Notre Dame Drama Makes Upcoming Home-and-Home for MSU More Interesting
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There has been a lot of talk about Notre Dame lately.
*Checks future Michigan State football schedules*
Oh, the Spartans are set to travel to South Bend in 2026 and host the Fighting Irish in 2027. The dates of MSU's Big Ten opponents are not set yet, but the school's contract with Notre Dame stipulates that this game will happen on Sept. 19, 2026, during Week 3 of next year's football season.
Getting the Irish on the schedule is a real victory for the program. Every single Notre Dame game this year was either on national television, Peacock, or both. This will be Pat Fitzgerald's first chance to grab a program victory at Michigan State, and there will be lots of eyeballs on it.
UND's recent... antics will also help with that.
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Recent ND Headlines
Playoff Snub
It all began when Notre Dame was left out of the College Football Playoff. Personally, I think the committee made the right, final decision by allowing Miami (FL) in, but I also understand the Irish's reaction. They had been told they were in every single week the CFP rankings came out, but even though both ND and Miami did not play during conference championship weekend, the committee flipped the two teams' spots because of the Hurricanes' win from back in Week 1.
Notre Dame did not just stop by voicing its displeasure; it actively protested. It declined to participate in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, or any bowl, for that matter. The Irish decided that their 10-2 season was enough for them.
Pausing USC Rivalry
What's also been in the news recently is that Notre Dame and USC will not play during the 2026 season, with the Irish announcing a home-and-home series with BYU instead. Whether it was Notre Dame or the Trojans who backed out, I'm not here to litigate.
Notre Dame has absolutely no shortage of rivalries that go on and off --- Michigan State is one of them --- but USC was its most important one. Its most meaningful one might be Navy, since the Navy basically saved Notre Dame from financial difficulties during World War II, but let's be real, that's not a game of the same difficulty as USC.
UND's partially hand-picked schedule comes into focus every year, it seems. It's always good enough to satisfy strength-of-schedule metrics enough that it gets consideration for the CFP, but also weak enough that it's not a schedule truly on par with the Big Ten or the SEC. Notre Dame's SOS was 44th on ESPN's FPI this year; that's easier than all but two schedules in the B1G and every single one in the SEC.
There's usually a good opponent or two. Notre Dame will host Miami next year and face BYU on the road. Everyone else is... uninspiring (MSU included).
Opportunity for MSU, Fitzgerald
Lumping in Notre Dame with the Power Four level, the Irish will be the first major opponent Fitzgerald will face as the head coach at Michigan State.
It will not be the first time he's faced the Irish himself. Fitzgerald went 1-1 against Notre Dame as a coach at Northwestern, winning in South Bend during the 2014 season and falling in Evanston in 2018. He also helped the Wildcats upset then-No. 9 Notre Dame in South Bend as a player back in the 1995 season opener. That Northwestern team went on to win the Big Ten and reach the Rose Bowl.
This game will mean a lot to a lot of Michigan State fans. MSU and Notre Dame used to play annually, something I'd bet plenty of fans would like to see happen again, and have met 79 total times. The two programs have played for the Megaphone Trophy since 1949.
Michigan State needs to have a rivalry trophy it can show off inside its football building and to recruits. It does not have any right now. Notre Dame won the most recent meeting in 2017, but MSU also lost all three of its rivalry games to Michigan (Paul Bunyan Trophy), Indiana (Old Brass Spittoon), and Penn State (Land Grant Trophy) this season.
What also ups the stakes is that a win would greatly increase the Spartans' national image. Again, every Notre Dame game is going to be in a quality television spot, and I'd wager a fair amount of viewers are of the "hate watching" variety.
Notre Dame isn't Boston College. You want people to talk about MSU football? Go beat the program that considers itself above joining a conference or playing in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. People will talk then.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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