Notre Dame continues its road trip on Saturday evening as the Fighting Irish battle the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing. The teams will meet for the 79th time with Notre Dame holding a 48-29-1 series lead, although the Spartans have more than held their own in the last two decades. Michigan State is 2-0 this season after dropping to 3-9 in 2016, but the 2-1 Irish represent their first true test. The long history between these programs will be interrupted after this week’s game until the 2026 season. The Fox network will televise the contest nationally beginning at 8:00 PM Eastern time.

The game features the sixth matchup between two familiar foes, Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly and Mark Dantonio of the Spartans. Dantonio is 4-4 against the Irish but just 2-3 in head to head meetings against Kelly’s Irish teams. Overall, Dantonio is 92-42 in his eleventh season in East Lansing with two BCS Bowl wins and one playoff appearance.

Once again, Notre Dame will face a young quarterback with limited experience. Sophomore Brian Lewerke earned the starting job for the Spartans, and he has enjoyed modest success in his first two games. Lewerke has completed 65% of his passes, most of which have been short and safe. He has also flashed excellent running ability, and has a 61-yard touchdown sprint to his credit. Brandon Wimbush remains a work in progress for Notre Dame, as the Irish hope to make advancements in their struggling passing attack this week.

On the injury front, Irish wide receiver Freddy Canteen has been lost for the season due to a shoulder injury, while Cameron Smith returns to the lineup this week after missing one game. Running back Tony Jones, Jr. left the game prematurely last week and did not return. His status is questionable for Saturday. The Spartan starters are relatively injury-free after a week off coming into this contest.

NOTRE DAME’S OFFENSE vs. MICHIGAN STATE’S DEFENSE

Balance in the offense is the primary objective this week as the Irish look to exercise their strong suit by running the ball while demonstrating improved passing efficiency. It’s not practical to expect a repeat of the 422 yard rushing performance against temple or the 515 yard effort last week at Boston College, but Notre Dame must be better than the 55 yard performance against Georgia when facing an MSU team that will load up to stop them.

At the core of the Spartan defense is last year’s leading tackler and strong side linebacker Chris Frey. When asked how his team views the task of slowing down the Irish, Frey said, “I think it’s something we look forward to every single week. We pride ourselves constantly on stopping the run. Obviously, you just said they are one of the best run offenses in the nation so it’s going to be a big head-to-head battle and we’re excited to take it on. They’re a great run team, a great team overall, so we’re just excited to show what we can do against a team like that; an offensive line like that, and a good running back.”

Frey will seek help up front in MSU’s 4-3 alignment from tackles Mike Panasiuk, Raequan Williams, and backup Naquan Jones. The entire front four rotation is dominated by sophomores with only one senior among the two-deep, end Demetrius Cooper. The end position is particularly problematic due to attrition. Cooper is coming off a suspension in the offseason and currently running with the second team behind former walk-on Kenny Willekes. Dantonio’s depth chart suffered a blow this spring when Josh King and Auston Robertson, both of whom saw action as true freshmen last season, were dismissed from the team along with wide receiver Donnie Corley.

This patchwork group held up well against lesser competition, and will be severely tested when trying to stand up to the Notre Dame offensive front. While the Spartan game plan will certainly be to stop the Irish from running at will, they probably won’t be able to accomplish this objective without leaving themselves vulnerable to the pass.

This, of course, is where Wimbush must show improvement. His accuracy and touch has been a concern after subpar passing performances in the last two games. His receivers have not helped him as much as Coach Kelly would like, but tight ends Durham Smythe, Alize Mack and Nic Weishar have enjoyed more success lately. Play selection is also a factor in the equation for Wimbush, The offense was discombobulated in the first half against BC, but flowed more smoothly after intermission. Kelly also remarked about play calls after the Georgia game, leading observers to believe that he won’t be reluctant to exert his influence over new Offensive Coordinator Chip Long if his team gets off to another slow start.

