Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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40 SEPT. 19, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: MICHIGAN STATE sin. Faison is also a solid punt returner who will make the first man miss more often than not. Spe- cial teams coordinator Marty Biagi's group does have to clean up the protection/execution issues that got freshman Jasper Scaife's first career punt blocked, but that will come with time. Still, special teams is one of the few land mines Notre Dame has to avoid stepping on in Week 3. Advantage: Michigan State COACHING Say what you will about Fitzgerald, who was fired after 17 seasons at Northwestern amid a hazing scandal. But there's a reason he coached the Wild- cats for 17 years. Fitzgerald knows how to get the most out of a talent-deficient roster, which is why he went to 10 bowl games and won the Big Ten West twice in Evanston, Ill. And to be clear, Michigan State has a talent-deficient roster. But in Year 1, an anonymous Big Ten assistant coach told Athlon Sports that might be what the program needed after two sub- .500 years under Jonathan Smith. "I don't think they added a lot of players that change the game from them, but you could tell from the outside that the culture wasn't great," the coach said. "Maybe losing a bunch of players and talent and completely hitting the reset button is actually a good thing." The anonymous Big Ten assistant was bullish on some of Fitzgerald's assistant coaching hires, too. Obviously, Woods was a phenomenal hire. Notre Dame fans are familiar with another: Co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Max Bullough, who coached for the Irish from 2023-25. Sheridan and Rossi are experienced, though the former was demoted from play-calling duties at Alabama and the latter is a holdover from the previous staff. Notre Dame's coaching staff, meanwhile, would challenge anyone's in college football with a fifth- year head coach in Marcus Freeman and three returning coordinators. Do not underestimate the value of in-game adjustments. Turning a 13-10 halftime lead into a 41-13 victory over Wisconsin was a major credit to the coaching staff. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Playing under the lights at Notre Dame Stadium for the first time since November, you know the Irish will be ready to go. This is also a rivalry, and even though it's been a decade since the two schools played, Freeman will make sure to educate his players on the significance of this matchup. The only intangible aspect working against Free- man's group here — aside from the usual "Notre Dame gets every team's best shot" — is the poten- tial for complacency. Wisconsin was Game 1. No motivational issues there. For Rice, all Freeman had to do was say, "Remember what happened the last time you faced a Group of Five (now Group of Six) team in Week 2 after a satisfactory win?" No motivational issues there either. Week 3, though, is in a weird spot. It would be human nature for the Irish to settle into the "easy" part of their schedule and think, "Alright, any early- season jitters are behind us. We're good." There's a world in which Notre Dame coasts through the week of practice and lets Michigan State hang around longer than it probably should. However, if we've thought of this, then Freeman definitely has. He's gotten quite good at refocus- ing his players when their minds begin to drift. If the Irish can avoid that complacency and get the prime-time crowd into it, they could run the Spar- tans right out of South Bend. Advantage: Notre Dame Staff Predictions Todd D. Burlage: Notre Dame 42, Michigan State 10 This once-proud rivalry between two of the country's best programs now features teams moving in different directions. Michigan State has been marred by administrative and coaching turmoil and scandal, and hasn't enjoyed a winning season since 2021. Notre Dame has won at least 10 games eight times in the last nine seasons, and has won four out of the last five games in this series — though this is the first meeting since 2017. The Irish are full speed ahead to a national championship run, while Michigan State is just looking for a bowl appearance. All Irish here. Steve Downey: Notre Dame 34, Michigan State 9 Even though the first half of the season opener against Wisconsin was far from pretty, the Fighting Irish still ended up being only one of five schools to notch a victory of 20 or more points against a power-conference opponent in their first game of the 2026 campaign. It wouldn't be all that surprising if the Spartans, a similarly revamped Big Ten foe, were competitive early. However, Michigan State's offensive line and limited receiving corps are poor matchups against Notre Dame's defense. The Irish should pull away after halftime behind quarterback CJ Carr and an improving running game. Eric Hansen: Notre Dame 31, Michigan State 6 It's the 60th anniversary year of the famed 10-10 tie between the two schools in a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 battle that helped determine the 1966 national title that landed in the Notre Dame trophy case. Ties don't exist anymore in college football, and realistically neither do the Spartans' chances in this renewal of a formerly annual rivalry in 2026. The last time the two teams played — 2017 in East Lan- sing, Mich. — Notre Dame All-America guard Quenton Nelson lifted up winning coach Brian Kelly and the Megaphone Trophy off the floor and shook him in the postgame locker room celebration following a 38-18 rout of MSU. The Irish figure to do something similar on the field to a Spartan team that's unproven on both its offensive and defensive lines. Tyler James: Notre Dame 42, Michigan State 12 Head coach Pat Fitzgerald put together an impressive coaching staff that should help put pride back into the Michigan State program. But it's going to take a lot more than pride to win a night game in Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish have too much talent for the Spartans to overcome. Look for Notre Dame's offense to find more explosive plays as it builds more momentum in the early part of the season. Michigan State may be able to move the ball at times against the Irish defense, but it will be left settling for field goals. Kyle Kelly: Notre Dame 41, Michigan State 10 The last time a Pat Fitzgerald-led team came to Notre Dame Stadium, his Northwestern Wildcats upset the Irish 43-40 in overtime on Nov. 15, 2014. I expect the outcome with his first-year Michigan State team to be much different. I think the score of this game will end up being pretty close to the outcome of the Wisconsin game, but the way the Irish get there will be different. I like the Irish to win big with a complete, four-quarter effort. Mike Singer: Notre Dame 35, Michigan State 13 This is an underrated regional college football rivalry known for physical, gritty games, but we won't see that Sept. 19. It could look similar to the Wisconsin game early as a cagey contest, but the Fighting Irish will pull away and win comfortably. Jack Soble: Notre Dame 45, Michigan State 10 Michigan State will be a better-coached team than it was under Jonathan Smith and late-stage Mel Tucker. However, it's quite possible the Spartans don't have a single player who would start for Notre Dame. Playing under the lights in South Bend, even if the Irish deal with some "easy part of the schedule" complacency early, they should have no problem getting the crowd into it and dispatching the Spartans. These predictions are almost getting tedious to write at this point, but it is what it is. Notre Dame's next real challenge (or first, if you don't count a tight first half against Wisconsin) will come in mid- October.