Notre Dame Football Keeps the Megaphone, Beats Michigan State 27-10

Notre Dame turned a one-score game into a comfortable one after halftime Saturday night, beating Michigan State 27-10 at Notre Dame Stadium. The win moved the Irish to 3-0 and kept the Megaphone Trophy in South Bend in the first meeting of the renewed series since 2017. The margin also gave the third-ranked Irish their 13th consecutive win by double digits. They broke a program record of 12 in a row set by Knute Rockne’s teams in 1921 and 1922.

Early on, it looked like the rout was on in Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame covered 68 yards in five plays on the opening possession. Spencer Porath finished it with a 25-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. Michigan State faced fourth and eight in its own territory with 10:44 left in the first quarter, and Matt Jeffery got a hand on Rhys Dakin’s punt. The ball came down at the Michigan State 41 and the Irish had it. They spent 11 plays covering those 41 yards. Nolan James Jr. pushed in from two yards out for a 10-0 lead. From that point on, however, things got trickier for the Irish offense and the game wasn’t finally decided until the fourth quarter.

Fancher’s Touchdown Cuts the Lead

The Spartans got on the board on a 12-play, 36-yard drive that should have produced more. On second and 13 from the Notre Dame 14, Cam Fancher put a ball in the end zone for Kenneth Williams with Boubacar Traore bearing down on him, and Williams dropped one of the more brutal drops you’ll ever see. Liam Boyd came on two plays later and made it 10-3 with a 32-yard field goal.

Notre Dame answered with 75 yards in 10 plays. Aneyas Williams scored from a yard out on a call upheld by automatic review, and the lead was 17-3. Williams was flagged for excessive celebration following the score and received an earful from a visibly irate Marcus Freeman. The 15 yards were assessed on the kickoff, and the Irish kicked off from their own 20.

Michigan State needed three plays and 68 yards to make it a game again. Fancher, the change-of-pace quarterback in for starter Alessio Milivojevic, had first and 10 at the Notre Dame 15 with 3:24 left in the second quarter after Milivojevic hit Rodney Bullard Jr. for 53 yards on a perfectly placed ball between Luke Talich and Adon Shuler. Fancher ran left for 15 yards and the touchdown, and Boyd’s kick cut it to 17-10. The drive turned a 14-point Notre Dame lead into a seven-point game with the half winding down.

Defense Takes Over in the Second Half

The Irish spent most of the third quarter on one possession, a 17-play, 77-yard drive. Porath closed it out with a 35-yard field goal. The kick came with 1:00 left in the quarter and pushed the lead to 20-10. Michigan State gained 40 total yards over the final two quarters and did not gain a single yard on the ground after halftime. Notre Dame sacked Milivojevic twice on the same fourth-quarter possession, and the second one knocked the ball loose before Michigan State fell on it.

The Spartans punted, and CJ Carr answered with completions of 28 and 39 yards to Micah Gilbert. He ran it in from three yards out with 10:55 left in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame led 27-10. Milivojevic threw an interception on the very next snap, but the Irish offense failed to capitalize – a common theme on the night.

Luke Talich and Adon Shuler had the two picks on a night the defense also produced four sacks and six tackles for loss.

Carr and Gilbert Carry the Offense

Carr completed 18 of 24 for 234 yards with no touchdown and no interception, ending his streak of 14 straight games with a touchdown pass. All three Notre Dame touchdowns came on the ground. Micah Gilbert did most of the damage through the air, catching eight passes for 170 yards with a long of 61, the most receiving yards by an Irish player in a game since 2017. Jordan Faison added five catches for 38 yards, and James Jr. carried 26 times for 121 yards to go with his score. Notre Dame finished with 395 total yards to Michigan State’s 167, held the ball for 37:02, and never turned it over while the Spartans gave it away twice. The Irish converted only four of 12 third downs.

For the third week in a row, the Irish struggled to run the ball as a team, especially early on. They controlled the clock and most of the box score, but the missed opportunities turned what should have been a game finished by backups into one that needed Carr and the starters on the field to close it out.

Milivojevic went 9 of 17 for 123 yards with the two interceptions. He also lost 20 yards on eight carries. Cam Edwards was held to 38 yards on 12 carries before a left foot injury took him out of the game in the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame played a second straight game without safety Brauntae Johnson, who was off the game-week depth chart with the left foot injury he suffered in the Sept. 6 win over Wisconsin, and a second straight without defensive lineman Jason Onye. Michigan State lost linebacker Brady Pretzlaff and Jay Coyne in the first half, and Cal Thrush was hurt on a kickoff return with 14:53 left in the third quarter. Linebacker Jordan Hall, a gametime decision on the right elbow he hurt in the opener against Toledo, played the whole way, re-aggravated it and still led the Spartans with 13 tackles.

Michigan State takes its first loss of the season and falls to 2-1. Notre Dame goes on the road to Purdue next week.