Michigan State football has hit a crossroad in 2026, the first year of the Pat Fitzgerald era in East Lansing. With the Spartans sitting at 2-3 (0-2 B1G), and suffering their third straight loss, changes are going to have to be made.
The Spartans season is riding on this weekend's matchup with Illinois, with MSU desperately needing a win to get the train back on the tracks.
On Monday, Fitzgerald spoke on some of the things that Michigan State needs to do in order to right the ship in 2026. Issuing challenges to his players and coaching staff, Fitzgerald has made it known that this program is going to continue to fight this season.
If the Spartans are going to see a change in trends this season, here are three changes the team should consider making:
Give Max Bullough play calling duties
Could the Joe Rossi era in East Lansing be coming to an end? I think so, and it feels like the writing is on the wall. In all honesty, it was worth bringing Rossi back in 2026, giving him a fresh start, while working to retain several key players including Jordan Hall. Unfortunately, things look the same as they have for the past two seasons, and it feels like it is time for the Spartans to make a move here.
Bringing Bullough back to the program was a big move for Fitzgerald, and it felt like it was a move that was going to lead to the former Spartan linebacker taking over as the team's defensive coordinator at some point in time. It may be a touch earlier than expected, but it feels like that time is now.
Let Bullough control the reigns for the rest of 2026, getting his feet wet and getting the beginner mistakes out of the way, and have him ready to go and take the full reigns of controlling the defense in 2027.
Play the younger wide receivers
It is no secret, the Michigan State wide receiver room might be the worst unit in the Big Ten. The Spartans are struggling to get any separation in the passing game, are struggling with drops, and just have no cohesiveness to the unit.
Obviously, new guys can't be brought in midseason to totally rectify the problem, but what is stopping the MSU coaching staff from using some of their young guys more in the receiving game? The Spartans have redshirt freshman Braylon Collier, Charles Taplin and Bryson Williams, who have loooked strong in minimal snaps, while also having former 4-star Samson Gash, who deserves a strong look.
Right now, it feels like there is nothing to lose, meaning the Spartans should definitely add in some youth to the wide receiver spot.
OF NOTE: This feels like a last gasp effort from Courtney Hawkins to stay in his position as the wide receivers coach following the season.
A potential QB Change?
I, for one, am not ready to totally call for Alessio Milivojevic to lose his job, but we are getting dangerously close to the point of asking when it is time to see more of Kayd Coffman or Leo Hannan.
Coffman got mop up duty in Madison, and showed some athleticism. It may be worth giving Coffman a look in some of the Cam Fancher packages, now that Fancher is down with an injur, and potentially see if there is some spark in the true freshman.
As of now, this is still Milivojevic's job, but another poor performance against Illinois and the chatter should shift towards seeing what the MSU backups have to offer.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Three changes Michigan State football should consider making
