of development has been his ability to take care of the football and negate negative plays. In two seasons at MSU, Chiles threw 14 interceptions; this season, he’s yet to be picked off. The Long Beach, California, native has also displayed improved pocket awareness, dropping from 2.55 sacks per game to 1.8 in 2026. 

“I feel like I’ve regained my confidence a little more,” Chiles said. “I feel like the last few years haven’t been as fun playing football, and this year, I came back, and it took a little minute, but at the end of the day, football’s been fun recently.”

Chiles’ improvements present a daunting challenge for an MSU defense that was exposed against Illinois last week. The Spartans had trouble finishing tackles, which allowed the Illini to extend plays and sustain drives. Against another ex-Spartan quarterback who can hurt defenses with his arm or legs, those same problems could cost MSU again.

The challenge has compounded with injuries across the Spartan defense. Linebackers Jordan Hall, Brady Pretzlaff and Caleb Wheatland have all been ruled out. MSU’s top-four cornerbacks — Tre Bell, Charles Brantley, Keshawn Williams and Tyran Chappell — have also been sidelined.

Since much of the secondary has been scratched, MSU will need its backups to limit Northwestern’s long-lasting drives and find ways to get off the field. The Spartans’ offense must keep pace rather than fall behind and face an uphill battle.

Sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic bolstered MSU’s offensive attack, fueling the 17-point comeback against Illinois. He’s coming off his best performance of the season and will look to replicate that production in back-to-back weeks.

Milivojevic wasn’t the only member of the backfield who had a career game. Graduate running back Jaziun Patterson’s four-touchdown game is a promising sign that MSU can still have success on the ground despite losing graduate running back Cam Edwards to a season-ending injury.

The question remains whether MSU can sustain that production. After four consecutive losses, the Spartans need some sign of progress, and taking down a top-25 team could be all the momentum they need.

Although MSU isn't labeling Saturday a must-win, the team understands the importance of responding.

“We want to win every game going forward; that’s the bottom line,” Milivojevic said. “So, I’m not going to pin it as a must-win, but it’s a game we need to win. Going forward, we need to take every game like that. We want to go 1-0 every single week, and that’s the goal.”