Biggest Challenge MSU Faces in Mammoth Test at Notre Dame
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EAST LANSING -- There might be no stronger position group Michigan State faces this season than Notre Dame's cornerbacks.
MSU (2-0) is gearing up for both a great challenge and a great opportunity to flip the narrative on the Spartans' program against the third-ranked Fighting Irish (2-0) on Saturday. Kickoff in South Bend is slated for 7:36 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
Notre Dame has great, elite, or All-American players pretty much across the board. It's considered a favorite to win the national title for a reason.
Corner sticks out as one of the Irish's strong suits, though. That plays into one of Michigan State's biggest weaknesses and will make it difficult for the Spartans to truly hang around for four quarters.
The Leonard Moore Problem
Notre Dame's defense is led by junior corner Leonard Moore. He truly might be the best player, pound-for-pound, in college football. Moore was a unanimous All-American last year and is in consideration to win pretty much any award a cornerback can win this season. Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald said he thinks Moore should be in consideration to be the No. 1 overall draft pick in next year's NFL Draft.
Throwing the ball in Moore's direction is probably not a good idea. He intercepted five passes last season, and his 92.5 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus was the very best among FBS cornerbacks. Moore should also be well-rested after only needing to play 14 defensive snaps in the Fighting Irish's 52-0 win against Rice last week. He only allowed two catches for 14 yards on four targets the week before that against Wisconsin in Green Bay.
"I just think certainly the physical skill set, the length, the size, the athleticism," MSU offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said Tuesday about what makes Moore a great corner. "He's a physical corner; he'll tackle, which sometimes you don't always get that --- he will. And he can catch; he catches the ball."
"His ball skills for a corner, I think, are rare. His ability to track and adjust to the ball in the air [is great]. He has all the makings of a great player, and he's well-coached. So all of those things make him, yeah, a tremendous player, and I have a ton of respect for him, for sure."
Other Notable Corners
Moore isn't the only quality cornerback on Notre Dame's roster. Two other players the Fighting Irish will likely utilize against the Spartans on Saturday are DJ McKinney and Christian Gray.
McKinney is a Colorado transfer who started for the Buffaloes in 2024 and 2025. He's already made a big difference in the Irish's secondary, running back a pick-six against Wisconsin that pretty much erased any remaining hopes of a Badger upset. On3 ranked McKinney as the No. 116 player overall in the transfer portal this offseason and as the eighth-best cornerback.
Gray is a homegrown talent for Notre Dame. He's a third-year starter for Notre Dame in his fourth year overall with the program and was a key piece in the secondary that helped the Fighting Irish reach the national title game in 2024. Gray has five career interceptions, and he had a team-high 11 pass breakups last season.
Hard-Hitting Safeties
The Irish's safeties also cause their own problems. Notre Dame's game last week against Rice, a team that basically ran a triple-option offense, was probably over before it started, but it was basically over on the second play of the game. Irish safety Adon Schuler delivered a big hit that jarred the ball loose, and Boubacar Traore returned it for a Notre Dame touchdown just 14 seconds in.
Rice actually fumbled the ball three times in the first four minutes of the game. Michigan State has done a fine job protecting the ball so far, turning it over only once on a fumble with the game already decided against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, but Notre Dame brings a different challenge.
WR Questions Remain
A major concern through the first two weeks of Michigan State's season has been a lack of separation from the Spartans' wide receivers. It feels like MSU has to scheme its receivers open a little bit more this season than usual. Both of the sacks Michigan State allowed against EMU on Saturday felt like coverage sacks, too.
That was against MAC secondaries, too. Notre Dame's corners will simply operate at a different level than Toledo's or Eastern Michigan's. MSU needs to get its pass game going on Saturday to have even a remote shot, but this area definitely seems to be where Notre Dame holds the biggest advantage.
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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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