No. 3 Notre Dame gets a night game at home Saturday as Michigan State comes to South Bend for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
It’s the 80th meeting between the Irish and Spartans, both teams entering at 2-0. The last time they played came in 2017, when Notre Dame won 38-18 in East Lansing.
Notre Dame is coming off a dominant 52-0 win over Rice in its home opener on September 12. Michigan State also rolled in its last outing, beating Eastern Michigan 35-7.
The Irish appeared to come out of that win in good shape. Wideout Mylan Graham, the Ohio State transfer, went to the medical tent in the first half after taking a shot to his upper body, but he returned in the second half and was targeted on a Noah Grubbs pass into the end zone.
Notre Dame will put out an injury report closer to kickoff.
For those tuning in, the game is set for Saturday, Sept. 19 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN. NBC will carry the television broadcast, with streaming available on Peacock. Local radio affiliates are WSBT (960 AM, 96.1 FM) and WNSN (101.5 FM).
Dan Hicks and Jason Garrett will call the game on TV, with Caroline Pineda reporting from the sideline. On the radio side, Tony Simeone will handle play-by-play alongside analyst Mike Golic Sr.
BetMGM has Notre Dame as a 29-point favorite, with the over/under set at 52.5.
The weather could be a factor. The forecast calls for rain and thunderstorms in the morning and early afternoon, followed by several dry hours later in the day before rain and thunderstorms return in the evening, along with the possibility of lightning, heavy rainfall and gusty wind speeds.
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Even so, the afternoon was not clean everywhere, and the parts that were less tidy may wind up drawing as much attention as the win itself. Aneyas Williams had a quiet day, while special teams left points and momentum on the table with a missed field goal and an unsuccessful fake punt, giving the Irish a few more issues to sort through even as the record keeps looking better. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Has One Thing To Prove Against Michigan State
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Still, the challenge is about more than simply being expected to win. Between the records, the coaching situations and the history between the schools, this is the sort of game that can reveal whether Notre Dame can handle being the more complete side without letting the setting turn into a trap. The Irish have the edge on paper, but this trip through an old rivalry will say plenty about how well they can back that up. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Got An Early Answer On Its Offense
Saturdays win over Michigan State gave Notre Dame more than a solid early-season result. It also offered a much clearer look at what the Irish offense can be when it finds balance, with Micah Gilbert posting a career-high 170 receiving yards and Nolan James, Jr. setting a personal best with 121 on the ground. For a team trying to establish an identity, having a 100-yard receiver and a 100-yard rusher in the same game for the first time since 2020 is the kind of benchmark that stands out.
The 27-10 finish was backed by a defense that kept Michigan State under pressure all afternoon, finishing with four sacks and forcing multiple turnovers. Notre Dame still has plenty to sort out as the schedule moves on, but this was the sort of performance that can settle a locker room and sharpen the conversation around how the Irish want to play on offense going forward. [Read more 🡒]