A night game in late November at Spartan Stadium?
That’s what it looks like for Michigan State football as Fox released its Friday night schedule for the 2026 season on Friday, May 8.
The Spartans are scheduled to host Oregon on Friday, Nov. 20, according to the TV network. A school source also confirmed MSU’s season opener against Toledo will be moved to Friday Sept. 4, as has become a Labor Day weekend tradition since 2011.
It will be Oregon’s first trip to Spartan Stadium as a Big Ten member and its first visit since 2015, a 31-28 MSU win. That nonconference game was on Sept. 12, and the late-season temperatures will present a far different challenge this time – something that has been an issue for the home team as well in recent years.
In 2022, MSU had to close Spartan Stadium’s east side upper deck the Thursday before its home finale against Indiana due to concern over pipes freezing and water being unavailable for concession stands, according to an athletic department spokesman at the time. Temperatures for the Nov. 19 game were in the mid-20s and winds were between 20-40 mph after the noon kickoff. Reported attendance was 56,136, but there were far fewer in the stands for the Hoosiers’ eventual 39-31 overtime win.
MSU moved two late-season home games – Nov. 24, 2023 against Penn State (also a Friday game) and Nov. 29, 2025 against Maryland – to Ford Field in Detroit. The Spartans’ last home game in 2023 was Nov. 4, but they played three November games at Spartan Stadium in 2024, including the final two Nov. 22 against Purdue and Nov. 30 against Rutgers. Last year’s final home game in East Lansing was Nov. 15 against Penn State.
This year’s MHSAA state championships will be Nov. 28-29 at Ford Field.
Cold and snow aren’t concerns for the opener, and Pat Fitzgerald’s debut against the Rockets will be the 12th time in the last 16 seasons MSU will open its season at Spartan Stadium on the Friday before Labor Day since debuting the concept in 2011. The Spartans are 12-0 in those games, including last year’s 23-6 win over Western Michigan on Aug. 29.
MSU is 1-0 all-time against Toledo, a 58-0 home win in 1925.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football to host Oregon, Toledo on Friday night
