2026 MAC Football Week 1 Game Preview: Toledo Rockets at Michigan State Spartans

Setting the scene

Friday night in East Lansing represents a new era for two programs that have experienced vastly different fortunes in the 2020s.

After a decade of sustained success and two MAC championships, longtime Toledo head coach Jason Candle finally departed the MAC and accepted a position at UConn. Mike Jacobs will succeed the program's winningest head coach after making a name for himself as a small-school guru. Jacobs climbed the ladder from the Division II ranks at Notre Dame College and Lenoir-Rhyne to FCS program Mercer before landing his first FBS job at Toledo. He is tasked with keeping Toledo's streak of 16-straight .500-or-better seasons intact — the third-longest streak in the country behind Boise State and Alabama.

On the other side, Pat Fitzgerald returns to the conference that shaped his career. Fitzgerald was head coach at his alma mater Northwestern for 17 seasons. After three seasons as a volunteer high school assistant in Illinois, the 51-year-old retakes the sideline in Michigan State colors. Fitzgerald is responsible for five of Northwestern's eight bowl wins, and he guided the Wildcats to two Big Ten Championship Games in 2018 and 2020. Now, he aims to capture that magic for a Michigan State program that has fallen on hard times with four consecutive losing seasons.

But even amidst the recent struggles, the Friday night opener remains a consistent bright spot for the Spartans. Every season since 2011 — save for 2017 and 2020 — Michigan State opened its season on a Friday night. The Spartans are 13-0 in those games, faring a perfect 5-0 vs. MAC opponents.

Game notes

• Time and date: Friday, September 4th, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. ET
• Network: FS1
• Location: Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, MI
• Spread: Michigan State (-10.5)
• Over/under: 49.5
• All-time series: Michigan State leads, 1-0
• Last meeting: Michigan State 58, Toledo 0 (November 7, 1925)
• Current streak: Michigan State, 1 (1925)

Toledo Rockets outlook

Mike Jacobs will coach his first game in the FBS. Jacobs spent the past 10 years excelling in the Division II and FCS ranks, most recently leading Mercer to back-to-back conference championships before getting an opportunity at Toledo.

The 47-year-old head coach brought a defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, five position coaches, and 14 transfers from last year's 9-3 Mercer team to Toledo, hoping to replicate that success at the FBS level. Chief among these transfers is defensive end Andrew Zock, who won the Buck Buchanan Award given to the FCS's top defensive player. Zock registered 46 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and 23 QB hurries in 2025, and he's expected to be Toledo's top pass rusher in 2026.

Other Mercer transfers slated for significant roles include running back CJ Miller (953 rushing yards, 314 receiving yards, 17 total touchdowns last season), wide receiver Adjatay Dabbs (45 receptions, 856 receiving yards, 8 touchdowns), defensive tackle Caden Camese (missed entire 2025 season), linebackers Julian Fox (85 tackles) and Isaac Prince (53 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks), and defensive backs KJ Thomas (24 tackles, 6 pass breakups), Donovan Watkins (32 tackles, 8 pass breakups, 2 interceptions), and Kaleb Hutchinson (54 tackles, 4 pass breakups, 3 interceptions).

But Toledo requires more than players from a 9-3 FCS roster to sustain its modern standard. The Rockets lack incumbent talent, as left tackle Stephen Gales is the only returning player who started more than half the games in 2025. But one familiar face returning is quarterback John Alan Richter, a fifth-year Rocket who collected valuable experience as a backup over the years. He won his lone start against Northern Illinois in 2024 and has compiled impressive numbers in recurring appearances. Richter has 699 career passing yards and seven touchdowns against one interception with a 65.6 completion rate. After four years of waiting his turn, he will finally get his opportunity in the spotlight this fall.

Offensively, the Rockets will attack with a running back room consisting of Mercer transfer CJ Miller, former Penn State four-star recruit Corey Smith, and program staple Connor Walendzak, who led the Rockets in rushing in 2024. The new receiving corps, which replaces Junior Vandeross, is laden with former FCS stars including Adjatay Dabbs, Rico Bond, Kalvin Gilbert Jr., and Trenton Jones. However, incumbents Terrell Crosby and Bryson Hammer could also play significant roles.

The new tight end group features a former FCS first team all-conference selection in Peyton Strickland, who joins Akron transfer Jake Newell, while the offensive line refreshes with FCS transfers Luke Rector, Ahmad Carwise, and Nick Thomas, along with former Auburn tackle Dylan Senda.

Restocking the defense will be the greatest challenge for Toledo. The Rockets fielded one of the greatest defenses in MAC history in 2025, ranking second nationally in total defense, fourth in scoring defense, fifth in passing defense, ninth in run defense, and fifth in third down defense. They held seven opponents to 10 points or fewer and five opponents to three points or fewer. Nobody scored more than 28 on them all season. Toledo produced two NFL Draft selections and nine All-MAC selections from the defense alone.

None of that matters anymore. Inside linebacker Langston Long is the only returning defender who logged a start in 2025 (four), and the sixth-year senior will be one of the leaders with this refurbished unit, alongside Zock. Other returning veterans looking to uphold last year's standard include defensive tackles Nate Chandler and Lucas Lambert-Pipkin and safeties Nicholas Thompson and Dylan Hohler.

