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Michigan State football schedule 2026
12 regular-season games, 7 at home and 5 away, from Sep 4 to Nov 28. 9 in the Big Ten. Next up: at home against Toledo on Sep 4.
September 2026 4 games
| Date | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | vs Toledo | |
| Sep 12 | vs Eastern Michigan | |
| Sep 19 | at Notre Dame | |
| Sep 26 | vs Nebraska | TBC |
October 2026 4 games
| Date | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 3 | at Wisconsin | TBC |
| Oct 10 | vs Illinois | TBC |
| Oct 17 | vs Northwestern | TBC |
| Oct 24 | at UCLA | TBC |
November 2026 4 games
| Date | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 7 | at Michigan | TBC |
| Nov 14 | vs Washington | TBC |
| Nov 20 | vs Oregon | |
| Nov 28 | at Rutgers | TBC |
Michigan State's 2026 season
Michigan State plays 12 regular-season games in 2026, 7 at home at Spartan Stadium and 5 away, opening on Sep 4 and finishing on Nov 28. 9 of them are Big Ten games and 3 are not — which is the shape of a college season: a short non-conference run, most of it early, and then two months inside the conference. The longest run at home is 2 games, from Sep 4 to Sep 12; the longest run on the road is 2, from Oct 24 to Nov 7.
The non-conference games are against Toledo on Sep 4, Eastern Michigan on Sep 12, Notre Dame on Sep 19. Those opponents are not in the Big Ten, so they do not appear as rows on the conference grid — a cell naming one carries a dotted underline there to say so. They are part of this team's season all the same, which is why they are on the grid at all rather than left as blank weeks.
Kick-off times are shown in your own timezone rather than US Eastern time — detected automatically, and overridable in the “Times in” control above. A Saturday-evening game in the United States is the small hours of Sunday morning across Europe, and a game that crosses midnight carries a +1 so it cannot be mistaken for the same evening. 8 of these games have no confirmed kick-off time yet and show a “?” rather than a guess. To see how Michigan State's season compares with the rest of the conference — who has the harder stretch, and whose non-conference run is heaviest — the full Big Ten grid puts all 18 teams side by side.
Frequently asked questions
When does Michigan State play next?
Michigan State's next game is at home against Toledo on Sep 4. The list below shows every remaining game, with kick-off times in your own timezone.
How many games does Michigan State play in 2026?
12 regular-season games: 7 at home at Spartan Stadium and 5 away, from Sep 4 to Nov 28. 9 are against Big Ten opponents and 3 are not. Conference championship games, bowls and the College Football Playoff are not included.
Who does Michigan State play outside the Big Ten in 2026?
3 games: Toledo on Sep 4, Eastern Michigan on Sep 12, Notre Dame on Sep 19. Those opponents are not in the Big Ten, so they have no row of their own on the conference grid — they are marked there with a dotted underline, and named in full on this page.
Why do some of Michigan State's games have no kick-off time?
Because the networks have not chosen it yet. 8 of 12 games have a date but no confirmed time; college football kick-offs are fixed a week or two ahead, and a game can still move to a different day. Those carry a "?" instead of a time, because a placeholder you could not tell from a real time would be worse than none.
What time do Michigan State's games start in my timezone?
Every confirmed kick-off on this page is converted to the timezone your browser reports, with a manual override in the "Times in" control. College football is published in US Eastern time, so a Saturday-evening game there starts in the small hours of Sunday across Europe, and those carry a +1 mark.
Other Big Ten teams
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