Michigan State Opens Big Ten Play Against Nebraska with Fitzgerald Seeking First League Win Since 2022
The short version
- Michigan State hosts Nebraska Saturday, Sept. 26 at 5 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network in both teams' Big Ten opener.
- Pat Fitzgerald is seeking his first Big Ten win since Oct. 16, 2022, a span of 1,491 days dating to Northwestern's win over Rutgers.
- Fitzgerald's last Big Ten win also came against Nebraska, 28-22 in Dublin, Ireland, in 2022.
- Nebraska is 3-0 under fourth-year coach Matt Rhule but has not faced a Power Four team or played on the road.
- Free Press writers split 3-2 in favor of Michigan State.
Five Detroit Free Press writers split on Saturday's Michigan State-Nebraska opener in East Lansing, a game that marks Pat Fitzgerald's first Big Ten contest as Spartans coach.
Michigan State opens its Big Ten football schedule at home against Nebraska on Saturday, Sept. 26, with kickoff set for 5 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. The matchup at Spartan Stadium carries an unusual subplot: it is Pat Fitzgerald's first conference game as the Spartans' head coach.
Fitzgerald has gone a long time between Big Ten victories. According to the Detroit Free Press, 1,491 days will have passed between his most recent league win and Saturday's contest. That last victory came with Northwestern in 2022, when the Wildcats beat Rutgers on Oct. 16 of that year.
There is some history between Fitzgerald and Nebraska that fans may find familiar. His final win at Northwestern came against the Cornhuskers, a 28-22 decision in Dublin, Ireland, that closed out Scott Frost's final season opener as Nebraska's coach. Both Fitzgerald and Frost were gone by the following season, with Fitzgerald dismissed after Northwestern lost its final 11 games of 2022.
Nebraska arrives under current head coach Matt Rhule, now in his fourth season in Lincoln. Rhule's first three years were described as underwhelming by the Free Press, but the Cornhuskers enter Saturday undefeated at 3-0. That record comes with an asterisk for skeptics: Nebraska has yet to face a Power Four opponent or play a road game this season.
Michigan State comes in off a 27-10 loss to third-ranked Notre Dame, a game the Free Press writers viewed as a competitive showing rather than a collapse. The Spartans are in their first season under Fitzgerald, and the early returns have included improved discipline, fewer penalties and better protection for quarterback Edward Milivojevic, which has opened running room for Edwards.
One statistical matchup looms over the game. The Free Press cited Michigan State ranking 109th out of 138 teams nationally in red-zone defense, while Nebraska's red-zone offense sits at No. 1 after scoring on every red-zone trip through its first three games.
Five Free Press writers offered predictions, and they split 3-2 in Michigan State's favor. Rainer Sabin picked the Spartans 28-24, expecting Nebraska to struggle in its first road test against a Power Four opponent. Chris Solari also took MSU, 27-21, with the defense delivering in the fourth quarter to give Fitzgerald his first Big Ten win since 2022. Shawn Windsor completed the Spartans slate with a 23-20 pick, arguing MSU showed it belonged on the field against Notre Dame.
Backing Nebraska were Carlos Monarrez, who picked the Cornhuskers 24-19 while warning the Spartans against complacency after the Notre Dame showing, and Jeff Seidel, who likes Michigan State's fight but sees the red-zone numbers as decisive in a 27-24 Nebraska pick.
The winner will open conference play with momentum in a Big Ten season that stretches ahead for both programs, while Fitzgerald will either end his long conference drought or see it extend another week.
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