Michigan State Football to Play Two Friday Night Games in 2026

On Friday, Michigan State football announced two date changes to their 2026 games, as the Spartans now have three primetime slots in their schedule. One of them was expected, but the other is controversial, with the Spartans seeing their Senior Day become a night game. The Spartans will be playing their first game of the season against Toledo and their last home game of the season against Oregon on Friday night.

Last season, Michigan State football dodged Friday night Big Ten games, but they are not so lucky this season.

Michigan State Football Continues First Game Friday Night Tradition

The first game of the season will be on Friday, September 4, when the Spartans host Toledo. Michigan State football will be taking on the Rockets for the second time in program history, and the first in nearly 101 years. The last (and only) time the Rockets came to East Lansing, the Spartans cruised to a 58-0 shutout win on November 8, 1925.

It will be the 12^th time in 16 years that Michigan State football will open their season in East Lansing under the Friday night lights, along with being the 14^th time since 2011 that MSU opens the season on Friday night. The Spartans are 11-0 in their Friday night home openers during that span.

Michigan State football is also looking to improve to 26-0 since 1999 in season openers against non-conference opponents.

The official kickoff time is to be announced.

Senior Day vs. Oregon Moved to Friday Night

The more controversial of the two decisions was that Michigan State football is seeing their Senior Day contest against Oregon moved to Friday, November 20. The Spartans are losing the pageantry of Senior Day festivities to begin their Saturday to a more rushed affair on Friday night.

This one is brutal on the Spartans, for multiple reasons. Senior Day is traditionally a day where fans are encouraged to arrive early for the senior celebrations, which is made harder when it is the last day of the work week as opposed to a Saturday. This also makes it complicated for Spartan parents, let alone the parents of seniors, for heading to the game.

Finally, Oregon is among the top three opponents on the schedule for the Spartans, and they are getting a short week before facing the Ducks for the second time in three seasons, and their second matchup against the Ducks in a row with this hamper. Fortunately, the Spartans are not going to be the ones flying across the country this time.

No matter what team it is, whether it is Michigan State, Michigan, Rutgers, UCLA, Oregon, Nebraska, or any team, Senior Day for a Big Ten program should never be forced to be on a Friday night. This is a move sheerly for TV details taking away the tradition of the sport.

The Spartans are 14-2 in Friday night games since 2011, with Oregon handing the Spartans their most recent loss on a Friday night in 2024.

This game does have an announced kickoff time, at the 8 p.m. EST timeslot. Senior day festivities, for those planning to attend, likely begins at 7:30 p.m. EST. The Spartans will see (likely) multi-time captain Jordan Hall participate in his final career game at Spartan Stadium.

This is Michigan State football’s third night game of 2026, with the Spartans also travelling to play Notre Dame on Saturday night during week 3. That game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EST on September 19.