Michigan State football 2026 schedule revealed, has late date with U-M
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Pat Fitzgerald has his path to get Michigan State football back to relevancy.
Or at least a bowl game.
The Spartans will face rival Michigan on the road on Nov. 7, per the Big Ten’s schedule reveal Tuesday, Jan. 27. MSU opens with Toledo on Sept. 5 (though the game could be moved to that Friday of Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4) and could face three of its own former starting QBs: Noah Kim and Eastern Michigan on Sept. 12, Katin Houser and Illinois on Oct. 10 and Aidan Chiles and Northwestern on Oct. 17. All three games are in East Lansing.
Fitzgerald, the former longtime coach at Northwestern, will make his return to the Big Ten against Nebraska at Spartan Stadium on Sept. 26. MSU will finish its Big Ten slate on the road, visiting Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Nov. 28.
The Spartans finished 4-8 in Jonathan Smith’s second and final season. MSU hasn’t made a bowl game since 2021 and has missed the postseason in five of six seasons since Mark Dantonio retired after the 2019 Pinstripe Bowl. MSU's winningest coach took the program to a bowl game 12 times in his 13 seasons.
Unlike last season, there will be just one bye for 2026 – MSU's comes on Halloween, on Oct. 31 – with Week 1 of the season not starting until Labor Day weekend. Times and TV information will be announced later this year.
Michigan State football 2026 football schedule
Here is MSU’s full schedule for 2026, its first season under Fitzgerald:
Sept. 5: Toledo.
Sept. 12: Eastern Michigan.
Sept. 19: at Notre Dame.
Sept. 26: Nebraska.
Oct. 3: at Wisconsin.
Oct. 10: Illinois.
Oct. 17: Northwestern.
Oct. 24: at UCLA.
Oct. 31: Bye.
Nov. 7: at Michigan.
Nov. 14: Washington.
Nov. 21: Oregon.
Nov. 28: at Rutgers.
Dec. 5: Big Ten championship game, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football 2026 schedule revealed, has late date with U-M
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