Michigan State football fans are prepared to give head coach Pat Fitzgerald the time it takes to rebuild a Big Ten program, but they have an idea of what they would like to see next: a Homecoming victory over Illinois on Saturday. 

MSU (2-3) hosts the Fighting Illini (2-3) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Spartan Stadium. The game will air on FS1.

Patience looks different depending on who you ask: One fan is willing to wait two full seasons, another said his confidence is quickly slipping and a third is just glad that something changed.

Exploratory preference sophomore Nathan Armstrong is the one willing to wait. He said he’d give Fitzgerald “at least until the end of next season,” the 2027 campaign, to determine if he’s the right fit in East Lansing. However, he’d still like to see the Spartans win some Big Ten games along the way and look more competitive than last week’s 31-3, lopsided result.

“I’m still optimistic, somehow,” Armstrong said. “They looked rough when I went to Madison. It was a rough watch. They just couldn’t get anything going. But I like what we’re building. It’s just tough in year one.”

Kinesiology freshman Aidyn Patmon said he's less patient.

“We’re not doing too well right now,” he said. The loss at Wisconsin, he added, “was embarrassing.”

Patmon rated his confidence in Fitzgerald’s ability to rebuild the program at 6.5 out of 10, two points below Armstrong’s 8.5. The belief in the first-year head coach hasn’t completely disappeared, but confidence is wavering.

“Game by game (confidence) is going down,” Patmon said. “Offense is my biggest concern with this team. We can’t score the ball. It’s horrible.”

Meanwhile, elementary education sophomore Sasha Pavlak is just excited to have a new coach with energy and a plan.