Notre Dame Football Primer: No. 3 Notre Dame Welcomes Michigan State to South Bend

After a 52-0 shutout of Rice, the Fighting Irish return to the “Big Ten” portion of their schedule. The Fighting Irish are on a mission to make the College Football Playoff and win a national title, and they can’t do that without first improving to 3-0. This Saturday night is their next opportunity to right the wrongs of last season and every team since 1988. Pat Fitzgerald develops tough, physical teams, and the Spartans will need a lot of that this weekend if they want to keep this matchup close. It will be the battle for the Megaphone Trophy in South Bend for the first time in a decade!

Essential Game Info

• Game Time: Saturday, September 19th at 7:30 PM ET on NBC
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
• Matchup History: Notre Dame Football is 49-29-1 all-time against Michigan State (Last Meeting 2017: Irish won 38 to 18)
• Rivalry Trophy: Megaphone Trophy
• Odds: Notre Dame -29.5

Michigan State Details

• Conference: Big Ten
• Head Coach: Pat Fitzgerald
• 2025 Record: 2-0 (0-0)
• 2024 Record: 4-8 (1-8)

Weather Forecast:

At the time this article was written, the current forecast calls for a 60% chance of rain with a high of 74 degrees and a low of 57.

Michigan State Storylines:
The Notre Dame-Michigan State rivalry is back, temporarily. The last time the Spartans visited South Bend was 2016, and the final time the Irish traveled to East Lansing was 2017. Prior to those meetings, the two universities met about every season since World War II.

What Michigan State Brings In

The Spartans have not been the same since Mark Dantonio left and, honestly, the closest person who resembles Dantonio’s style of play would be former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald. He took the Wildcats to two Big Ten title games in a three-year span, which is a testament to how good of a coach he was in Evanston.

Through Fitzgerald’s first two matchups, the Spartans beat Toledo 30 to 20 and Eastern Michigan 35 to 7. I do believe that Coach Fitzgerald will be a great fit for Michigan State, but it is too early. The Spartans will be a tough road test for the Irish in 2027.

The Spartan offense is led by quarterback Alessio Milivojevic. This year, Milivojevic is 38 for 54 (70%) with 3 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and 5 sacks taken. On the ground, he has 13 carries for 9 yards with 0 rushing scores.

He will present the toughest passing attack the Irish defense has faced to date, but that is not saying much. Notre Dame faced two running quarterbacks to start the year, and Milivojevic has a strong completion percentage at 70%.

The Irish Ground Game Needs More

What is going on with the Irish rushing attack? Aneyas Williams averaged 6.4 yards per carry in 2024, 9.3 yards per carry in 2025, and as the #1 running back on the depth chart this year, he is averaging 4.1 yards per attempt. Undoubtedly, I did not expect him to keep those numbers up with “mop-up time” in the past, but this rushing attack needs to take it to another level if Notre Dame wants to beat Miami and win a national championship.

I am not sure if it is the running backs, offensive line, scheme, or the fact CJ Carr is such a threat at the quarterback position. But there have been essentially no “breakout” rushing plays for this group.

Nolan James Jr. is at 3.7 yards per carry, Kedren Young 2.3 yards per carry, and Jonaz Walton at 6 yards per carry. It will take a better analyst to explain what is going on with the Irish rushing attack, but I have faith (maybe blind) that Williams can make it to 100 yards this weekend.

Chris Ash’s defense has allowed 13 points through two games. Even with Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa in a limited role, and Brauntae Johnson and Jason Onye sidelined, the Irish did not miss a beat to start the season. This defense has been everything fans have expected and more. Under the lights at Notre Dame Stadium, it is going to be near impossible for Michigan State to score points, much less touchdowns, on Saturday night.

Head-to-Head Matchups

Notre Dame Offense vs. Michigan State Defense: The Fighting Irish offense is averaging 414 yards per matchup, while the Michigan State defense is allowing 246 yards per game.

Mike Denbrock’s offense already put up a lot of points against the Big Ten’s Wisconsin Badgers, and I expect them to do the same against Michigan State in this showdown.

The Spartans defense is in year one of the Pat Fitzgerald system, and they are going to struggle to contain the Irish passing attack. If the Irish rushing game can finally improve, Michigan State is in for a long night.

Advantage: Notre Dame

Michigan State Offense vs. Notre Dame Defense: The Spartans’ offense is averaging 435 yards per contest, while the Notre Dame defense allows 206 yards per game. Michigan State’s offense has been respectable this season, but they have played both games at home against non-Power Four opponents. They will likely be facing the best defense on their schedule this weekend.

Notre Dame has the distinct advantage in this showdown.

Advantage: Notre Dame

Special Teams: Spencer Porath continues to shine, going 3 for 3 on field-goal opportunities this fall, with his longest make at 52 yards. Conversely, Michigan State’s Liam Boyd is 5 for 6, with his longest conversion at 51 yards.

There is no distinct advantage on special teams.

Advantage: Tie

Prediction

After lackluster starts in September the past two seasons, the Irish have done everything they can in 2026. They will be heavily favored against the Big Ten’s Michigan State and Purdue the next two weeks. If Coach Freeman’s team can play to its standard, then it will have no issue.

But if we want to get into the details that make championship-winning teams, the Irish need a better rushing attack. Certainly, Notre Dame has one of the best quarterbacks and air attacks in the nation, and that has been the difference in them not winning a national title the last time around. But the passing game must be complemented with a better ground attack. Over the years, Notre Dame offenses get better as the year goes on, and I believe that will be the case again. As I wrote earlier, I’m picking Aneyas Williams to have a breakout game of over 100 yards against the Spartans.

Knowing Pat Fitzgerald, I can expect the Michigan State Spartans to go slow and methodical, huddle up every play, and try to make this game as close as possible. I think they will score a late touchdown against the Irish substitutes to make the score look closer in the end. It might limit Notre Dame’s possessions in the first half, but I still have the Irish dominating by 4 touchdowns.

Prediction: Notre Dame 41 Michigan State 13