Spartans Begin Pat Fitzgerald Era Against Toledo Under Friday Night Lights

Friday, September 4

East Lansing, Mich.

8 PM

Michigan State University

Toledo

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Spartans Begin Pat Fitzgerald Era Against Toledo Under Friday Night Lights

9/1/2026 7:10:00 PM | Football

MSU Game Notes Toledo Game Notes MSU Game Day Central Website Parking Information

Game 1: Michigan State (0-0) vs. Toledo (0-0)

Date: Friday, Sept. 4
Kickoff: 8:05 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Stadium: Spartan Stadium (74,866)
Surface: Natural Grass
Game Notes: MSU | Toledo
Purchase Tickets: msuspartans.com/tickets

►GAME DAY INFORMATION
Game Day Central (Parking/Tailgating/Timeline)

Parking: Lots 61, 61SV, 62, 79, and 124 will open at 11 a.m. with an appropriate parking pass. All other parking lots which are designated for football parking will open at 2 p.m. | Parking Map

Game Day Updates: Fans can sign up to receive game day updates from MSU Police and Public Safety this season by texting SPARTANFB26 to 888777. Updates will include safety information, potential game delays, traffic suggestions, etc.

Stripe the Stadium: MSU will "Stripe the Stadium" with even sections wearing green and odd sections/student section wearing white for the season opener.

►BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: FS1
Streaming/Mobile: FOX Sports app
Announcers: Noah Reed (play-by-play), Petros Papadakis (analyst)
Live Stats: msuspartans.com | Live Stats

Radio: Spartan Media Network | Affiliate Listings
Play-by-Play: George Blaha
Analyst: Jehuu Caulcrick
Sidelines: Tre Mosley
Broadcast Host: Dalton Shetler
Website/Mobile:msuspartans .com/watch, MSU Spartans app, Tune In radio
Flagship Stations: Lansing: WMMQ (94.9 FM)/WJIM (1240 AM); Detroit: WJR (760 AM); Grand Rapids: WBFX (101.3 FM)
Affiliates: 20 affiliates listed at msuspartans.com
Satellite: SiriusXM Ch. 138/232 | SiriusXM App Ch. 956
Pregame Show: Begins at 6:30 p.m.

►SERIES INFORMATION
All-Time Series: MSU leads, 1-0
Series in East Lansing: MSU leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: MSU 58, Toledo 0 (1925 in East Lansing)
Current Series Streak: 1 by MSU

►HEAD COACHES
MSU Head Coach: Pat Fitzgerald
MSU Record: 0-0 (first year)
Overall Record: 110-101 (18th year)
Record vs. Toledo: First meeting

Toledo Head Coach: Mike Jacobs
Toledo Record: 0-0 (first year)
Overall Record: 94-23 (11th year)
Record vs. MSU: First meeting

►SPARTAN FOOTBALL NEWS & NOTES
• Michigan State kicks off its 130th season of football and begins its first season under head coach Pat Fitzgerald on Friday, Sept. 4 against Toledo. Kickoff is set for 8:05 p.m. ET in Spartan Stadium. The game will be televised on FS1 with Noah Reed (play-by-play) and Petros Papadakis (analyst) on the call. MSU will "Stripe the Stadium" with even sections wearing green and odd sections/student section wearing white for the season opener.

• One of the winningest coaches in Big Ten history, Pat Fitzgerald was named Michigan State's 27th head coach on Dec. 1, 2025. Over 17 seasons as the head coach at Northwestern from 2006-22, Fitzgerald won 110 games, while guiding the Wildcats to 10 bowl games, five AP Top 25 finishes and a pair of appearances in the Big Ten Football Championship Game after winning the Big Ten West Division title in both 2018 and 2020. He was named the 2018 Big Ten Coach of the Year, and in 2020, won the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year Award after leading the Wildcats to a No. 10 national ranking and a win in the Citrus Bowl over Auburn.

• Fitzgerald's 110 wins rank 14th all-time for a Big Ten football coach, while his five bowl game victories rank tied for 12th among conference coaches.

• This marks the 12th time in the past 16 years that Michigan State will open with a Friday night game in East Lansing; it's also the 14th time since 2011 that MSU will begin the season on a Friday night. MSU is 11-0 in its previous home Friday night games to start the season and 13-0 overall in its Friday night season openers during that time span.

• Michigan State is 12-0 in home Friday night games since 2011 and 14-2 overall in Friday night games during that same time span.

