Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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murphy's Law dan murphy Michigan State Mistakes Buy Time For Irish Junior safety Matthias Farley's third-quarter interception was the game's lone turnover and proved to be pivotal in Notre Dame's 17-13 victory over the Spartans. Y ou'd be hard-pressed to pick a winner out of the sloppiness that unfolded in South Bend Sept. 21. In a week of college football clunkers, Notre Dame's 17-13 win over Michigan State may have been the clunkiest. "It wasn't going to be a beauty contest," Brian Kelly said in a press conference that couldn't end quickly enough for the Irish head coach. Kelly was ready to take his 3-1 record and move on to the next game. And who could blame him? Notre Dame and its guest combined for 478 yards on offense and 201 yards in penalties. The Irish had far too many "first time since 2007" offensive stats, but Michigan State was worse. The Spartans made their mistakes when Photo by BiLL panizica they could least afford them, and in doing so gave Notre Dame points, a win and the one thing it needed most — more time. The biggest facepalm of the evening came on the game's only turnover, an interception thrown into double coverage by Michigan State freshman wide receiver R.J. Shelton. The Spartans seemed to be settling into a rhythm for the first time late in the third quarter when head coach Mark Dantonio opted to try to break a 10‑10 tie with a home run swing. Dantonio said he would take the rap for that call. He thought he needed a big play to change the game. He got one. Notre Dame scored seven plays later to take the lead for good. The