Notre Dame and Michigan State renew their rivalry on Saturday night for the first time since 2017. The Fighting Irish lead the overall series by 49-29-1. This season marks the 60th anniversary of the epic 1966 “Game of the Century” between these schools. Notre Dame will travel to East Lansing next September to complete this home-and-home series. Former Northwestern Coach Pat Fitzgerald now leads the Spartans after being hired last December. NBC will begin its national television broadcast at 7:30 PM Eastern time.
Fitzgerald and Michigan State are off to a 2-0 start with victories over Toledo and Eastern Michigan. For the third consecutive week, Notre Dame will face an opponent with significant roster turnover from 2025. The Spartans have added 32 transfers and recruited 30 freshmen since Fitzgerald took over. Conversely, 44 players transferred out after last season. By the time Fitzgerald started work, he needed to replace 15 starters from last year’s squad.
Meanwhile, the Irish also stand at 2-0 and are the third ranked team in the country. Notre Dame has played near-perfect football with very few mental mistakes and no turnovers. Defensively, tackling has been superb and opponents have made precious few big chunk plays against them. Linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa returned to action last week and made his presence felt. Tackle Jason Onye and safety Tae Johnson remain out of the lineup until sometime next month. Matty Augustine, Quincy Porter and Charles Jagusah are still sidelined with no definitive return date.
Michigan State reports only one injury of note. Linebacker Jordan Hall has been battling an elbow issue and is listed as questionable. Dion Crawford, an experienced backup, is the next man in.
NOTRE DAME’S OFFENSE vs. MICHIGAN STATE’S DEFENSE
Fitzgerald intends to build a tough, physical defense whose priority is to defend the run. He brought in veteran players from other schools and hired coaches who mirrored his mindset. One of those assistants is linebacker coach and co-defensive coordinator Max Bullough. An MSU alumnus, Bullough left Notre Dame after three seasons to return home with a promotion. Bullough joined Freeman’s staff in 2023 as a graduate assistant before serving as linebackers coach in 2024-25.
The best linemen in the Spartan 4-2-5 defense are tackle Eli Coenen, and end Kenny Soares. Coenen is a transfer from Illinois. He has three sacks in two games from his spot on the interior of the line. Soares started his career under Fitzgerald at Northwestern but moved to North Carolina State when Fitzgerald was fired. The two are now reunited in Soares’ final collegiate season.
Linebackers Hall and Brady Pretzlaff are solid players. Both are homegrown Spartans, and Hall is one of the team’s captains. He is a thumper who led the Spartans in tackles in 2025. Crawford had similar production for Buffalo last season but the Big-10 is definitely a step up.
All five members of the secondary are transfers. Four of them arrived this season. This includes cornerbacks Tre Bell (Iowa State) and Charles Brantley (Miami, FL). Also, nickel back Michael Richard came over from Louisiana Tech.
This unit is similar in makeup and talent to the Wisconsin defense Notre Dame faced two weeks ago. They will present a physical challenge and may be difficult to run against. Coach Freeman’s comments this week confirmed he understands this. “They’re going to be tough. They’re going to be confident. They’re going to play the game hard and they won’t beat themselves. We understand the challenge and we’re going to prepare that way.”
A shared focus by the Irish staff and fanbase alike is the subpar production in the running game. Freeman did not shy away from the fact that his team ranks 88th overall in that category. “We want to be more explosive,” he acknowledged. He and his staff have spent considerable time this week brainstorming ways to improve in this area. Saturday’s test will be a good barometer as to where they are in this process.
CJ Carr and the Irish gave future opponents a lot to think about in their victory over Rice. Twelve players caught passes and Carr was brilliant behind superb protection. The days where teams could load up against the run and dare Notre Dame to throw are over.
MICHIGAN STATE’S OFFENSE vs. NOTRE DAME’S DEFENSE
The Spartans have been a run-first team thus far in 2026. Tailback Cam Edwards is their workhorse with a combined 250 yards. He runs behind an offensive line that is strong on the left side and considerably weaker on the right. This group is more adept at run blocking than pass protection. Unfortunately, quarterback Alessio Milivojevic is not very mobile and susceptible to sacks. Notre Dame’s deep rotation of defensive linemen will pressure him relentlessly in passing situations.
Milivojevic is an accurate passer when he has time in the pocket. Wideout Rodney Bullard and slot receiver Crishon McCray have ten receptions apiece to lead the team. Both transferred to MSU from small schools and have yet to face a secondary with Notre Dame’s talent. The tight ends are Jayden Savoury and Brennan Parachek. Savoury has eight catches to date while Parachek is used primarily as a blocker. Milivojevic targets the tailbacks sparingly in the passing game. Edwards has only caught three balls for a total of 12 yards.