• Saturday's game marks just the second meeting between Michigan State and Toledo. In the only other previous matchup, Michigan State defeated Toledo, 58-0, on Nov. 8, 1925, which was Homecoming that season in just the third year at the current site of Spartan Stadium.

• Michigan State is 89-37-3 (.702) all-time in season openers, including a 24-3 record (.889) in its last 27 openers. In addition, the Spartans are 107-22 (.829) all-time in home openers, including victories in 26 of the past 27 years (only loss: 2020 vs. Rutgers on Oct. 24, 2020). MSU has won 25 consecutive home openers against nonconference opponents, dating back to 1999.

• Michigan State has 62 newcomers on the 2026 roster, including 32 transfers and 30 freshmen. The Spartans have 49 returning players in 2026, including 16 letterwinners from last season.

►SPARTANS ANNOUNCE CAPTAINS FOR 2026 SEASON
• The Spartans announced six team captains for the 2026 season on Aug. 24, as voted on by their teammates. The six team captains are junior punter Rhys Dakin, fifth-year center Trent Fraley, senior linebacker Jordan Hall, fifth-year safety Nikai Martinez, redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic and fifth-year rush end Kenny Soares Jr.

• The six captains tie the 1998 team for the most on a Spartan team.

►QUARTERBACK ALESSIO MILIVOJEVIC RETURNS AT QB FOR THE SPARTANS
• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic started the last four games of the 2025 season for the Spartans, completing 58 percent of his passes (79-of-136) for 986 yards and seven touchdowns in his four starts. Overall in nine games of action, Milivojevic connected on 64 percent of his throws (111-of-173) for 1,267 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.

• The Spartans also brought in sixth-year graduate transfer Cam Fancher, who has played in 37 career games at quarterback, including 28 starts. Fancher has played at Marshall (2021-23), Florida Atlantic (2024) and UCF (2025).

►TWO-TIME CAPTAIN JORDAN HALL BACK TO LEAD THE SPARTANS
• Senior linebacker Jordan Hall, who is the first Spartan linebacker to be named a captain in back-to-back years since Joe Bachie (2018-19), is back to lead the defense in 2026. Hall recorded a career-high 88 tackles last season, including 4.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks to go along with three forced fumbles, an interception, a fumble recovery and a pass break-up, to earn honorable mention All-Big Ten honors.

• Hall enters 2026 as a first-team All-Big Ten preseason selection by Phil Steele. He was also named to preseason watch lists for the Bednarik Award (best defensive player), the Butkus Award (nation's top linebacker) and the Wuerffel Trophy (premier community service award in college football).

►SEVERAL SPARTANS EARN PRESEASON HONORS
Several Michigan State Spartans have earned preseason honors entering the 2026 season.

• Gr. CB #3 Tre Bell (Shrine Bowl 1000 List)
• Jr. P #9 Rhys Dakin (Preseason All-Big Ten: Phil Steele, second team; Athlon Sports, second team)
• Gr. RB #0 Cam Edwards (Maxwell Award Player of the Year Watch List; Doak Walker Award Watch List: Shrine Bowl 1000 List)
• Gr. QB #2 Cam Fancher (Comeback Player of the Year Watch List)
• Gr. C #63 Trent Fraley (Preseason All-Big Ten: Phil Steele, second team; The Athletic, third team; Shrine Bowl 1000 list)
• Sr. LB #5 Jordan Hall (Bednarik Award Watch List; Butkus Award Watch List: Preseason All-Big Ten: Phil Steele, first team; Athlon Sports, third team; AFCA Good Works Team nominee; Wuerffel Trophy Watch List; Shrine Bowl 1000 List)
• Gr. S #21 Nikai Martinez (Shrine Bowl 1000 List)
• R-Sr. WR #13 WR Chrishon McCray (Shrine Bowl 1000 List)
• R-Sr. OL #58 Conner Moore (Preseason All-Big Ten: Phil Steele, second team; Shrine Bowl 1000 List)
• Gr. OL #75 Ben Murawski (Outland Trophy Watch List; Preseason All-Big Ten: Phil Steele, second team; Shrine Bowl 1000 List)
• Sr. DB #7 Michael Richard (Shrine Bowl 1000 List)
• Gr. EDGE #1 Kenny Soares Jr. (Shrine Bowl 1000 List)
• R-Sr. EDGE #9 Keahnist Thompson (Senior Bowl Top 300 List; Shrine Bowl 1000 List)
• R-Jr. KR #32 Kenneth Williams (Preseason All-Big Ten: The Athletic, second team; Phil Steele, second team; Athlon Sports, second team)

►SPARTANS ENTER 2026 AS ONE OF THE MOST EXPERIENCED TEAMS IN POWER 4
• According to The Athletic, Michigan State has one of the most experienced rosters in the Power 4 heading into the 2026 season.

