Pat Fitzgerald apologizes for flipping off Illinois sideline during OT loss: 'My mom's rolling over in her grave'

Pat Fitzgerald knows his mother would be disappointed in him.

The Michigan State coach apologized on Monday after he flipped off the Illinois sideline late in their 38-37 overtime loss to the Illini on Saturday. Looking back, he knows he took things too far.

“My mom’s rolling over in her grave,” he said, via the Spartan Mag. “I need to be more disciplined, I need to be more composed. I do have a passion problem, and I’ve had that for a long time. But that needs to be controlled and not be emotional, and I was emotional. I can’t do that.”

Fitzgerald was trying to fire up the Michigan State fans at Spartan Stadium midway through the fourth quarter of the contest on Saturday. He was swinging a towel over his head and gesturing to the crowd before he quickly, and suddenly, turned and flipped off the Illinois sideline. Fitzgerald then kept going.

The moment came right as the Spartans appeared to successfully convert an onside kick, which would have given them the ball back with time to tie the game up. But they were called for offsides, which negated the play. 

Michigan State ended up tying the game up and forcing overtime anyways, thanks to a 2-yard touchdown run from Jaziun Patterson in the final 90 seconds of regulation. Patterson scored again in overtime, but Michigan State failed on the 2-point conversion attempt. That gave Illinois the one-point win. 

The loss dropped the Spartans to 2-4 on the season. They are still looking for their Big Ten win this fall, too, and will take on No. 25 Northwestern — Fitzgerald’s longtime former program — next on Saturday. This is Fitzgerald’s first season with the Spartans, who hired him to replace Jonathan Smith. Fitzgerald spent 17 years with the Wildcats, but split with the university after a hazing scandal in 2022.

Though it’s been a struggle for the Spartans over the past half-decade, and Fitzgerald hasn’t turned things around just yet, he’s clearly loving his new job so far.

“I’m not going to apologize for fighting for my guys,” he said. “I’m not going to apologize for fighting for our program and for our school. It means the world to me to be here. It means the world to me to have this opportunity. It means the world to me to be those guys’ leader … I’m really proud of that response. I’m not proud of mine, but I’m proud of theirs.”