Notre Dame Fans Get a Rare, Truly Perfect Saturday

Saturday was about as perfect as perfect gets if you're a Notre Dame fan.

Yes, the third-ranked Fighting Irish rolled to a 49-10 victory at Purdue, the 11th straight victory over the Boilermakers in the rivalry, but that was only part of the story.

What happened around the rest of college football was music to the ears of Notre Dame fans, as their most disliked rivals all took losses as well.

Michigan Loses Heartbreaker to Iowa

Not long after Notre Dame finished off Purdue in West Lafayette, another rival was battling not all that far away.

Michigan hosted Iowa in a clash of physical teams, with the Wolverines holding a late 19-14 lead.

With just two seconds remaining, Iowa hit a perfect back shoulder fade to rip the hearts out of the Wolverines faithful.

IOWA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/RyB7za10SS
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) September 26, 2026

From the Notre Dame perspective, it's never a bad time to see Michigan lose, and when it does so in spectaular fashion, it only gets that much better.

Michigan State Smoked by Nebraska

Another former annual rival, Michigan State, hosted its first Big Ten game of the regular season Saturday as Nebraska came to East Lansing. Nebraska put on a 17-point second-quarter barrage to extend the lead to 24-10 at halftime, and the defense swarmed in the second half, allowing just three points in the eventual 31-13 win.

Final pic.twitter.com/sB9G2t5wl5
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) September 27, 2026

Pat Fitzgerald might be the right guy for Michigan State, and it may return to being a threat in the Big Ten, but that's not happening this year and nobody in South Bend is disappointed.

Also helpful for Notre Dame, was Wisconsin beating No. 13 Penn State in Happy Valley.

Same Old USC Falls to Oregon

The reason USC is a perfect football rival for Notre Dame is because its as polar opposite as one could imagine.

That was again on display Saturday night in Los Angeles as the previously unbeaten Trojans played host to an Oregon team that has been disappointing to date.

The result? USC was again beaten up physically by Oregon over the course of 60 minutes and allowed 41 points in yet another loss on the big stage.

🦆 https://t.co/SDeL8Pul7c pic.twitter.com/YODU615JK4
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) September 27, 2026

Notre Dame and Oregon don't have much of a past, only meeting twice all-time and that being a half-century ago, but the two can certainly come together in their disdain for USC.

Another big game and another dud from Lincoln Riley - the guy who ran from the Notre Dame vs. USC rivalry.

Miami Wins - Which is Good

In a year that Miami wasn't on Notre Dame's schedule, the Hurricanes would be rooted against in nearly any game by Fighting Irish fans.

That's not the case this year as Miami comes to Notre Dame Stadium in early November, and all hope for both teams to be unbeaten that night.

Miami rolled Central Michigan with a 52-3 victory, moving to 4-0 on the young season.

It plays at Clemson, has an off week, hosts Florida State and Pittsburgh, and travels to North Carolina before heading to South Bend for what should be an epic showdown.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thoughts

Nothing in terms of wins and losses is more important than Notre Dame taking care of its own business, but when a Saturday gives you Michigan losing epically and USC getting worked in its own building after spending all off-season talking itself up like its 2004 again, you can't help but be happy.

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