• In a breakdown of the 68 Power 4 teams (and Notre Dame), Michigan State ranks fourth in career starts (570), seventh in career snaps (44,903) and 21st in career games (1,394). Those numbers rank No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 in the Big Ten, respectively.

►CAPTAIN KENNY SOARES JR. VOTED TO WEAR #1 JERSEY IN 2026
• A tradition of head coach Pat Fitzgerald is to have the team vote for a player to wear the #1 jersey. At the beginning of preseason camp, fifth-year graduate senior rush end Kenny Soares Jr. was voted by his teammates to don the #1 jersey for the 2026 season. Soares was also elected a team captain at the end of preseason camp.

• Soares played for Fitzgerald at Northwestern during the 2022 season and spent three seasons overall (2022-24) with the Wildcats. After transferring to North Carolina State in 2025, Soares recorded a career-high 80 tackles, second most on the Wolfpack, and played in all 13 games, including starting assignments the last eight games in a row at middle linebacker. A native of Trumbull, Connecticut, Soares has played in 41 career games and is shifting to rush end for the Spartans this season.

►SPARTANS WELCOME 32 TRANSFERS TO 2026 ROSTER
• The Spartans are welcoming 32 transfers to the 2026 roster.

• MSU added 15 transfers on defense that have started a combined 181 games in their careers, while the 13 transfers on offense have started a combined 176 games.

Here's a breakdown of the incoming transfers by position:

OFFENSE (13)
»WR (3): Gr.-5 Jameel Gardner Jr. (Jackson State), R-Jr. Fredrick Moore (Michigan), R-Jr. KK Smith (Notre Dame)

»OL (4): Gr.-5 Trent Fraley (North Dakota State), Gr.-5 Ben Murawski (UConn), Gr.-6 Nick Sharpe (South Carolina), R-Jr. Robert Wright Jr. (Georgia Southern)

»TE (1): Gr.-6 Carson Gulker (Ferris State)

»RB (4): Gr.-5 Cam Edwards (UConn), So. Marvis Parrish (Western Kentucky), Gr.-5 Jaziun Patterson (Iowa), R-Jr. Kenneth Williams (Nebraska)

»QB (1): Gr.-6 Cam Fancher (UCF)

DEFENSE (15)
»DL (2): R-Jr. Eli Coenen (Illinois), R-So. Carlos Hazelwood (Toledo)

»EDGE (4): R-Jr. Aidan Boehle (Winona State) R-So. Trey Lisle (Southeast Missouri State), Gr.-5 Kenny Soares Jr. (NC State), R-Sr. Keahnist Thompson (Weber State)

»LB (3): Sr. Dion Crawford (Buffalo), Sr. Cam Stodghill (Albany), Gr.-5 Caleb Wheatland (Auburn)

»CB (3): Gr.-5 Tre Bell (Iowa State), Gr.-6 Charles Brantley (Miami), R-So. Tyran Chappell (Houston Christian)

»S (3): R-Jr. Trevaughn Martinez (Western Carolina), Sr. Michael Richard (Louisiana Tech), R-Jr. Devin Vaught (Maine)

SPECIAL TEAMS (4)
»PK (1): Gr.-5 Liam Boyd (Charlotte)

»P (2): Jr. Rhys Dakin (Iowa), R-Fr., Alex Weeks (Northern Arizona)

»LS (1): R-Jr. Nick Duzansky (Oregon)

Additional Transfer Breakdown:
By Class:
• Seniors (Graduate/Sixth-Year/Fifth-Year/Fourth-Year): 17
• Redshirt Juniors/Juniors: 10
• Redshirt Sophomores/Sophomores: 4
• Redshirt Freshmen: 1

►SPARTAN FRIDAY NIGHT SEASON OPENERS SINCE 2011
• Since 2011, Michigan State has played 13 season openers on Friday night (13-0 record), including 11 in Spartan Stadium (11-0). Here's a look at MSU's Friday night season-opening games since 2011:

