Michigan State is, mercifully, entering its bye week at 2-6 overall and 0-5 during Big Ten play.
The Spartans' latest loss came at No. 9 UCLA on Saturday, 28-10. MSU came out swinging, but injuries across the board showed Michigan State had little to no chance against a CFP contender on the road. The performance wasn't even bad, given the circumstances, but it just looked like an injury-riddled, bad, and overmatched football team desperately trying to tread water.
Michigan in two weeks is really the last chance for Pat Fitzgerald and MSU to really give fans something to feel great about in 2026. Following that, it's Washington, Oregon, and Rutgers. Oregon seemed like the best game on the Spartans' conference schedule entering the fall, but the Ducks feel like this year's version of 2025 Penn State after they lost at Illinois on Saturday. Washington and Rutgers just aren't very good and wouldn't classify as "big wins."
Beyond a shot at Paul Bunyan -- and who knows what could happen there with how bad Michigan's offense is -- what is there really left? These five remaining weeks and four remaining games are all about building towards 2027 much more than about trying to save 2026.
Giving Some Young Guys a Shot
When you're 2-6, no one really gets much right to say they deserve much, as far as playing time goes. The list of truly good or great players on this roster could fit on an index card with ease, and most of the players on that card are injured.
"There were a lot of times on the headphones... it was like, 'Just call what we can execute,'" Fitzgerald said after the game about his team's injuries. "Just call what we can execute. So we've got to tighten things up even more as a coaching staff to give our guys the best opportunity with the young and inexperience to play fast and play really the 'Spartan Way,' and at times today, I didn't see that from the sidelines."
That fact, combined with the reality that Michigan State is dealing with a cruel amount of injuries, means that it's a great time to give a lot of younger guys a chance. Young quarterbacks Kayd Coffman and Leo Hannan both got the first real action of their careers on Saturday in Pasadena. Speedy freshman wideout Samson Gash got a lot of run. Freshman Jeremiah Favorite has had to start the last two games at corner.
"I've never seen so many injuries, and they've all happened in games," Fitzgerald said. "That's what's so crazy to me. If it was in practice, I could turn the dials up or down, left or right. When they happen in games, I don't have a big solution for that besides 'next guy up.'"
Some of those guys are only in the game because of injuries to guys ahead of them, but there may never be a time for the Spartans' new coaching staff to evaluate the guys they've got in a relatively low-stakes environment.
Lots and lots and lots of challenging decisions are going to be made in a few weeks. MSU has to figure out which players with remaining eligibility they value the most, such as tight end Jayden Savoury, which players they may not care quite as much about, and then also look around the country and identify potential future portal prospects (let's be real: this time of year is also tampering and/or agent season).
"I think everybody's personnel department is working behind the scenes, doing what they do and how they do things from a standpoint of putting together probably, potentially or anticipated portal boards," Fitzgerald said on Oct. 12.
"Everybody has access to everybody's video. So you're putting pieces of puzzles together, and then it gets crazy. And then we talk personnel every day, myself and (general manager Bryan Gasser). But as far as that nth degree, with the coaches right now, our focus is trying to get better at football."
Portal Outlook for MSU
The work was already starting behind the scenes, at least a little bit, a few weeks ago. Michigan State has more than 20 players whose collegiate eligibility will run out after this season. Some players, like running back Cam Edwards and offensive guard Luka Vincic, are fifth-year guys who could potentially pursue a sixth season.
MSU is probably going to have to add at least 20-25 players from the portal this offseason. The Spartans' 2027 recruiting class only has 15 scholarship commitments right now, too, and that number doesn't seem likely to grow very much, though Fitzgerald said after Saturday's loss that a good chunk of his bye week will be spent on the recruiting trail.
There is hope that this coming portal window will bring a windfall of resources for Michigan State, too. Athletic director Dan Bartholomae has been expressing confidence that the football program will be funded competitively soon.
MSU will likely have to overpay for true, Big Ten-level talent in the transfer portal this offseason, but that window will really reveal the kind of backing Fitzgerald has from the school, resource-wise.
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