Week One Toledo vs Michigan State: One question and one answer

Michigan State’s 30-20 win over Toledo this past weekend officially kicked off the Pat Fitzgerald era in East Lansing, and after just one game, there’s already plenty to talk about.

Expectations were generally low for the Spartans heading into the 2026 season, and while Week 1 certainly gave us some things to feel good about, I’m not sure anything happened that drastically changed my outlook just yet. There were positives, there were concerns, and there were plenty of things that will need to be answered as the schedule gets tougher.

But most importantly, football is back — and all seems right with the world.

Each week, this column will take a look back at MSU's previous game, while also looking ahead to what’s next. The goal is to identify one question that was answered by the previous week’s performance and one new question that emerged from it.

For now, Week 1 of the 2026 campaign is in the books. Let’s get into what we learned from the win over Toledo —and what we still need to find out.

Question That Was Answered

Q: Will things look and feel different under a new regime?

A: Yes — mostly.

Many questions were answered during Michigan State’s season-opening win over Toledo. After an offseason filled with speculation and unknowns, fans and analysts finally had a chance to see this new-look Spartans team in action, giving us plenty of talking points to dig into.

From the outside, or for someone who hasn’t watched much of this program over the last few years, the game and final score probably looked pretty similar to what we’ve seen before. But it wasn’t.

We could get into the specific players and schemes we wanted to see in real time, but I think what many fans really wanted was to see whether some of the coaching miscues and self-inflicted mistakes that plagued this program in recent years under Mel Tucker and Jonathan Smith would be limited.

For the most part, they were.

It was far from a perfect performance, but Michigan State started and finished the game with purpose and controlled the majority of the night outside of a few defensive breakdowns. Quarterback Alessio Milivojevic and running back Cam Edwards both looked up to par of what we thought they could be.

Under Fitzgerald and his staff in game one, MSU looked organized, did not turn the ball over and did not beat itself.

Photo credit: Marvin Hall/Spartans Illustrated

Most importantly, the Spartans responded quickly when faced with adversity early in the fourth quarter. After Toledo suddenly found some momentum, MSU answered and eventually put the game away.

A 51-yard field goal from Liam Boyd with 1:55 remaining essentially iced the game and cemented something else that was a qurstion mark heading into the game: Michigan State has a kicker!

The Spartans also looked more disciplined, limiting the type of untimely penalties that have routinely put them behind the chains in recent years.

MSU had four penalties for 43 yards, but none of those were of the pre-snap variety (two holding calls, a defensive holding and a defensive pass interference call).

Michigan State dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 43:16 compared to just 16:44 for Toledo, and outside of some struggles in the red zone, the offense was able to move the ball consistently and do much of what it wanted.

There was also plenty of defensive continuity carried over from last season, which I think helped the unit in a number of areas during Week One.

But there is still plenty to clean up.

Let’s get into that.

Question That Arose

Q: Are the big plays allowed on defense already a cause for concern?

As mentioned above, Michigan State was only a few defensive mishaps away from completely shutting down Toledo.

A 60-yard touchdown pass from John Alan Richter to Adjatay Dabbs in the second quarter and a 71-yard touchdown run by Connor Walendzak early in the fourth quarter accounted for a huge portion of Toledo’s offensive success.

Outside of a handful of plays, and while Toledo did move the ball well on an early second-half drive for a touchdown, MSU's defense was extremely effective.

I actually thought the defensive line played better than the numbers indicate. The Spartans finished with just two sacks, but the group created pressure and did a solid job against the run. The play and depth of the defensive line was another question mark for MSU entering Friday night.

The linebackers also looked stout for most of the game, while the defense held Toledo to just 1-for-8 (12.5%) on third-down conversions and stopped the Rockets on their lone fourth-down attempt.

The problem is that the margin for error gets much smaller from here.

Photo credit: Marvin Hall/Spartans Illustrated

Toledo may end up being a very good MAC team, but allowing explosive plays like the ones Michigan State gave up — particularly when they aren't fluky plays — simply won't be good enough if the Spartans want to accomplish their goals this season.

The good news? Michigan State gets another favorable matchup this weekend against Eastern Michigan.

That should provide another opportunity for the defense to clean up some of the issues on the back end before the schedule gets significantly more difficult.

If we see more of the same Saturday against the Eagles, however, that red button is going to start looking awfully big — and awfully tempting to push.