Michigan State Football: One question and one answer heading into Illinois

I remember a time when Michigan State versus Wisconsin was perennially must-see television — a matchup between two programs that mirrored each other in a lot of ways stylistically, with plenty of memorable games along the way — in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

This year came with significantly less juice and ended with one team looking like it’s at least trending in the right direction, and one that may be at rock bottom. The Michigan State Spartans would be the latter.

MSU fell 31-3 in Madison this past Saturday, and it was one of those games fans just wanted to fast-forward through if they were brave enough to watch it all. MSU struggled mightily to move the ball on offense, and the defense couldn't stop the run, particularly when Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph ran the ball himself, which is not a good recipe for winning in the Big Ten.

The road won’t get any easier for the Spartans as the 2026 season progresses, but they’ll need to find some sort of spark against an Illinois team that has issues of its own.

Michigan State hosts Illinois for its homecoming game on Saturday (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on FS1). The Fighting Illini are led by head coach Bret Bielema, who was the head coach at Wisconsin from 2006 until 2012 during those aforementioned competitive matchups with the Spartans under Mark Dantonio.

As for 2026, first-year MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald's squad has more questions than it has answers as of right now. Let's examine.

Question That Was Answered vs. Wisconsin

Q: How would the team look with a week of game planning without their two best players?

A: Depleted

We knew coming into the season that MSU had a roster that was mostly top-heavy with talent and would be heavily reliant on those players. While the Spartans didn't necessarily have many first-team All-Big Ten caliber players, there were certainly some with that potential. The depth of the team was always a question mark, however. Now with the injuries piling up, the depth of the team does indeed appear to be thin.

The extent of how much the Spartans really needed players like running back Cam Edwards (who is out for the remainder of the 2026 season) and linebacker Jordan Hall was on full display against Wisconsin, as the Spartans looked outclassed in so many ways by a team that may be middle of the pack in the conference. However, the Badgers are playing well right now and could certainly finish better than that.

MSU ran for 127 yards against Wisconsin, but averaged just 2.8 yards per carry and did not have a carry go over nine yards. That won’t get anything done for a team that will need to lean on the run while it tries to build any sort of confidence in the passing game.