Michigan State left South Bend with a 27-10 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame, but the Spartans did not leave empty-handed. There were enough encouraging signs in the defeat to give Pat Fitzgerald’s team something real to build on as Week 3 turned into a rough road lesson with a few bright spots.
The biggest offensive spark came from Rodney Bullard and Jayden Savoury. Michigan State’s passing game had to work under heavy pressure, with Notre Dame getting after quarterback Alessio Milivojevic early and often.
That made Savoury especially valuable. The tight end led the Spartans in receptions for the second straight game and finished with three catches for 30 yards, giving Milivojevic a dependable outlet when the pocket started collapsing.
Bullard made the kind of play that reminds everyone why he sits atop the receiving depth chart. He only had two catches, but one of them was a 53-yard diving grab in traffic on a perfect throw from Milivojevic. Bullard ended the day with a team-high 66 receiving yards, and the catch was a clear sign that his Week 1 breakout was no accident.
Michigan State also got exactly the kind of defensive presence it had been waiting for from Jordan Hall. After sitting out Week 2, Hall was dressed on the sideline before kickoff and worked through warmups, a good sign he might be ready.
He was. Once the game started, he was all over the field, and even after aggravating his elbow and briefly leaving, he returned and kept going.
Hall finished with a team-high 12 tackles, while Eli Coenen was next for Michigan State with five. That gap tells the story. Hall was around the ball constantly, and the Spartans will count on that kind of production as the Big Ten schedule gets rolling.
Special teams gave Michigan State another reason to feel better about the trip. Rhys Dakin only had limited work through the first two weeks, but Notre Dame forced him into four punts, and after a rough start when his first attempt was tipped at the line for just 14 net yards, he settled in and changed field position. Dakin put two of his next three punts inside the 20 and averaged 45.3 yards per punt, with a long of 57.
There are no moral victories in sports, and Michigan State lost for the first time in the Pat Fitzgerald era. Still, the Spartans found a few things worth holding onto after a hard night in South Bend.
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