Michigan State

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Pat Fitzgerald Era Begins with Michigan State Facing Toledo in Openerour readMichigan Adds Bowling Green to 2029 Scheduleour readThe Penn State rivalry

Big Ten · Pat Fitzgerald, year 1 (2-0) · Spartan Stadium · 75,005 · 71,397 avg in 2026

The nationunrankedAP / Coaches
The model#128 CFB ZeitgeistSP+ #71 (+1.0) · FPI #53
The marketNotre Dame by 30at Notre Dame · our model 2% Michigan State · a number, not a pick

LastW 35–7 vs Eastern Michigan · Sat Sep 12 · Camryn Edwards 152 rush yds, 2 TD, 5 rec yds

Nextat Notre Dame · Sat Sep 19 · 7:30 pm ET · Notre Dame Stadium · Notre Dame by 30 · series 28-44-1, last win 2016 · Game preview

Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2

Zeitgeist statureNational Program II#16 all-time– holding
The era · 2014 through 2025

The CFP Era

12 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.

Era record 80-65 12 seasons
Best season 12-2 2015
Top-10 finishes 2 AP polled only
TRAJECTORY · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program Quality AP Rank (inverted) CFP Appearance
'14'16'18'20'22'24NOW
CHAPTERS · 12 seasons · tap to open the archive
'14 11-2 '15 12-2 '16 3-9 '17 10-3 '18 7-6 '19 7-6 '20 — '21 10-2 '22 5-7 '23 4-8 '24 5-7 '25 4-8

Michigan State's 2014–2025 record is 80-65. The era is still being written; the CFP line is the one the program is arguing for.

Era win %
.551
Ranked seasons (AP)
8/12
Best AP finish
#3

Program outlook

Michigan State started 2025 at 3-0 and lost its next eight games. Jonathan Smith was fired after two seasons and nine losses in the Big Ten. The school hired Pat Fitzgerald the next day. That is three head coaches in four years for a program that spent a decade making its rival fear November.

Read the full essay — 3 more paragraphs

The program's self-image was forged in a specific kind of defiance. Duffy Daugherty won back-to-back national championships in 1965 and 1966. Mark Dantonio built the modern era on a simpler premise: Michigan State is at its best when it walks in as the smaller story and walks out with the trophy. The 2015 blocked punt returned for a touchdown as time expired against Michigan is the canonical moment — not a fluky win, but the expression of something the program knew about itself that its rival didn't. Dantonio went 8-of-11 against Michigan over his tenure. That stretch is why the post-Dantonio years sting the way they do.

Jonathan Smith lasted two seasons and finished 9-15. The 2025 collapse was especially clean: three wins to open the year, then eight straight losses before a season-ending win that changed nothing about the math. Michigan State fired Smith and hired Fitzgerald — the former Northwestern coach who rebuilt a smaller program into a consistent Big Ten contender before his tenure ended under difficult circumstances — the next day. Fitzgerald arrives in East Lansing with a coaching reputation built on toughness, culture, and making programs win more than their recruiting rankings suggest they should. The parallel to Dantonio's profile when he was hired is not lost on the fanbase.

The 2026 question for Michigan State is whether Fitzgerald can install enough of his system in a single offseason to arrest the program's slide or whether year one is a foundation season that asks the fanbase for patience it has already given twice. The program measures everything against one Saturday in November. The 2026 version of The Game will tell Fitzgerald — and the fanbase — a lot about what this reset actually is.

On the field

Hard-nosed, defense-and-toughness Big Ten football — the Dantonio template, which Fitzgerald's profile suggests he'll rebuild toward. Fitzgerald's Northwestern teams were disciplined, line-of-scrimmage-physical, and efficient rather than explosive offensively. Michigan State's identity has historically lived on defense: gap-sound, physical, difficult to run on. The 2026 roster's defensive depth is the most pressing rebuild question Fitzgerald faces entering fall camp.

program outlook · as of 2026-06-14

All-time record · Michigan State

Michigan State has won 56% of its games since 1898 — 67% at home, 44% on the road.

622-454-31 all-time · 122 seasons · 1898–2026

Home 392-179-17
Away 212-257-14
Neutral 18-18
2 g 1890s
6 g 1900s
32% 1910s
33% 1920s
68% 1930s
59% 1940s
76% 1950s
61% 1960s
53% 1970s
49% 1980s
53% 1990s
49% 2000s
70% 2010s
47% 2020s

Coaching Era · Michigan State

Pat Fitzgerald

Pat Fitzgerald took over from Jonathan Smith for the 2026 season.

