Michigan State's buy-game stretch to open the Pat Fitzgerald era rolls on when Eastern Michigan comes to East Lansing — a soft spot on paper, but the Eagles bring a quarterback who can put up numbers on anybody.
−Brand-new staff under Fitzgerald still installing system
−Lost top three pass catchers, SP+ projects ~4 wins
This is a Week 2 tune-up by design. Michigan State scheduled Toledo and Eastern Michigan back-to-back to open Fitzgerald's tenure, and the goal is simple: bank wins while a new staff installs its system. Eastern Michigan counters with QB Noah Kim, the transfer from Michigan State by way of Coastal Carolina who led the MAC in passing yards a year ago. It's the kind of matchup where roster talent should carry the day, but Kim's track record means the Eagles won't just roll over.
Milivojevic gets another crack at running Fitzgerald's offense after closing 2025 as the full-time starter, though he's doing it with almost none of his old weapons — Michigan State's top three pass catchers from last season are gone, replaced by transfers KK Smith and Fredrick Moore who are still learning the playbook. On the other sideline, Kim has continuity: receivers Harold Mack and Nick Devereaux and tight end Joshua Long are all back in the same system, which is usually a bigger advantage than raw recruiting rankings this early in a season.
Neither program is walking in with much swagger. Both finished 4-8 in 2025, and preseason models aren't kind to the home team — SP+ has Michigan State projected around 4-5 wins for the year under its brand-new coaching staff. That's the backdrop for the odds card below: a Big Ten roster hosting a MAC team it has beaten every single time they've met, but doing it through a level of roster uncertainty that keeps this from being a total mismatch on paper.
History is lopsided — Michigan State is 10-0 all-time against Eastern Michigan — but history isn't installing Fitzgerald's scheme for him in real time. First-year coaches dragging a rebuilt receiver room into September buy games have stumbled before, and Eastern Michigan's staff knows this is their best shot at a signature road result even if the final line doesn't show it.
Eastern Michigan's realistic ceiling this season was never a MAC title chase — it's simply being more competitive than a team that was closer to 1-11 than its actual record suggested. A game like this, with Kim slinging it against a defense that's also adjusting to a new staff, is exactly the kind of spot where the Eagles could make it uncomfortable even in a game they're expected to lose.