Just like the offense, Toledo will rely heavily on its portal class on defense. Ezra Odinjor and Zach Thomas arrive from UAB as rotation defensive ends. Former four-star Penn State recruit Kari Jackson joins Mercer transfers Julian Fox and Isaac Prince at linebacker. And the Mercer-heavy secondary also features former Holy Cross cornerback Cam Jones, Division II standout safety Mo Conteh, and Amorion Smith — who will return to his former home field after playing seven games and recording 35 tackles for Michigan State last year.

Michigan State Spartans outlook

Michigan State was one of the standards of college football in the 2010s. The Spartans won multiple Big Ten championships, were a fixture in BCS and New Year's Six bowls, and won 11+ games six times in a seven-year span to kick off the decade.

The 2020s are a far cry from that. Michigan State has endured five losing seasons in six years, with the 11-2 Kenneth Walker-led season in 2021 serving as the exception rather than the standard. Pat Fitzgerald, the program's third full-time head coach in four seasons, is tasked with fixing that, as he aims to bring the Spartans back to their first bowl game in five years.

Offensively, the Spartans start anew with former Alabama coordinator Nick Sheridan. The former Michigan quarterback must reinvent an offense which hasn't finished higher than 89th in points per game or 97th in yards per game since 2021. Guard Conner Moore and wide receiver Chrishon McCray are the only primary starters back on the unit, so Sheridan is dealing with a significant reset.

Redshirt sophomore Alessio Milivojevic will get the nod at quarterback. Milivojevic started the final four contests for the Spartans in 2025, and while he finished 1-3, he performed well from an individual standpoint. He averaged 247 passing yards per game as QB1, and for the entire season, he completed 64.2 percent of passes with 10 touchdowns to three interceptions. The mobility department could use work, but the tools are in place for Milivojevic to become the program's first 3,000-yard passer since Payton Thorne in 2021 at a position which has since lacked stability.

After the success of Nate Carter from 2023-24, the Spartans are testing another UConn transfer running back in Cam Edwards. The explosive Edwards, who averaged 5.9 yards per carry, finished 15th in rushing yards (1,240) and 13th in rushing touchdowns (15), hoping for a Kenneth Walker-like senior season in East Lansing. Transfers Jaziun Patterson (Iowa) and Marvis Parrish Jr. (WKU) support Edwards as experienced backups. Nick Marsh was a significant loss in the receiving corps, but transfers Fredrick Moore (Michigan) and KK Smith (Notre Dame) join McCray and Rodney Bullard Jr. in the new-look group.

Michigan State heavily utilized tight ends under Jonathan Smith, with two finishing among last year's top five receptions leaders. The group lacks experience heading into 2026, with redshirt freshman Jayden Savoury as the projected starter. Fitzgerald has been known to implement tight end/fullback hybrids known as "superbacks" into his offenses, and there could be a Spartan such as Jay Coyne who carves out such a role.

Michigan State's greatest area for improvement offensively is along the line. The Spartans were one of 13 FBS teams to allow more than three sacks per game in 2025, and they responded through a strong transfer portal class. The 6'7", 340-pound Ben Murawski arrives from UConn as an Outland Trophy watchlist nominee, with high-end NFL Draft potential. Nick Sharpe started 17 games at guard at Wake Forest and South Carolina, while Trent Fraley — the son of former Philadelphia Eagles center Hank Fraley — was an FCS First Team All-American center at North Dakota State.

On defense, Fitzgerald retained Joe Rossi as coordinator while assigning program legend Max Bullough a co-defensive coordinator role. The Spartan defense improved as the season progressed last year. After allowing 31+ points to six-straight FBS opponents, the Spartans held each of their final four opponents under 30 points (Minnesota, Penn State, Iowa, and Maryland).

The unit searches for a premier pass rusher this year after no Spartan recorded more than 2.5 sacks in 2025. Defensive end Isaac Smith and defensive tackle Ben Roberts return to the line, and they'll be complemented with Illinois transfer defensive tackle Eli Coenen and NC State transfer edge rusher Kenny Soares Jr., who should be one of the Spartans' top defenders after producing 80 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, and six QB hurries with the Wolfpack last fall.

Leading tackler Jordan Hall is back to lead the linebacking corps, while the secondary aims to improve upon a 93rd-ranked pass defense with incoming transfer cornerback Tre Bell (Iowa State) and safeties Michael Richard (Louisiana Tech) and Devin Vaught (FCS Maine). Former starting cornerback Charles Brantley boomerangs back to East Lansing after a brief pit stop at Miami (FL), and he'll reunite with veteran safety Nikai Martinez, an established veteran who returns from injury after missing all but four games a season ago.

Prediction

Last year's Toledo team is hardly a reflection of this year's team, considering the massive turnover on the coaching staff and roster. But there are interesting program trends to monitor as the Mike Jacobs era commences. The Rockets struggled mightily away from home in 2025. They were 6-0 at the Glass Bowl and 2-5 away from it. Also, all eight Toledo wins last season were by 18+ points, and four of the five losses were in one-score games.

As mentioned earlier, Michigan State has its own trend. The Spartans haven't lost an opener in August or September since 2008. They haven't lost a home opener in these months since 1998. Even amid recent struggles, the Spartans always find a way to start on proper footing.

Matchups with previous Toledo teams may have severely threatened these trends. But it's difficult to project how this Rockets team will fare with so many moving parts and key contributors unaccustomed to the FBS level. Michigan State wins a defensive-driven Friday night opener, starting the Pat Fitzgerald era in East Lansing at 1-0.

Prediction: Michigan State 26, Toledo 13