• Sept. 2, 2011: No. 17 Michigan State 28, Youngstown State 6 (East Lansing)
• Aug. 31, 2012: No. 13 Michigan State 17, No. 24 Boise State 13 (East Lansing)
• Aug. 30, 2013: Michigan State 26, Western Michigan 13 (East Lansing)
• Aug. 29, 2014: No. 8 Michigan State 45, Jacksonville State 7 (East Lansing)
• Sept. 4, 2015: No. 5 Michigan State 37, Western Michigan 24 (Kalamazoo)
• Sept. 2, 2016: No. 12 Michigan State 28, Furman 13 (East Lansing)
• Aug. 31, 2018: No. 11 Michigan State 38, Utah State 31 (East Lansing)
• Aug. 30, 2019: No. 18 Michigan State 28, Tulsa 7 (East Lansing)
• Sept. 3, 2021: Michigan State 38, Northwestern 21 (Evanston)
• Sept. 2, 2022: Michigan State 35, Western Michigan 13 (East Lansing)
• Sept. 1, 2023: Michigan State 31, Central Michigan 7 (East Lansing)
• Aug. 30, 2024: Michigan State 16, Florida Atlantic 10 (East Lansing)
• Aug. 29, 2025: Michigan State 23, Western Michigan 6 (East Lansing)

►UNDER THE LIGHTS PT. 2
• Friday marks the 36th night game in Spartan Stadium history; MSU is 25-10 overall (.714) in night games in East Lansing. MSU's first-ever night game in Spartan Stadium was a 27-13 win over USC to open the 1987 season.

►QUICK GLANCE AT TOLEDO
• Friday night is Toledo head coach Mike Jacobs' Rocket debut, as he was named Toledo's head coach in December of 2025. Jacobs came to Toledo after two seasons at Mercer, posting a 20-6 record there, including going 15-1 in the Southern Conference, winning two SoCon championships, and advancing to the FCS playoffs both seasons. Jacobs was also named the SoCon Coach of the Year for both 2024 and 2025 seasons. Prior to Mercer, Jacobs was at Lenoir-Rhyne for four seasons, logging a 32-9 record, winning two South Atlantic Conference titles outright and sharing one, advancing to the Division II playoffs twice, including the semifinals in 2023.

• The Rockets return 22 letterwinners from a 2025 squad that went 8-5 overall and 6-2 in Mid-American Conference action, finishing tied for second in the MAC standings. Toledo earned a berth to play in the Bush's Boca Raton Bowl of Beans, and lost to Louisville, 27-22, after a late rally came up short.

• The Rockets were tabbed third in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving 115 points in the poll, trailing defending conference champion Western Michigan (138 points) and Miami (Ohio) (134 points).

• Last season, Toledo was first in the MAC and 37th in the FBS in scoring offense (30.8 ppg), while also topping the league and ranking 55th in the nation in passing offense (238.1 ypg) as well as fourth in the conference and 41st in the country in rushing offense (177.2 ypg).

• The Rockets' defense led the MAC and ranked fourth in the FBS in scoring defense (13.3 ppg), also topping the conference and ranking fifth in the country in passing yards allowed (158.0 ypg) and also leading the league and ranking ninth in the nation in rushing defense (96.3 ypg).

• Individually, junior quarterback John Alan Richter is the lone returning QB from a year ago, and is the incumbent starter after last year's starter, Tucker Gleason graduated (209.6 ypg, 21 TDs). Richter appeared in three games last season, going 17-of-25 passing for 427 yards (13.3 ypc/51.0 ypg) with three TDs and one INT. In 2024, Richter three for 272 yards and four TDs.

• Richter is joined in the QB room by junior Khamoni Robinson, who transferred from Lenoir-Rhyne. Last season at L-R, Robinson threw for 2,391 yards and 20 TDs, while rushing for 325 yards and nine TDs.

• One of the many newcomers on the Rockets' defense is senior safety Armorion Smith, who transferred to Toledo from Michigan State. Smith played at MSU from 2023-25, registering 41 tackles in 23 games, including a career-high 35 last season. He was nominated for the Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award in 2024 and was named a semifinalist for the 2025 Comeback Player of the Year.

• Junior defensive end Andrew Zock, who transferred from Mercer, was named the FCS Defensive Player of the Year last season after recording 20 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks.