Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald didn’t have much when he was hired to lead the Spartans in December.
Fitzgerald hadn’t coached since the 2022 season, so he didn’t arrive in East Lansing with a roster or staff built around him. He was starting from scratch.
But he didn’t have to go far to find his first coach. He was already in the building when Fitzgerald arrived: defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, the same man who got him his first Big Ten win at MSU.
“I’m so thankful he chose to stay,” Fitzgerald said. “He was the first guy to say, ‘Yeah, I believe in you, coach. I want to stay.’”
Rossi delivered Saturday. His defense shut down Michigan’s offense as the Spartans beat the Wolverines 15-6, snapping a six-game losing streak, reclaiming the Paul Bunyan Trophy for the first time since 2021, and earning MSU’s first Big Ten win since Nov. 29, 2025.
Fitzgerald’s first Big Ten victory at MSU made him the third Spartans coach to beat Michigan in his first season and the first since Mel Tucker in 2020.
“To the Spartan Dawgs, to all our former players and to the Spartan Nation. This one’s for you,” Fitzgerald said. “I know we haven’t gotten what you want and what we want as far as win...