No. 3 Notre Dame has opened the 2026 season looking every bit like a team built for a deep run, and Saturday night gives the Fighting Irish another chance to back that up at home.
Marcus Freeman’s team has already rolled through two tests, pounding Wisconsin 41-13 in Week 1 before blanking Rice 52-0 in Week 2. Now the schedule tightens a bit with Michigan State coming to town on Saturday, Sept. 19, for a 7:30 p.m.
EST kickoff. The Spartans arrive unbeaten as well, though they’re still unranked after beating Toledo and Eastern Michigan to start 2-0.
The biggest mismatch in this game starts with Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr.
The Heisman candidate has been sharp from the jump, completing 71.4 percent of his passes for 492 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions while taking just one sack through two games. He hasn’t needed to do much with his legs, but the passing production has been clean and efficient, including an 80 percent completion rate against Rice with four touchdowns.
Michigan State quarterback Alessio Milivojevic has also been efficient, throwing for three scores without a pick and completing more than 70 percent of his passes. But this is a far bigger challenge than the two games the Spartans have already played. Notre Dame’s defense has been stout early, ranking No. 32 in the country in EPA/Play on defense and 23rd in early down EPA/Play on defense.
The Spartans’ passing game has been their bright spot so far, with a T-22nd start in offensive success rate through the air. The problem is the run game, where Michigan State sits 112th in the country in EPA/Rush. If that ground attack doesn’t hold up, the Irish can force the Spartans into a one-dimensional script that could unravel fast.
Notre Dame has already shown it can handle a physical Big Ten opponent after allowing just 13 points against Wisconsin. And offensively, the Irish should have room to operate against a Michigan State defense that ranks 60th in EPA/Pass and gave up 20 points to Toledo in Week 1.
The line reflects that gap. Notre Dame is nearly a 30-point favorite at home, and with the Irish already 2-0 against the spread after wins by 28 and 52 points, the number makes sense. If Carr keeps playing like one of the country’s best passers, Notre Dame should be in position to move to 3-0 overall and 3-0 against the spread.
In Other News...
Tom Izzo May Have Just Moved Ahead For A Huge 2027 Target
Michigan State used a recent recruiting weekend to put two of its top 2027 targets in front of Tom Izzo and his staff, welcoming five-star point guard Antonio Pemberton and four-star center Jaydn Jenkins to campus. The timing mattered, too, with the Spartans continuing to lean into early evaluation and relationship-building as they try to position themselves well for a class that is still taking shape.
Now there is real momentum to monitor with Pemberton, the No. 23 overall prospect in the 2027 class. A report from Joe Tipton suggests Michigan State has emerged as the favorite for the top-25 recruit, a sign that the Spartans may have moved ahead in a recruitment that still has room to evolve. For a program that has long sold player development and trust, landing in front this early is the kind of progress Izzo wants to see. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Pretzlaff Just Took On A Bigger Michigan State Role
Michigan State is off to a 2-0 start in its first season under Pat Fitzgerald, and the latest win came with a familiar test for a defense trying to establish its identity early. In a 35-7 victory over Eastern Michigan at Spartan Stadium, the Spartans got another strong team showing, but the day also created room for a different voice to emerge when the defense needed one.
With Jordan Hall unavailable, redshirt sophomore Brady Pretzlaff handled a larger responsibility and spoke afterward about stepping into the moment, the standards Michigan State expects on defense and how much it means just to be back on the field. For a program still settling in under a new coach, that kind of growth matters almost as much as the scoreboard, especially when the next stretch will ask even more from the players now carrying the load. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Is Counting On Anton Bonke To Silence One Doubt
Michigan States interior picture is taking shape around Anton Bonke, the 7-foot-2 transfer from Charlotte who is expected to step in as the starting center after Carson Cooper. Tom Izzo has shown plenty of confidence in Bonke, and the Spartans are banking on the blend of size, development and continuity that has long been part of the programs identity. Bonke is also expected to help ease the transition for incoming freshman Ethan Taylor, which adds another layer to why his role matters so much early.
Still, there is a bit of outside skepticism attached to the assignment. College Basketball Report left Bonke off its Top 30 centers in college basketball, even as several Big Ten big men earned spots on the list, underscoring how much Michigan State is asking him to prove right away. For a program that tends to trust its own developmental track, Bonkes season will be about more than simply filling minutes in the middle. [Read more 🡒]