Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546555
38 SEPT. 19, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: MICHIGAN STATE season, and Toledo got him three times in Week 1. Between that and his patchwork offensive line, one would think Michigan State will give Milivo- jevic as many quick-passing concepts as possible to minimize the impact of Notre Dame defensive ends Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young. But if those concepts are not open, he does tend to drop his eyes and go down. When he does get rid of it, Milivojevic is decisive and accurate. His arm is strong enough to make opposite-hash throws to the field sideline. The is- sue, though, is that he might not have much help. His top three targets from a year ago — primarily wide receiver Nick Marsh, who transferred to Indi- ana despite heavy pursuit from Notre Dame — are all gone. The Spartans' top two replacements are both internal with wideouts Chrishon McCray and Rodney Bullard combining for 15 receptions, 159 yards and 1 touchdown against Toledo. Michigan transfer Frederick Moore and Notre Dame transfer KK Smith will also be involved. This has the makings of a decent passing offense, but you can probably guess how the Irish will re- spond to a game plan like this. Expect aggres- sive man coverage across the board from Leonard Moore, DJ McKinney, Jayden Sanders and Christian Gray. By now, you know how this ends. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. MICHIGAN STATE RUN DEFENSE Michigan State suffered an injury against Toledo that could put its run defense in trouble against Notre Dame. Linebacker Jordan Hall, a two-time captain and the Spartans' leading tackler with 88 in 2025, appeared to suffer an elbow injury in Week 1. He came back with a "bulky cast," according to Michigan State Spartans on SI, then seemed to get hurt again. He played 25 out of 45 possible snaps against the Rockets. Hall is considered the heart and soul of MSU's defense. Big Ten teams are not required to provide official injury updates for nonconference games, so it's hard to say what his status is at the moment. But the Spartans will need him at 100 percent to have a shot against Notre Dame. You'll notice those 45 total defensive snaps and you might think, "huh, that's not a lot." And you'd be right about that. It happened because Michi- gan State generated several three-and-outs, but it was also vulnerable to explosive plays. Toledo ripped off a 71-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, yet it somehow finished with 77 rushing yards total. Aside from that big play, the Spartans gave up pretty much nothing on the ground. They featured the nation's 89th-ranked run defense last season, but Fitzgerald's teams always stopped the run well at Northwestern. Perhaps he can help a group that returned several contributors improve. Defensive tackle Ben Roberts and defensive end Isaac Smith entered the season with a combined 61 games of experience up front. 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 MICHIGAN STATE TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART 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. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. 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 SPECIAL TEAMS Senior safety Michael Richard, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, tied for the team lead with 5 tackles (1 for loss) in the victory over the Rockets. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN STATE ATHLETICS