Michigan State football is officially entering its third new era since Mark Dantonio retired following the 2019 season and Spartan fans are hopeful that this will be the one. Third time’s a charm.
Pat Fitzgerald is taking the reins and he’s already leaving his mark, bringing that toughness back to Michigan State. The culture is returning after the vanilla Jonathan Smith era and the end of the Mel Tucker era and it’s a refreshing sight.
The program is giving flashes of the Dantonio era again.
During the Dantonio era, the Spartans pulled off some massive upsets that we still talk about to this day, and I believe Fitzgerald will secure at least a couple of those in year one.
These are the three most likely upsets for Michigan State in 2026.
1. Illinois Fighting Illini (Oct. 10)
Illinois is going to feature a familiar face at quarterback this season and I could see the Spartans getting the best of Katin Houser. He’s entering his first season with the Illini and his last as a college football quarterback so he’s going to have some major expectations and Illinois should be one of those secondary contenders in the Big Ten. Michigan State will be an underdog.
While this isn’t your typical “upset”, it could be a matchup against a ranked team in East Lansing. Fitzgerald will have a couple of upsets up his sleeve this season and he’s used to facing Bret Bielema so I’m going to give the Spartans the edge in this one.
Will it be shocking? Not really. Will it be a momentum-builder? Absolutely.
2. Michigan Wolverines (Nov. 7)
This is another one of those games that could definitely go either way, but since it’s in Ann Arbor, it’ll be that much tougher. Michigan State hasn’t won in Ann Arbor since 2020 and that doesn’t really count since it was in front of an empty stadium. The last time Michigan State won at the Big House with a sellout crowd in attendance was 2017. It’s been a while.
That could very well change this season with a new coach in place and a quarterback situation that may be shakier than people realize. Bryce Underwood is a talented quarterback, but it’ll be interesting to see how long of a leash he’ll get from Kyle Whittingham.
Rivalry games can go either way and I think Michigan will be slightly overrated this year.
3. Washington Huskies (Nov. 14)
Washington nearly lost Demond Williams Jr. to the transfer portal but he recommitted to Jedd Fisch and the Huskies, giving them one of the best quarterbacks in the country heading into the season.
But they’ll be coming to East Lansing.
If Michigan State pulls off the upset of Michigan a week earlier, I could that momentum being carried over into a mid-November battle against the Huskies. I think Washington is a good team, but this is a very winnable game for the Spartans. I would honestly be surprised if Michigan State didn’t pull this upset off.
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