Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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26 SEPT. 26, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. Add it to the scouting report: Luke Talich is a full-field menace Sitting on the sidelines as Luke Talich intercepted Michigan State quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, CJ Carr got the quarterback equivalent of war flashbacks. The Spartans dialed up a slot fade against single- high man coverage — something the Irish do all the time, by the way. Milivojevic thought he had senior wide receiver Rodney Bullard Jr. wide open. He failed to recognize Talich roaming center field. Carr knows that's a mistake. Why? Because he's made it himself. "All the time," Carr said. "He's a guy that covers ground very quickly and isn't gonna always bite on looking a guy off. So, you gotta be really careful when you're throwing those deep balls, slot fades when Luke's in the post." Talich leaped into the still-dry air and came down with the football for his first interception of the season. It was the fifth interception of Talich's ca- reer despite his limited defensive role in previous seasons. Good things happen when the ball finds Talich, and it sure seems to find him a lot. That's one of many problems for opposing quar- terbacks as they prepare for Notre Dame's de- fense. When you see that junior safety Brauntae Johnson is out with a foot injury, it's natural to breathe a sigh of relief. "Great," you might think. " The demon that picks off everything that moves isn't playing." Well, here comes a 6-foot-4 safety with track speed and elite ball skills. Have fun with that. Talich capped off his night by sacking Milivojevic, too. Essen- tially lining up as a linebacker, he zoomed past MSU running back Cam Edwards and finished the play. The Wyoming native is le- git, and opponents should start respecting that. 2. Former walk-ons showing out on all three phases The following three things hap- pened in about an eight-minute span: Junior wide receiver Matt Jeffery blocked a punt, senior wide receiver Jordan Faison con- verted fourth-and-2 and Talich picked off Milivojevic. What do those events have in common? They were all massive plays that helped the Irish gain control of the Michigan State game, and they were all made by players who started their Notre Dame careers as walk-ons. Make no mistake, none of those contributions was a one- off. We already discussed Talich. Faison, despite junior Micah Gilbert's prolific night, is Notre Dame's No. 1 wide receiver. Jeffery is a special teams demon. For all the (deserved) recognition Irish head coach Marcus Freeman gets for his re- cruiting, he also runs the type of program where none of that matters once you arrive on campus. "I think that's a culture that Coach Freeman set," senior linebacker and captain Drayk Bowen said. "Those guys have worked their tails off to get to where they are, and you're just seeing all the work that they've done from when they got here to now." 3. Pass rush gets an opportunity and does not miss Notre Dame had few opportunities to rush the passer against Wisconsin and Rice. The Badgers featured a dual-threat quarterback and did every- thing in their power to make the game about his legs and not his arm. The Owls ran a version of the triple option. Michigan State can't do any of that. Milivojevic is not mobile and needs a true drop-back passing game to succeed. The Irish had a golden opportu- nity to show their ability to rush the quarterback, and they took full advantage. Notre Dame sacked Milivojevic four times, with Tionne Gray, Loghan Thomas, Boubacar Traore and Talich recording one each. According to Pro Foot- ball Focus' initial data, Traore produced a whop- ping 6 total pressures. We should also shout out junior linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa for blasting MSU running backs twice when blitzing up the middle. Notre Dame truly attacks quarterbacks from all angles. 4. Growing pains for new tackles Will Black's night started extremely well. The sophomore left tackle made the key block on sophomore running back Nolan James Jr.'s touch- down. He helped senior left guard Anthonie Knapp move the defensive tackle out of the way, and he took out MSU's best defensive player, linebacker Jordan Hall, in the process. The rest of his night, however, was a reminder that this was only his third college start. The same is true of junior right tackle Guerby Lambert, who was making his third start at the position. Black and Lambert have near-infinite ceilings, but experienced defensive ends have caused them problems. Two weeks ago, it was Wisconsin's Se- bastian Cheeks. This week, it was Michigan State's Kenny Soares Jr. Soares blew by both Black and Lambert for pressures, even though Carr was only sacked once. This is normal for young tackles as they gain ex- perience and refine their technique. Notre Dame just needs them to improve by Nov. 7. 5. Déjà vu all over again In many ways, the Michigan State game mirrored the Wis- consin game. Inconsistent offense in the first half, largely due to self-inflicted mistakes against a tough, physi- cal, veteran-laden opponent. Air- tight defense, then one or two uncharacteristic breakdowns that cost the Irish seven points, then more airtight defense the rest of the way. Halftime adjustments that generally fix the problems. Notre Dame did not score a defensive touchdown this time, but the Irish still did enough to win by 17. "I thought it was a similar feel to the Wisconsin game," Carr said. "We knew it was gonna be a fight. It's a tough, physical Spar- tan team, so we had to step up to the challenge." Such is life in college football. They won't all be winners, even if they are, in the most literal sense of the word, winners. Sometimes you win by 17 in a game you probably should have won by 27. If every game is like that until November, that would be cause for concern. For now, the Irish are just ironing out the kinks. FIVE THOUGHTS BY JACK SOBLE Luke Talich (No. 28) notched his first career sack and his fifth career interception in the victory over Michigan State. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER