Four wins. 20 losses. In the brutal economy of modern college football, that kind of record usually lands you a studio job in Chicago at the Big Ten Network. 

Yet, in 2026, here stands Pat Fitzgerald, fresh off an alleged hazing scandal, donning a headset and dark green polo, inheriting a program with deeper pockets and far greater expectations than his alma mater. It’s one of the greatest examples of failing upward the sport has ever seen: A hire hoping that Fitzgerald’s ultra conservative, “Northwestern Way” wasn’t out of style, but that it just needed a change of scenery. 

The move reeks of desperation. Michigan State found itself in a compromising position, fresh off a disturbing Mel Tucker exit and a disastrous Jonathan Smith tenure that saw a once-promising coach who could do more with less fall flat in an ultra-competitive league. And Fitzgerald needed a job, hoping to shake the ugly allegations that saw him booted by a school near and dear to his heart. 

Michigan State is wagering that Fitzgerald’s Big Ten Fundamentalism approach to football still works in 2026. It’s a bet that grit, toughness, and controlling the clock are methods for competing against conference foes with better rosters and bigger budgets. 

But the league looks a lot different now than it did the last time Fitzgerald roamed the sidelines. Indiana is a national champion. Oregon is knocking on the door. Ohio State is still a perennial force. And the Big Ten West is no more. 

The Fitzgerald hire won’t have a middle ground. He’ll either prove that Big Ten Fundamentalism is still a viable strategy, or that the 4-20 collapse in Evanston was the beginning of the end.

There’s no easy way to talk about Fitzgerald’s exit from Northwestern. According to ESPN, the school launched an investigation into the football program after allegations of hazing and sexual abuse were made by a former Wildcats player in late 2022. The former player alleged the hazing was “organized and widespread in the program.” 

Fitzgerald was fired days after he was initially suspended for two weeks by the school. He “took full responsibility” for what happened, despite claiming he had no knowledge of what might have occurred. 

Fitzgerald later filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the school. The lawsuit was settled last August.

On the field, we know what to expect from a Pat Fitzgerald team. During his 17-year career at Northwestern, he constructed teams that punched above their weight using an ultra-physical brand of football. 

Fitzgerald teams run the ball. They play defense. They try to win with discipline. It’s straight from the Kirk Ferentz playbook, just without the same level of winning. There’s no doubting that Fitzgerald will attempt to instill those tenets at his new school. Will it lead to wins? That might be a different story.

Under Mel Tucker, the Spartans were all flash and little substance. They rode a remarkable 11-2 run to a Peach Bowl victory in 2021, but flamed out soon after. Jonathan Smith was seen as a master tactician and someone who could do more with less. Ultimately, his tenure was intertwined with the development (or lack thereof) of Oregon State transfer quarterback Aidan Chiles. Chiles routinely struggled with accuracy and lacked true command of the offense. It culminated in Smith being fired after missing bowl games in his only two seasons in charge. 

This season, Fitzgerald will take this team to school, drilling home the football fundamentals. Blocking. Tackling. Ball control offense. 

The Spartans are expected to turn to Alessio Milivojevic at the quarterback position. Last season, he split time with Chiles, with varying levels of success. He started the last few games last season, finishing with a little over 1,200 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions. He didn’t exactly light the world on fire, but he didn’t turn the ball over very often either. Surely that last part is something that caught Fitzgerald’s eye when he took the job. 

On the defensive side of the ball, the Spartans have a lot to fix. Last season, Michigan State finished the year with the No. 82 defense in college football, according to Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings. This year, Connelly’s numbers project that unit to be the 69th best defensive group in the country. That unit gave up 28 points or more eight times last season. That’s simply not good enough to compete in a loaded league. 

One of the more unique elements of Fitzgerald coming back to college football is that now, unlike back in 2021, the transfer portal plays a major role in roster construction. Fitzgerald has literally never competed in the transfer portal era. He’s more than a few steps behind compared to his peers. 

In an effort to get up to speed, the Spartans took in 29 transfers this offseason, most of them being former three-stars. They also cleaned house, with 44 players exiting the program. 

One of the more notable departures from East Lansing was dynamic receiver Nick Marsh, who joined the national champs in Bloomington. Last season, Marsh tallied over 650 yards and six touchdowns. For much of the season, he was a lone bright spot on a struggling team. The Spartans will surely miss his big-play abilities and will need to find a way to replace his production. 

In the end, the Fitzgerald hire isn’t about a redemption arc or second chances in a traditional sense. It’s about the brutal, transactional nature of the sport. Michigan State wanted to hire him, so they did.

Whether a 4-20 skid can be buffed out by a change of scenery remains to be seen. We didn’t need another reminder, but we got one anyway: In college football, it’s wins, not optics, that truly matter.

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Our preview season is off and running! In this episode, we begin our three-part 2026 ACC preview by zooming out and attempting to make sense of the conference as a whole. Miami enters the season as the clear favorite, with Darian Mensah taking over at quarterback and another roster built to reach the College Football Playoff. But can the Hurricanes finally win their first ACC championship?

From there, we sort the rest of the ACC into contender tiers and confront the question that defines the league this season: Who comes after Miami? We debate how much to trust Kevin Jennings and SMU, Jeff Brohm’s latest rebuild at Louisville, Clemson’s return to Chad Morris and the long list of possible challengers lurking in the conference’s crowded middle. We also examine the unusually unsettled quarterback landscape, widespread offensive line turnover, the arrival of James Franklin at Virginia Tech and the pressure facing Mike Norvell at Florida State.

Plus, we identify our ACC pet teams, search for surprise storylines and hold an entirely unnecessary conference nickname draft.

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