EAST LANSING, MI — The fans are back. Spartan Stadium is alive again. And, at least for opening night, Michigan State football is back in the win column.

A crowd of 72,083 filled Spartan Stadium Friday night as Michigan State opened the Pat Fitzgerald era with a 30-20 victory over Toledo, giving Fitzgerald his first victory as head coach of the Spartans and MSU a 1-0 start to the 2026 season.

The night had all the elements of a college football season opener — tailgating around campus, green and white filling the stadium and thousands of Spartan fans eager to see what a new coaching staff and a reshaped roster might look like.

They didn’t have to wait long for something to cheer about.

Michigan State established control early, taking a 10-0 first-quarter lead and building a 19-7 advantage by halftime. But Toledo refused to disappear, eventually turning what appeared headed toward a comfortable Spartan victory into a legitimate fourth-quarter test.

That may have provided Fitzgerald with exactly the kind of opening-night challenge that reveals something about a football team.

Toledo scored 13 unanswered points after halftime, including a 71-yard touchdown run by Connor Walendzak (#8) that put the Rockets ahead 20-19 with 14:02 remaining.

Suddenly, Spartan Stadium was watching the first major test of the Fitzgerald era.

Michigan State answered.

Quarterback Alessio Milivojevic (#11) directed the Spartans back down the field and connected with Rodney Bullard Jr. (#3) for a five-yard touchdown. The pair connected again on the two-point conversion, putting MSU back ahead 27-20.

Milivojevic finished an efficient 26-of-34 passing for 247 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

Bullard emerged as his leading target, catching seven passes for 90 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. Chrishon McCray (#13) added eight receptions for 69 yards.

Michigan State also leaned heavily on Cam Edwards (#0), who carried the ball 27 times for 98 yards and scored the Spartans’ first touchdown of the season on a two-yard run in the opening quarter.

But one of the biggest stories of the night belonged to graduate kicker Liam Boyd (#37).

Boyd converted five field goals, connecting from 32, 42, 48, 35 and a career-best 51 yards. His final kick came with 1:55 remaining and pushed Michigan State’s advantage to 30-20, effectively closing the door on Toledo’s comeback attempt.

The numbers showed just how much of the game Michigan State controlled.

The Spartans held the football for an overwhelming 43:16 compared with Toledo’s 16:44 and ran 83 offensive plays to the Rockets’ 41. Michigan State accumulated 397 total yards and did not turn the ball over.

Yet the Rockets remained dangerous because of their ability to create explosive plays.

Toledo quarterback John Alan Richter (#6) completed 12-of-21 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted once. Adjatay Dabbs (#3) caught four passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns, including a 60-yard scoring reception.

Walendzak added 76 rushing yards on only seven carries, with 71 coming on the fourth-quarter touchdown that briefly stunned the Spartan Stadium crowd.

Those explosive plays will give Fitzgerald and his staff plenty to examine.

So will Michigan State’s inability to turn more of its sustained drives into touchdowns. Five field goals helped win the opener, but settling for three points instead of seven could become considerably more costly as the schedule becomes more demanding.

Still, opening nights are ultimately about winning.

And Michigan State did that.

For Fitzgerald, who was named Michigan State’s 27th head football coach in December, Friday represented more than another victory on a coaching résumé that already included 110 wins at Northwestern. It was victory No. 1 wearing green and white.

For the players, it was the first step in establishing the identity of a new Michigan State team.

And for the thousands of fans who returned to East Lansing and packed Spartan Stadium, it was an opportunity to experience something that always seems to signal the changing of the seasons in Michigan — another Friday night under the lights with Spartan football.

There will be tougher opponents and bigger tests ahead.

But after one game, Michigan State is 1-0.

The fans are back.

The Spartans are back.

And the Pat Fitzgerald era has begun with a victory.