Era Pat Fitzgerald · 2026–presentPrev: Jonathan Smith (2024–2025)OC: Nick SheridanPrev OC: Brian Lindgren (2024–2025)DC: Joe Rossi / co-Max BulloughPrev DC: Joe Rossi (2024–2025)
The full CFP-era story →The full coaching lineage →
1 year · era

Program memory

What this program never forgets

Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.

1952

Biggie Munn's title

A 9-0 season under Biggie Munn won Michigan State the 1952 national title

The 1966 Game of the Century

Michigan State and Notre Dame tie 10-10 in a landmark integration-era showdown

The 2013 Rose Bowl run

A Big Ten title and Rose Bowl win, the Dantonio peak

The 2015 blocked punt vs Michigan

MSU returns a botched punt for a touchdown as time expires — the rivalry's defining miracle

Miracle

Moment of the season — so far · Michigan State · 2026

Won 35-7 vs Eastern Michigan

Week 2 of 2026. A statement margin. Recruiting boards re-rendered overnight.

Decisive Margin

NFL Draft Pipeline

2022–2026

Michigan State has sent 11 players to the NFL Draft since 2022 — none in the first round.

Steady. Reliable mid-tier pipeline.

11 picks · 0 in round 1
#41 Ken Walker III Running Back · 2022 · Seattle · #7/315 final season
#50 Jayden Reed Wide Receiver · 2023 · Green Bay · #132/488 final season
#191 Jalen Nailor Wide Receiver · 2022 · Minnesota · #122/468 final season
#17 all-time · 35 first-round picksthe talent factory →

More in this tab

Program factsStadium, mascot, and the vitals that don't change season to season.
Program résumé
1CFP apps
Ladder finishHow far up the ladder this season got.

Season standing · 2026 · 2-0

Michigan State is 2-0 and unranked in the season's first weeks.

Even or better through the season's first weeks. The resume is still forming.

Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Coaching historyEvery hire and departure on record, not just the current era.

Coaching history

  • Hired Pat Fitzgerald2026
  • Jonathan Smith departs9-15, 2 seasons
  • Hired Jonathan Smith2024
  • Hired Harlon Barnett (interim)2023
  • Mel Tucker departs20-14, 4 seasons
  • Harlon Barnett departs (interim)2-8, 1 season
  • Hired Mel Tucker2020
  • Mark Dantonio departs114-57, 13 seasons
Coordinator lineageOffense and defense under each coordinator.

Unit lineage

Michigan State’s offense and defense, by coordinator

FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.

Offense2014–2026
2014201620182020202220242026
2014–2018 · co-Jim Bollman / co-Dave Warner2019 · Brad Salem2020–2023 · Jay Johnson2024–2025 · Brian Lindgren2026 · Nick Sheridan
Defense2014–2026
2014201620182020202220242026
2014 · Pat Narduzzi2015–2017 · co-Harlon Barnett / co-Mike Tressel2018–2019 · Mike Tressel2020–2023 · Scottie Hazelton2024–2025 · Joe Rossi2026 · Joe Rossi / co-Max Bullough
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customsThe gameday customs unique to this program.

Rituals

Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.

Sparty Statue

since 1945

more

The Sparty statue (terra-cotta, 9 feet) on campus is rubbed for luck before every game. Rivals (specifically Michigan students) have attempted to vandalize it; East Lansing PD responds with the seriousness of a national-security incident. Sparty IS the program.

The Old Brass Spittoon (vs Indiana)

since 1950 · trophy game

more

Trophy rivalry that nobody else takes seriously and East Lansing takes very seriously. The Old Brass Spittoon (literal antique spittoon) is the trophy. Origin is genuinely two history teachers in 1950 deciding it should exist.

Paul Bunyan Trophy (vs Michigan)

since 1953 · trophy game

more

4-foot tall wooden Paul Bunyan trophy, created in 1953 by Gov. G. Mennen Williams. Awarded to the winner of the Michigan-Michigan State game. The trophy has been stolen, rescued, and re-presented in ceremonies more elaborate than the trophy deserves. The rivalry is the calendar.

Cultural identityWhat college football loses if this program didn't exist.
Canon appearancesMoments that made college football's permanent record.

Featured in The Canon

#37
Kenneth Walker III
The 100 Best Players of the CFP Era
Browse The Canon →
BowlsEvery bowl this program's played, and how it did.

Bowl / Postseason Ledger

Recent postseason (2014-2021): 4-2

Most recent: 2021 — win 31-21 (home). Last 5 postseason: 3-2.

20212019201820172015
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