Michigan State walked into South Bend as a huge underdog and left with the kind of loss that still tells you something about a team.
Notre Dame handled the Spartans 27-10 on Saturday night, but Michigan State spent long stretches making the No. 3 team in the country work for everything it got. The Spartans never fully cracked the game open, and the mistakes eventually piled up, but the defense gave them a real shot for much of the night.
That side of the ball carried the most weight. Michigan State’s defense mixed in hard contact, timely stops and enough resistance to keep the score from getting away early.
The Spartans did give up some chunk plays, and there were moments they would want back, including a couple of missed tackles in the backfield. Kenny Soares, in particular, missed two chances at sacks because he couldn’t wrap up Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr.
Even so, the Spartans spent a long time hanging around against one of the best teams in the nation.
Jordan Hall was at the center of it all. The lone returning senior on the roster, Hall seemed to be around every snap. He played through a hurt right elbow that had already kept him out of the Week 2 game against Eastern Michigan, and after briefly leaving Saturday’s game when he took more contact to that elbow, he came back and kept making plays.
Notre Dame’s first big strike came early, when it hit a 61-yard play over Tre Bell. Bell was also flagged for pass interference on the sequence, helping the Irish move to the 2-yard line before they finished the drive. Bell had a strong night overall, but those few plays loomed large.
Michigan State’s offense had a much rougher time.
The offensive line held up for a while, but as the game wore on, Notre Dame’s pressure started to tilt everything. The rush got heavier, the pocket got tighter, and Milivojevic was forced into hurried throws. That pressure led to two interceptions, the first two of his season, both on forced passes as Notre Dame kept coming.
At times, Michigan State did find a little rhythm. There were a couple of bigger completions, including a deep shot to Rodney Bullard. Tight end Jayden Savoury continued to be a reliable target, finishing second on the team in receiving yards and leading the Spartans in receiving for the second straight week.
The ground game never really got going, and that made the late stages even tougher. Cam Edwards, who has been Michigan State’s bread and butter, limped off late after a frustrating night.
He finished with 38 yards on 12 carries, and once the Spartans fell behind by two or three possessions, they moved away from the run. The injury is something Michigan State will have to watch moving forward.
There’s work to do, no question. But after opening the night as nearly 30-point underdogs, the Spartans showed enough toughness and control to leave with some belief intact as they head into Big Ten play and a stretch of nine straight games against Power Four competition.
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