EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State hosts No. 25 Northwestern at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing at noon Saturday, and Spartans coach Pat Fitzgerald will be on the opposite sideline from his alma mater for the first time.
Michigan State is 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten and has lost four straight. Northwestern comes in at 4-1 overall and 1-1 in league play and is about to play its first game as a ranked team since the Fitzgerald era in Evanston ended.
Fitzgerald spent nearly three decades at Northwestern, first as a Hall of Fame linebacker, then five years as an assistant followed by 17 as head coach. Speaking Monday, he said the week is about the players on both teams, not him, and that his focus is on preparing for a top-25 opponent.
Wildcats coach David Braun is in his fourth season and received a three-year extension last month through 2031. Fitzgerald hired Braun as defensive coordinator in 2023, but the two never coached together; Northwestern fired Fitzgerald that summer and later promoted Braun to the full-time job.
Northwestern starts quarterback Aidan Chiles, a former Spartan who will be facing his old team.
It is Michigan State’s first game against Northwestern since a 2021 win in Evanston.
