Did MSU HC Pat Fitzgerald Just Guarantee Win Over Team That May Not Show Up?

Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald is feeling pretty darn confident about Saturday’s game against Washington. In fact, he is already talking about what happens when the Spartans win.There’s just one small problem. Washington might have trouble getting to East Lansing.On Friday evening, Fitzgerald made an appearance at the Breslin Center, where he delivered a pregame pep talk to the crowd ahead of Michigan State’s basketball game.During that pregame pep talk, Fitzgerald made quite the declaration about Saturday’s football showdown with the Huskies.“When we win tomorrow …”That’s right, not if Michigan State wins, but when Michigan State wins.While the excerpt doesn’t establish that Fitzgerald issued a formal guarantee, there was certainly no shortage of confidence in his message.And considering what was happening with Washington’s travel arrangements Friday, the timing couldn’t have been more interesting.Pat Fitzgerald speaking to the Izzone before tonight’s hoops game against Northern Iowa: pic.twitter.com/KliWvrem0Y— Jacob Cotsonika (@jacobcotsonika) November 13, 2026Washington May Have Trouble Getting to East LansingAs Fitzgerald was firing up the Spartan faithful, Washington was dealing with a much bigger problem than preparing for Michigan State’s defense.According to MLive, the Huskies were among several college football teams affected by Friday’s nationwide FAA ground stop, which halted departing flights across the country.The disruption resulted from air traffic control communications problems, leaving teams scrambling to figure out how they would reach their weekend destinations.The Washington Post reported that Washington was preparing to depart King County Airport when the ground stop was announced. After waiting approximately 30 minutes, the Huskies returned to campus with no clear indication of when they could leave.That is a significant problem for a team scheduled to play a football game nearly 2,000 miles away the following afternoon.As of Friday evening, there was no confirmed announcement that Saturday’s game had been postponed or canceled. Washington’s eventual arrival time also remained unconfirmed.Pat Fitzgerald Has Michigan State Believing AgainFollowing Michigan State’s stunning 15-6 victory over Michigan last Saturday, Fitzgerald has every reason to feel good about his team’s momentum.The Spartans snapped a six-game losing streak, reclaimed the Paul Bunyan Trophy, and kept their postseason hopes alive. Now, Fitzgerald is looking to build on that success against Washington.At 3-6, Michigan State must win its final three games to reach the six victories normally required for bowl eligibility. Those games include Washington, Oregon, and Rutgers.Washington enters Saturday’s matchup at 5-4, and the Huskies certainly won’t be an easy opponent if they arrive in time to play.But Fitzgerald apparently isn’t interested in talking about what might happen. He’s already talking about winning.According to Michigan State’s official schedule, kickoff remains scheduled for Saturday, November 14, at 4:15 p.m. ET at Spartan Stadium.Now, Michigan State just needs its opponent to get there.And if Washington doesn’t make it? Well, Fitzgerald might have delivered the easiest winning prediction of his coaching career, although a canceled game would not count as an MSU victory.