Notre Dame’s offense has been moving fast through two games, but Saturday night in South Bend will ask a different question: can the Irish keep rolling when Michigan State brings real resistance to the line of scrimmage?
Marcus Freeman’s team is 2-0 for the second time in his tenure, and the numbers on offense have been loud so far. Notre Dame is averaging 46.5 points per game, but the run game has lagged behind that overall production at 114.5 rushing yards per game. That’s the area most likely to decide how smoothly the Irish can operate under the lights against the Spartans.
The biggest stress test starts inside. Notre Dame has already mixed and matched at right guard, rotating Sullivan Absher and Styles Prescod through the first two games, and this group is still only two games into playing together in this alignment.
The concern isn’t just about personnel, either. The line hasn’t consistently created the kind of push the preseason suggested it might.
That puts a spotlight on Michigan State defensive tackle Ben Robert. The 6-3, 325-pound lineman has already logged two pressures and two run stops in matchups against Toledo and Eastern Michigan.
Center Ashton Craig and whoever lines up at right guard will need to handle Robert if Notre Dame wants the ground game to look sharper. A more creative run scheme would help, but it won’t matter much if the interior can’t hold its ground.
Left guard Anthonie Knapp is another key piece in that battle. He opened the season with a strong showing, then followed it with a quieter day against Rice. Knapp, a 6-5, 305-pound junior from Georgia, is Notre Dame’s most experienced offensive lineman, and this is exactly the kind of setting where the Irish need their best players to look like it.
Across from him, Michigan State’s most productive pass rusher by pressure numbers is defensive tackle Eli Coenen. The 6-6, 287-pound lineman leads the Spartans with seven total pressures and four hits plus sacks, and he has also been credited with three run stops. While Craig and the right guard spot deal with Robert, Knapp’s job is to make sure Coenen doesn’t wreck things on his side.
The other matchup worth watching comes at receiver, where Micah Gilbert may be ready for a bigger stage. The junior has already posted his most productive game in a Notre Dame uniform, catching two passes for 47 yards and a touchdown against Rice. Through two games, he has five catches for 81 yards and a score, and this could be the week he starts looking like a true go-to option for CJ Carr alongside Jordan Faison.
Gilbert’s challenge will be immediate and physical. Michigan State added two starting cornerbacks through the portal in Iowa State transfer Tre Bell and Houston Christian transfer Tyran Chappell.
Bell is 6-1 and 200 pounds, while Chappell brings a 6-3, 189-pound frame. The Spartans line their corners up left and right rather than using a traditional field-boundary setup, so Gilbert will see both of them throughout the night.
If he wins those reps, it could be the performance that helps settle Notre Dame’s boundary receiver picture.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Just Sent A Strong Message In The Scheduling Debate
Notre Dame keeps adding to a nonconference slate that already carries more weight than most, and the latest move brings Nebraska back onto the schedule for the first time since 2001. The schools announced a two-game home-and-home series, with the first meeting set for Oct. 30, 2032, in Lincoln and the return game on Oct. 29, 2033, in South Bend. It is another notable addition for a program that has had to work to secure Power 4 opponents while protecting the kind of schedule its fans and playoff rsum demand.
The matchup also restores a familiar intersection between two storied brands that have not played often enough in recent years to lose its appeal. Nebraska has won the last three meetings, which gives the series a little extra edge before either side even gets to the field. For Notre Dame, it is the kind of scheduling decision that keeps the Irish in the national conversation, even as the sports calendar gets harder to manage. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Added A Future Matchup That Will Split Fans
Notre Dames future schedule picked up another big-name addition with Nebraska officially locking in a home-and-home series for the 2032 and 2033 seasons. The Cornhuskers will host the Irish on Oct. 30, 2032, then head to South Bend on Oct. 29, 2033, giving both programs another marquee non-conference matchup to circle well in advance.
The series, announced by Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen, fits into the Huskers broader scheduling plans and gives Notre Dame another heavyweight opponent on the horizon. For Irish fans, it is the kind of intersectional series that will draw plenty of interest, even if the long runway means plenty can change before either game is played. [Read more 🡒]
Junior Tuihalamakas LSU Role Is Shifting Faster Than Notre Dame Fans Expected
Junior Tuihalamakas move from Notre Dame to LSU has already turned into a quieter sort of transition than some might have expected, with the former Fighting Irish defender mostly showing up on special teams through the Tigers first two wins of the 2026 season. He has seen only a handful of defensive snaps, but he has at least managed to get on the stat sheet with a tackle in limited action, a small early sign that he is working his way into the mix.
LSUs defensive line is still sorting itself out, with a group that includes multiple transfers and freshmen, so the path for Tuihalamaka is hardly fixed. For now, the role looks more like depth and support than a full-time defensive assignment, but that can change quickly over the course of a season as the Tigers keep reshaping their front. [Read more 🡒]