Fourth-year wide receiver KK Smith spent his first three seasons at Notre Dame (2023-25) before transferring to Michigan State in January. Smith had 11 catches for 161 yards and two TDs in 17 games for the Irish. He has one reception for ten yards thus far this season.
The Spartans have been successful in maintaining time of possession behind Edwards in their two victories. They will play to this strength again along with short, low risk passes to move the chains. If this strategy fails, MSU lacks sufficient talent at quarterback and the skill positions to win. Their wide receivers are small in stature and will not make many contested catches.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Notre Dame continues to play well in all components of this area. We have not seen a fake punt yet but the opportunity has not presented itself. Kicking and punting have not been an issue although I would like to have a larger sample size. Return and coverage teams have been efficient. There have been no groan-inducing penalties for holding or illegal blocks.
Regarding the Spartans, Australian punter Rhys Dakin is a team captain. He sports a 48-yard average. There must be something in the water Down Under that happens to churn out so many college punters. Kicker Liam Boyd is at his fourth school. He has made five of six field goals including a 51-yarder. He has also had one blocked.
McCray is a capable punt returner with a 15-yard average in four attempts. Reserve tailback Williams is the kickoff return specialist. He broke off a 47-yarder in his only chance this season.
SUMMARY
MSU will use Edwards as a sledgehammer and ask Milivojevic to throw the ball quickly from the pocket. The Spartans do not have the outside speed to stretch the field, and Milivojevic is not a threat to run. If MSU’s offense stagnates, Fitzgerald may insert backup quarterback Cam Fancher. He is an accomplished runner and can give the Spartans a dimension that includes RPOs.
Against Milivojevic, the Irish can play man coverage in the secondary and apply pressure up front. If Fancher plays, Notre Dame will adjust accordingly. Regardless of the quarterback situation, the Irish must continue to tackle well to limit Edwards’ yards after contact. He can be difficult to bring down.
Notre Dame should pull away in the second half provided they continue to be focused and limit mistakes. Carr and his receivers can build on last week’s success despite the higher level of competition. The most interesting aspect of the game is whether the Irish realize improvement in the running game.
Here are a few questions that will shed light on the outcome:
Which team will run the ball most effectively?
Can the Spartans stay close with Edwards and a short passing attack?
Which Irish tailbacks will be most productive?
Will Notre Dame continue to keep Carr’s uniform clean in the pocket?
Which special teams and Australian punter will deliver a field position advantage?
Will the Spartan offensive line hold its own against Notre Dame’s front four rotation?
Can the Irish defense score for the third consecutive week?
Will the forecasted inclement weather have an impact on the outcome?
PREDICTION
We have been spoiled so far by Notre Dame’s consistent high level of performance. It seems inevitable that even this team could deliver one stinker against a weaker opponent. This happens within college football more often than most fans might expect. Could this be the week that the Irish lose focus? I suppose it is possible but I would not bet on it.
NOTRE DAME 34 MICHIGAN STATE 10
Tell John what you think in the Comments section below
Dan Egan says:
I’m worried about the weather. I hope ND has figured out the run game
Will says:
John Vannie made an insightful point about C.J. Carr after the Wisconsin game. He wrote: “It’s hard for receivers 2-5 to make plays if Carr doesn’t even look at them. He is much more comfortable throwing to Faison.” Keeping that in mind, it was pretty clear that the main priority in the Rice game was to put Carr into a comfort zone with all the receivers not named Faison. This game plan worked perfectly: 9 ND wide receivers accounted for 340 passing yards. This group not only passed the statistics test, they passed the eyeball test with good hands, well executed routes, and impressive speed and quickness. ND is well stocked with receivers for now and into the near future. So…there has to be something new to worry about, and ND fans have decided that our rushing game is a problem, and that Jonaz Walton is the solution. To me that is an exaggeration. You play how you practice, and clearly the short week of practice before Rice was focused on passing not rushing. My sense is that from now on things will even out and more emphasis will be put on the run game. As for Walton, he has a great future but for the time being he is of limited use because the rumblings are that he is having trouble with pass protection. Freeman’s biggest priority is to keep Carr upright and healthy. He is the crown jewel. Therefore, I don’t think we’ll see a lot of Walton this year. As for Michigan State, the only thing that can slow down the Irish is the weather. Fitzgerald will try to turn this game into an ugly rock fight and I think his game plan will be to rough up Carr with a lot of 5 or 6 man pressure. It won’t work. Irish 45 Spartans 0.
John Vannie says:
You’re right about Walton but that is typical of any freshman tailback. They were stars who never had to block a 235 lb. blitzing linebacker in high school.