Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 12, 2026 41 OPPONENT ON DECK: MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS Date: Sept. 19, 2026 Site (capacity): Notre Dame Stadium (77,622) Kickoff (TV): 7:30 p.m. (NBC) All-time series: Notre Dame leads 49-29-1 Last meeting: Notre Dame 38, Michigan State 18 (Sept. 23, 2017, in East Lansing, Mich.) 2026 Record To Date: 1-0 (0-0 Big Ten) Michigan State head coach: Pat Fitzgerald, 1-0 (1st year at MSU) and 111-101 overall (18th year overall) Season outlook: There is optimism in East Lansing with the Spartans ushering in a new era. Two days after the 2025 season ended, Michigan State hired former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald to lead a much-needed rebuild following a 1-8, second-to-last in the Big Ten finish to the campaign. With 23 years of coaching experience in the conference, the 2020 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year has the pedigree to bring the Spartans back to respectability. If the Spartans want to demand it right away, they will need starting quarterback Alessio Milivo- jevic to take the next step. The 6-foot-3, 223-pound junior already showed signs of growth last season, appearing in nine games and starting the final four. He capped the year on a high note, leading Michigan State to its only conference win, a 38-28 victory over Maryland. He completed 27 of 39 passes for 292 yards with 4 touchdowns. Defensively, Michigan State added former Notre Dame linebackers coach Max Bullough — a move that should help instill a more physical edge. The Spartans also bring back three starters, including team captain and senior linebacker Jordan Hall. Still, there is significant room for improvement after finishing 104th in the FBS in scoring defense, allowing 29.9 points per game. The last time a Fitzgerald-led team played in Notre Dame Stadium, Northwestern won 43-40 in overtime on Nov. 15, 2014. Creating that same magic will be much more difficult this time around as long as the Irish bring their 'A' game. Alessio Milivojevic completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 1,267 yards with 10 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in nine games last year, including starts in the final four games of the season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN STATE ATHLETICS OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR-X 19 Charles Taplin 6-1 184 So. 14 Bryson Williams 6-2 225 So. WR-S 13 Chrishon McCray 5-10 180 5th 8 KK Smith 6-0 180 Sr. LT 75 Ben Murawski 6-7 340 5th 73 Rustin Young 6-4 308 Jr. LG 58 Conner Moore 6-6 311 5th 77 Andrew Dennis 6-4 302 Jr. C 63 Trent Fraley 6-1 306 5th 76 Drew Nichols 6-4 298 So. RG 52 Nick Sharpe 6-2 351 6th 55 Rakeem Johnson 6-4 296 Jr. RT 55 Rakeem Johnson 6-4 296 Jr. 71 Robert Wright 6-5 294 Sr. TE 82 Brennan Parachek 6-5 249 5th 31 Jayden Savoury 6-5 253 So. WR-Z 3 Rodney Bullard Jr. 5-11 188 5th 6 Fredrick Moore 6-1 187 Sr. QB 11 Alessio Milivojevic 6-3 223 Jr. 2 Cam Fancher 6-2 207 6th RB 0 Cam Edwards 5-11 206 5th 21 Marvis Parrish 5-11 209 So. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. EDGE 1 Kenny Soares 6-2 234 5th 11 Anelu Lafaele 6-2 240 Jr. DE 9 Keahnist Thompson 6-3 266 5th 97 Cal Thrush 6-5 263 So. NT 55 Ben Roberts 6-3 325 5th 52 Mikeshun Beeler 6-2 290 Jr. DT 96 Eli Coenen 6-6 287 Sr. 98 Derrick Simmons 6-3 305 So. MLB 5 Jordan Hall 6-3 249 Sr. 18 Deion Crawford 6-1 243 Sr. WLB 44 Caleb Wheatland 6-1 244 5th 45 Brady Pretzlaff 6-3 238 Jr. NB 7 Michael Richard 5-10 179 Sr. 0 NiJhay Burt 5-11 188 5th FS 21 Nikai Martinez 5-11 196 5th 17 Jonathan Granby 5-10 200 Fr. BS 2 Devin Vaught 6-0 212 5th 30 Aveon Grose 5-11 187 5th LCB 3 Tre Bell 6-1 200 5th 20 Keshawn Williams 6-0 187 Jr. or 14 Andrew Brinson IV 6-1 186 Jr. RCB 22 Tyran Chappell 6-3 189 Jr. 4 Charles Brantley 6-0 170 6th SPECIAL TEAMS Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 37 Liam Boyd 6-1 200 5th 85 Stephen Gonzales 5-10 182 Fr. KO 37 Liam Boyd 6-1 200 5th 85 Stephen Gonzales 5-10 182 Fr. P 9 Rhys Dakin 6-4 235 Jr. 49 Alex Weeks 6-4 191 So. LS 50 Nick Duzansky 6-5 197 Sr. 53 Trey Serauskis 5-10 205 Fr. H 9 Rhys Dakin 6-4 235 Jr. 49 Alex Weeks 6-4 191 So. PR 17 Braylon Collier 6-0 187 So. KR 32 Kenneth Williams 5-9 191 Sr. 13 Chrishon McCray 5-10 180 5th MICHIGAN STATE TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART 2026 MICHIGAN STATE SCHEDULE Date Opponent Result/Time (ET) Sept. 5 Toledo W, 30-20 Sept. 12 Eastern Michigan (BTN) 3:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at Notre Dame (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 Nebraska TBA Oct. 3 at Wisconsin TBA Oct. 10 Illinois TBA Oct. 17 Northwestern TBA Oct. 24 at UCLA TBA Nov. 7 at Michigan TBA Nov. 14 Washington TBA Nov. 20 Oregon (FOX) 8 p.m. Nov. 28 at Rutgers TBA