Michigan State’s youth on defense extends to the secondary, where sophomore cornerbacks Justin Layne and Josh Butler team up with junior nickel back Tyson Smith. Safeties Khari Willis and Matt Morrissey are also juniors. The Irish receivers have a chance to break out against this group, but Wimbush needs to muster the patience and accuracy to connect with them.

MICHIGAN STATE’S OFFENSE vs. NOTRE DAME’S DEFENSE

The youth movement continues for Michigan State on the offensive side of the ball. Lewerke has a pair of unheralded receivers in Darrell Stewart and Trishton Jackson joining Felton Davis, who started as a sophomore in 2016. Tight end Matt Sokol is a promising talent at 6’6” and 250 pounds, but he is just getting his feet wet as a starter. The Spartans remain a run-first team and Lewerke does not have exceptional arm strength, so Dantonio’s passing attack is designed more as a ball control mechanism than a home run threat.

Center Brian Allen, a senior, is the mainstay of the offensive line. He is joined by several new faces led by 6’8” sophomore left tackle Cole Chewins. David Beedle played this position last year but is now at to right guard. Surprisingly, Lewerke is the leading rusher in yardage even though tailback L.J. Scott has twice the number of carries. The Spartans also use Stewart in sweeps and reverses, with excellent results to date. He has 98 yards in six attempts.

Despite the level of competition in the first two games, turnovers have been the main area of concern for this offense. There have been seven fumbles with four lost and two of those returned for touchdowns. Lewerke also has one interception to date. This sloppiness is uncharacteristic for a team coached by Dantonio, but it underscores the fact that there are so many inexperienced players in the lineup.

Notre Dame needs to be mindful of Lewerke’s ability to run the ball, but they should be able to attack this offense with little fear of getting burned. The Spartans don’t have exceptional speed and would prefer to play keepaway from the Irish if they can control the line of scrimmage.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Notre Dame’s kicking specialists and coverage teams have performed well after a rocky first game for Justin Yoon. The return teams have failed to produce any remarkable plays, which is hard to accept given the talent level being deployed.

The Spartans have more serious questions to answer. Freshman kicker Matt Coghlin has not attempted a field goal as yet, and no one has any idea what he will do when the call comes. On the kick coverage side, MSU has already surrendered a 100-yard touchdown. The dangerous Stewart is the return man for both punts and kicks, but his stats to date are just average.

SUMMARY

The atmosphere of a home game at night will help Michigan State, but they don’t appear to have the horses to contend with Notre Dame over sixty minutes. Success for the Irish will mean that the game finally slowed down for Wimbush and speeds up considerably for Lewerke. The visitors need to establish competency in both the run and the pass for their own well-being and for future deployment when the leaves turn brown and the schedule becomes less forgiving.

Fortunately, Notre Dame’s defense has been a consistent and pleasant surprise to date, and there is no reason why that should not continue on Saturday. If they are able to set the edge against Scott and any exotic runs by Stewart, it’s doubtful that Lewerke can pass the Spartans to victory.

Here are a few questions that will shed light on the outcome:

Which team will commit costly turnovers?

Will Notre Dame be able to dominate MSU’s front seven in the running game?

Can Wimbush find a rhythm through the air against the youthful Spartan secondary?

Which quarterback will have the most success on runs and scrambles?

Will either team generate significant pressure on the passer?

How will each team perform in the red zone?

Will Chip Long or Brian Kelly call the plays in the fourth quarter if the game is close?

PREDICTION

The Irish need this game badly in order to bury the ghosts of 2016 and gain confidence in their ability to beat a respectable opponent. While the loss to Georgia was a gut-punch, another defeat against the rebuilding Spartans could shatter all hope for the season and create distractions regarding the future of Brian Kelly. The Spartans were down last year as well, but they remain a year away from being an upper level team in the Big-10.

NOTRE DAME 31 MICHIGAN STATE 17