Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham enraged an entire fanbase on Saturday after sneaking by Big Ten bottom-dweller Rutgers on the road, fielding a question about the Michigan State rivalry that didn’t quite sit well with Wolverine fans.
Fortunately, Pat Fitzgerald has said all the right things.
Whittinham said that he’s “very interested” in being part of the Michigan vs. Michigan State rivalry and then he said it’s not the biggest one, but it’s a big one. He also went on to answer more questions on Monday, saying that he understands how intense it is and that there was even a fight in the tunnel.
It was pretty clear to Michigan fans that he just didn’t get it.
So Fitzgerald showed him how to handle rivalry questions on Monday afternoon and even Michigan fans wish that their head coach would take notes from Michigan State’s head man.
Fitzgerald: "From the minute I took the job, I think I was pretty clear that I understood what this rivalry meant." Says it has been "top of mind" since his first day on the job.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 2, 2026
Talk about making a statement that shows that you understand exactly what this rivalry means to your school and its alumni and fanbase.
Whittingham gave a Jonathan Smith-esque quote while Fitzgerald was much more Mark Dantonio-like in his response. The Michigan game has been “top of mind” since his first day on the job and he admitted that it was very clear what it means to Michigan State. That’s exactly how you answer that question.
Whittingham danced around the question like he did over the summer when he was asked if he hated Ohio State. Michigan hired a nice guy who just doesn’t have the same fire and passion that he did 5-10 years ago and his answers to questions about the rivalry are proof that he should probably only be a one-and-done coach.
Michigan hired J. Smith 2.0.
Pat Fitzgerald needs this fire to translate to wins
Seeing Fitzgerald fired up about facing Michigan is a breath of fresh air after two years of stale “man, I want to win that thing” comments from Smith.
Now all he needs to do is make sure that this fire translates into wins. Winning his first Michigan rivalry game would put him in Michigan State fans’ good graces for a good year and this would generate some serious momentum entering what’s likely to be a long bowl-less winter.
Fitzgerald is saying all the right things and has the attitude that Michigan State needs, but he needs to start winning games, starting on Saturday.
Beat Michigan and watch how every single member of the fanbase buys in. It can really be that easy.
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