Notre Dame Hosts Michigan State Under The Lights With A Very Familiar Head Coach

The Irish look to get to 3-0 against a program with which it shares a great history, and that has a head coach who's beaten Notre Dame as both a player and coach

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman leads his team onto the field before a NCAA football game against Rice at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, in South Bend. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Notre Dame and Michigan State share a tremendous amount of history together. From the famous 1966 battle to the fourth-quarter Irish comeback in 2006, up through the "little giants" play and the infamous run game and defensive battles through the Dantonio years, the Irish and the Spartans are very familiar with one another.

This year's battle for the Megaphone Trophy includes an extra layer of intrigue as Pat Fitzgerald begins his Michigan State tenure as one of the few men who can say he's beaten the Irish as both a player and a head coach. The Irish enter this contest as huge favorites and have some specific goals to accomplish Saturday evening.

Notre Dame's defense is playing fast and physical

The Irish defense is playing lights out to start the 2026 campaign. Through two games, the Irish are allowing just 6.5 points per contest while displaying terrific depth. I fully expect this trend to continue against the Spartans as this matchup plays right into Notre Dame's strengths.

In both of the first two games against Wisconsin and Rice, the opposing quarterbacks were running threats. The Irish defense had to adjust to this by playing more zone coverage and by protecting the edges of the line of scrimmage should the quarterback decide to keep the ball and run wide.

Michigan State's signal-caller Alessio Milivojevic is much more of a traditional-style quarterback who isn't going to look to take off. This plays right into Notre Dame's hands.

The Irish can play more man coverage, which they're great at, and pin their ears back to rush the passer without worrying as much about losing that edge. I expect moving the ball and scoring touchdowns to be a real challenge for Michigan State in this ballgame. Clear advantage, Irish.

Game week

Battle for the Megaphone Trophy

🆚 Michigan State
📍 South Bend, Indiana
📆 Saturday, Sept. 19
⏰ 7:30 PM ET
📺 NBC | Peacock#GoIrish☘️ | @tirerack pic.twitter.com/LsUKQEwqsZ

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 14, 2026

The Irish offense has clear goals in mind for the Michigan State battle

As for the Irish offense, it's still very much a work in progress. One goal, one that has been a hot topic of conversation this week amongst the fan base, is improvement in the Irish run game.

The Notre Dame offensive line is still building towards what it eventually hopes to be and is in the process of early-season "gelling".

At the same time, running back coach Ju'Juan Seider is still trying to establish the best back rotation to use play-to-play, series-to-series, and game-to-game. The Irish hope to see progress in this regard against the Spartans.

Regarding the Irish pass game, it's clear that CJ Carr is ready to open up the playbook, but Mike Denbrock is opting for more of a slow build as the receivers gain confidence and hope to find more consistency in their performances.

I expect the Irish to take positive steps in all phases against a rebuilding program with a new head coach. It should be a fun night in South Bend this Saturday for the Irish faithful.