Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald apologizes for middle finger gesture in game vs. Illinois

The first-year Spartans coach said his mother is 'rolling over in her grave' after the emotional outburst

Oct 12, 2026 at 3:04 pm ET • 2 min read

Pat Fitzgerald regrets a hand gesture he made toward the Illinois sideline during Saturday's 38-37 loss to the Fighting Illini, but the Michigan State coach is not apologizing for trying to energize his team.

Winless in the Big Ten during his first season as the Spartans coach, Fitzgerald said he got too carried away amid Michigan State's second-half comeback when he flipped the bird during the fourth quarter.

"My mom's rolling over in her grave, I need to be more disciplined, and I need to be more composed," Fitzgerald said Monday. "I do have a passion problem, and I've had that for a long time. That needs to be more controlled and not be emotional, and I was emotional. I can't do that. 

"But I'm not going to apologize for fighting for my guys, and I'm not going to apologize for fighting for our program and for our school. It means the world to be here, it means the world to me to have this opportunity. I'm really proud of their response, I'm not proud of mine, but I'm proud of their (response)."

Fitzgerald was not disciplined by the Big Ten for his hand sign, but could be reprimanded for comments made about the officiating. The Spartans were called offside on a surprise onside kick recovery in the fourth quarter, trailing 31-24. 

Replays supported Fitzgerald's frustration after Samson Gash appeared to successfully recover Liam Boyd's kick without being offside.

"And then, from a standpoint of the explanation, I prefer to talk to the Big Ten officials. I'll talk to them," Fitzgerald said. "My vantage point: we were not offsides. My vantage point: we recovered the ball. My vantage point is that it was one of the more confusing plays I've ever seen officiated."

The call was not overturnable by replay review.

"I was told that you couldn't review the onside kick -- you couldn't review being onside on the kick. That's what they told me," he said.

Fitzgerald applauded special teams coordinator LeVar Woods and his players for executing the call to perfection, only to have it negated by a bad call.

The Spartans (2-4, 0-3) trailed 23-7 late in the third quarter before rallying back to force overtime. After Illinois running back Zaziun Patterson scored his third touchdown of the contest in the extra session, Michigan State opted to try a two-point conversion for the win after answering.

An ill-fated trick play out of the Wildcat formation was snuffed out after quarterback Alessio Milivojevic tossed an incomplete pass short of the goal line.

"We're going to get this going in the right direction," Fitzgerald said after the loss. "We didn't get the win, but we're seeing growth."