Michigan State

2-6

Week 10 · updated Wednesday, Nov 4

Michigan State has lost six in a row and is 2-6.

Fan mood in the week of the UCLA game: sour, sourer than usual for them

Fan mood in each Michigan State game week this season

Compared with other fanbases in r/CFB game threads that week. Each row is a week, named for its game; the further right the dot, the brighter the talk.

sourerbrightervs Eastern Michigan W 35-7on the sour sideat Notre Dame L 10-27on the bright sidevs Nebraska L 13-31middle of the packat Wisconsin L 3-31middle of the packvs Illinois L 37-38sourvs Northwestern L 21-24sourat UCLA L 10-28soursourerbrighterSep 12vs Eastern MichiganW 35-7on the sour sideSep 19at Notre DameL 10-27on the bright sideSep 26vs NebraskaL 13-31middle of the packOct 3at WisconsinL 3-31middle of the packOct 10vs IllinoisL 37-38sourOct 17vs NorthwesternL 21-24sourOct 24at UCLAL 10-28sour
  • W 30-20 vs Toledo
  • W 35-7 vs Eastern Michigan
  • L 10-27 at Notre Dame
  • L 13-31 vs Nebraska
  • L 3-31 at Wisconsin
  • L 37-38 vs Illinois
  • L 21-24 vs Northwestern
  • L 10-28 at UCLA
  • Next: at Michigan, Saturday, Nov 7

Scores ours first.

Michigan State fans in other seasons

souruneasymixedhopefulall in2019mixed2020mixed2026 so faruneasysouruneasymixedhopefulall in2019mixed2020mixed2026so faruneasy

2021-2025 are not shown: not enough of their chatter was read to place a season.

The last two weeks

Michigan State lost 10-28 at UCLA.

The whole UCLA game

Paul Bunyan Trophy

Michigan has won 7 of the last 12 meetings, including the last four; Michigan State's last win was 37-33 in 2021.

Pat Fitzgerald is 1-9 against Michigan as a head coach.

Michigan State needs four wins in its last four games to reach six.

The playoff simulation gives Michigan State a 15% chance at Michigan on Saturday, Nov 7.

Michigan game on Now

What the Michigan game is worth

How fan mood is read

Fan mood compares what Michigan State fans wrote in r/CFB game threads with every FBS fanbase with enough talk that week. A week runs Monday to Sunday and is named for the game in it. The read is redrawn 300 times from the same commenters, re-ranking every fanbase each time. Sour or all in means the read sat in the bottom or top fifth in at least 70 of every 100 draws; on the sour side or on the bright side, in the bottom or top two fifths in at least 80; anything less settled is middle of the pack. A bright label also needs more positive talk than negative, and a sour one the reverse. Brighter or sourer than usual compares the week with the team's own earlier weeks, after taking out how every fanbase read that week. Each dot sits at the read's rank that week. A week read before these labels keeps the word it was first given, the fifth it sat in (sour, uneasy, mixed, hopeful or all in). Season averages are the mean of a season's reads, in fifths from sour to all in, and seasons before 2026 were read from each week's wider talk, so a comparison across seasons is rough. 2019 and 2020 were read later, in one pass, from saved talk.

Fan mood, week by week

Mood over time

Position = mood · width = volume · color = the kind of feeling

What the reporters say

What reporters say

6 quotes collected this season

What the beat said, in their own words.

Sources: Michigan State starting quarterback Alessio Milivojevic (undisclosed) is not expected top play at No. 9 UCLA today
Thamel · On3the day of Michigan State's 2026 game against UCLA
The way they’ve taken the ball away, we have to be turnover-free to win this game
Fitzgerald · On3the day of the 10-28 game
The communication was great from Fitz towards myself and the offensive staff and then we do our part to be ready for whatever decision that he makes and try to help the players
Sheridan · On33 days before the Eastern Michigan game

More in this tab

Fan chatter

Fan chatterThe loudest night of the season and what a usual night looks like.

Fan chatter this season

Firestorm

The loudest night was the 37-38 loss to Illinois.

FirstSecondThirdFourthIllinois fansMichigan State fansusual

A usual night for Michigan State fans is steady.

Arguments

The argumentThe one thing this fanbase can't agree on, with receipts.

Inside the fanbase: all 12 corners

Cr/CFB
GGoogle News
LLocked On
OThe Only Colors
BBluesky
YYouTube
6 outlets & communities talking

One voice

+0.12Whole-fanbase sentiment · warm

Every cohort from the die-hards to the analytics crowd lands within 0.04 of each other — a rare consensus. The most upvoted post:

▶

Locked On

Game-Changers: What Michigan State football Must see to upset Michigan; Pat Fitzgerald locked in?

listen ↗

How Michigan State fans actually talk

Rr/CFBFan talk

Tbf I also puked a lot at MSU

open ↗

One of the crowd’s most upvoted takes — read for mood, not as a side. The cohort read is the measured part.

Every fan group, end to end

negative
0
positive
Bettors+0.11 to Local+0.16

Cohort sentiment is a source-weighted model read — never a quote pinned to a person.

What this fanbase keeps coming back to

fan energy
24%
recent results
19%
where the program is headed
18%
the coaching staff
13%
the roster
5%

Topics are model-labeled from Reddit — a rough signal of what this fanbase is circling right now.

week 10. The sources and the divergence rank are measured. Cohort labels and sentiment are a source-weighted model estimate, never a quote attributed to a person.
ArgumentsRecurring arguments this fanbase keeps returning to.

What fans are saying

recruiting effortOne fan's take

One fan believes a strong recruiting class can turn around the team’s performance

if we want to be good next year I’m expecting like a 35-40 player haul in the portal along with it being a T15-20 class.

Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Oct 17, 2026 · via MSUSpartans

program directionOne fan's take

One fan argues the coaching staff is underperforming

I'm done with this coaching staff. How in the fuck do you not win with that field position late in the game?!?!? Shut the fucking program down!

Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Oct 17, 2026 · via CFB

player roleOne fan's take that season

One fan thinks the coaching staff isn’t developing players’ skills effectively

I have no idea why this coaching staff is so hesitant to let Aiden air it out when it seems like such a strong suit for us

Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Sep 21, 2025 · via CFB

player performanceOne fan's take that season

One fan believes Michigan State’s offensive line struggles to protect the quarterback

When players can transfer at will, why would a guy like Chiles stay at MSU? Our o line sucks, and will likely suck next season too.

Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Sep 21, 2025 · via CFB

Show all 8
program directionOne fan's take

One fan thinks aggressive moves are needed to escape mediocrity

I think 6-8 wins shows me something to believe in, but he’s gotta bring in a T25 class, also firing Rossi and Sheridan

Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Oct 13, 2026 · via MSUSpartans

fan moraleOne fan's take

One fan thinks Michigan State fans don’t have a history of rushing the field

Michigan state fans will never rush the field for any reason inside Spartan Stadium… mostly because it’s a 12 foot drop to the field level.

Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Sep 7, 2026 · via CFB

scheme identityOne fan's take that season

One fan thinks his defensive schemes are easily exploited

Rossi and Legi can pack their bags tonight and fuck off. Every week we have confusion in the secondary, bad tackling, using LBs who cannot cover against pass catchers, no pass rush/variety, and a total lack of control at the line of scrimmage.

Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Sep 13, 2025 · via CFB

player performanceOne fan's take that season

One fan believes the offensive line is giving up too many sacks

It blows my mind how much this O-line is getting blown up by an FCS team, Jesus Christ.

Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Sep 13, 2025 · via CFB

Rival talk

The obsessionThe rival this fanbase can't stop bringing up.
Rent Free · r/CFB fan posts, 2026 season
Michigan State fans 90% of posts bring up another team#2 of 77 saltiest · mostly about Michigan
Who Michigan State fans can’t stop bringing up
  1. Michigan24%
  2. Northwestern12%
  3. Rutgers10%
  4. UCLA10%
  5. Nebraska9%
share of Michigan State’s football posts that mention each team
Michigan State lives rent-free in
  1. Illinois6%
share of each rival fanbase’s football posts that bring up Michigan State
Rivalry mirrorHow the rival's fans talk about you vs. you about them.
The rivalry mirror 2026 season
Michigan State
×
Michigan
← Michigan State fans, on Michigan
Michigan fans, on Michigan State →
athleticsz 6.8
offensez 2.2
locationz 5.0
beckz 2.0
preseasonz 4.4
missedz 4.0
patz 3.9
Michigan fans' talk about Michigan State has no standout words this season

“Sheridan was a Michigan QB, just sayin’.”

reddit/MSUSpartans · fan post
Words each fanbase uses about the other far more than in everyday talk. A longer bar means the word stands out more. The number is its z-score, how far above usual it runs; 2 or more is notable.

How Michigan State fans talk

Who they talk aboutThe people this fanbase names more than anyone else does.
Who they talk about Against the field · 2026 season

The names this fanbase says more than anyone else does — players, coaches, the places they keep coming back to. Not slang: these are the people carrying the conversation.

Pat Fitzgerald
×287.3 the field
Signature — named ≥10× as often as the rest of college football
Pat Fitzgerald×287.3
Alessio Milivojevic×118.4
Joe Rossi×189.4

“Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald: back in the Big Ten.”

bluesky_curated · fan post
Fans on Pat Fitzgerald
  1. Pat Fitzgerald—of all people. Then left us high and dry. Oh, and also… NIL funding isn’t helping.
  2. Don’t listen to them, there’s a great deal on a Pat Fitzgerald right here.
  3. Pat Fitzgerald managed that situation without complaint and not enough observers take the difficulties
  4. If you remove the Covid year, Pat Fitzgerald has the lowest winning percentage against power conference teams of any coach to
  5. MSU Football will be National Champs under Coach Pat Fitzgerald in 2032.
  6. MSU has Pat Fitzgerald. That’s the difference. lol
  7. Pat Fitzgerald, they settled for mediocrity
  8. The worst thing for Michigan State is Pat Fitzgerald isn't it, but because they fired Smith after 2 years, they have to be more patient
What they're calledThe slang the sport reaches for about this program more than most.
What the sport calls them 2026 season · from Words

How often college football reaches for these watchlist words about Michigan State — against the average FBS program, or against their own usual rate — said by rival fans and national media as readily as by their own people.

  • “natty”1.4×more than the average program · #12 of 54
The whole board →
Voice profileHow this fanbase sounds vs. every other fanbase.
Doomers
Optimism
1st
Joy
37th
Anger
97th
Doom
90th
Sarcasm
35th
Vs the 127 highest-volume fanbases - 2026 season
Vocabulary by eraThe words that defined each chapter of this program.

Season vocabulary

2026fitz
fitzneedportalnilmsuroster
fitz won’t win over 10 games total as head coach.
2025defense
defensechilesoffenseiowamarshfumble
Our defense really stepping up holy fuck
2024star
starprogramnewtransfer
Former 5 star Xavier Booker has entered the transfer portal
This page may include content derived from public news sources, social media, and fan communities. We relay these sources as-is — we are not reporting them. Sources may be summarized or quoted imperfectly; for anything that matters, go look at the original source directly. The original source may also be wrong. Text written by our model says so in a line beneath it, and it can get facts wrong. All analysis is editorial opinion, not professional reporting. Data sources · About this site