Michigan State walks into South Bend on Saturday night as a huge underdog, and the numbers say as much. Notre Dame opened as a 29.5-point favorite, the No. 3 team in the AP Poll hosting a Spartans squad that is 2-0 but still outside the Top 25. The Irish have won four of the last five meetings, including a 20-point win in 2017, and the Megaphone Trophy is back in play nearly a decade after the rivalry last felt like a yearly event.
That’s the backdrop for Pat Fitzgerald’s biggest test since taking over at Michigan State. He’s already guided the Spartans to a fourth-quarter comeback and a blowout win, but this is a different kind of challenge.
Fitzgerald has also started reshaping the program’s identity, bringing in a new culture while restoring some of the old-school edge Michigan State football has long been associated with. The Spartans appear to have bought in, and now they get their first chance to see if that buy-in can travel against a powerhouse.
If Michigan State is going to pull off the upset - or even hang around deep into the night - it starts with controlling the game in the trenches and keeping CJ Carr from taking over.
The first key is possession. Michigan State ranks eighth nationally in time of possession at 37:22 per game, while Notre Dame sits 38th.
That matters here because the Irish offense has been rolling, putting up 41 points and 52 points in its first two games and averaging 46.5 points per game. The Spartans’ best defense may be to simply keep that unit on the sideline.
Long, steady drives from the green and white would do more than chew clock; they’d shrink the number of chances Notre Dame has to hit quickly and hit hard.
The second key is making Carr uncomfortable. Notre Dame has been more dangerous through the air than on the ground, ranking 24th nationally in passing yards per game at 295.5 while sitting tied for 116th in rushing yards per game at 114.5.
That gives Michigan State a clear path: pressure Carr, stay tight in coverage, and force the Irish to lean more heavily on the run game. That approach won’t make Notre Dame harmless, but it could at least push the game toward Michigan State’s preferred terms.
The Spartans will need major production from Big Ten sacks leader Eli Coenen, along with Kenny Soares Jr. and Anelu Lafalae.
The third key is third down, where the details of the game can start to tilt. Michigan State ranks 12th nationally in third-down conversions, averaging eight per game, while Notre Dame averages five and ranks 60th.
The Irish can live on explosive plays, so the Spartans should expect a few of those to land. But the possessions that stretch into third down are the ones Michigan State has to win.
If the Spartans can keep Notre Dame off schedule and keep moving the chains on offense, that helps everything else - especially time of possession - fall into place.
That’s the formula for Michigan State: shorten the game, disrupt Carr, and own the critical downs. Against a team like Notre Dame, that’s the path to making the night interesting.
In Other News...
Michigan State Gets Its First Real Measuring Stick At Notre Dame
Michigan States trip to Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday is shaping up as the kind of early-season test that can tell a team a lot about where it stands. The Spartans are heading into a road game against a program sitting near the top of the national conversation, with Notre Dame carrying the look of a title threat and quarterback CJ Carr already drawing preseason Heisman attention.
For Michigan State, the challenge is obvious: survive the atmosphere, settle in quickly and make the game competitive enough to matter deep into the afternoon. The expectation is still for Notre Dame to win, but not by enough to fully separate from the Spartans, which leaves this one with a little more intrigue than a typical nonconference date. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Just Made Izzone Campout Even Bigger This Year
Michigan States annual Izzone student section campout already has a built-in sense of occasion, and this fall it will come with an exhibition game attached. The Spartans are using the event as part of their preseason build-up, with a roster that mixes new transfers and returning pieces from last years Sweet 16 run, and the timing gives fans an early look at how the group is coming together before the grind of the Big Ten schedule begins.
The Spartans also have another exhibition on the calendar against Marquette in Milwaukee later this month, before the Golden Eagles visit East Lansing later in the season. With the full league slate now in hand and the preseason details starting to take shape, theres a little more buzz around the program than usual, and the campout just became more than a tradition for students waiting out the night. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan States First Real Test Will Expose One Early Problem
Mel Tucker said this week he likes the way Michigan State believes it can win every game, and the early schedule has backed that up. The Spartans head into their meeting with undefeated Notre Dame with a chance to see how far that confidence can carry them against a ranked opponent that has already looked every bit the part. It is the first real measuring stick of the season, the kind of game that tends to reveal whether an opening stretch was simply solid or actually sustainable.
For Michigan State, the bigger question is how quickly the details tighten up once the level of competition rises. Consistency has to improve, and so does the run defense, because Notre Dame will make the Spartans prove they can hold up across four quarters. Special teams and field position also loom large, giving MSU another area where a clean performance could matter as much as anything else if it wants to turn this early confidence into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]