Michigan State football 2026 game-by-game predictions: Notre Dame
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Michigan State football is right around the corner so it’s time to start predicting how the season will shake out for the Spartans.
Michigan State football is under new leadership this season, with Pat Fitzgerald set to take over as the next head coach. He will take over a program looking to get back on the winning side, with the Spartans in the midst of a four-year bowl drought. Can he get the job done and get the Spartans back to a bowl game this season? I have offered my thoughts on that in our game-by-game predictions segment on Spartans Wire.
We continue on with the next of my game-by-game predictions for each of the matchups on the Spartans’ 2026 schedule. Each morning a new prediction will be released following Michigan State’s schedule. Next up is the Spartans’ first road game of the season against rival Notre Dame…
Matchup Breakdown
Opponent: Notre Dame
Date: September 19, 2026
Location: Notre Dame Stadium (South Bend, Ind.)
Fun Fact About This Matchup
While Michigan State and Notre Dame have built up a heated rivalry over the years, these two programs strongly benefited each other when having trouble scheduling in the early 1900s. Rival Michigan worked behind the scenes to block Notre Dame from joining the Big Ten, and stalled then Michigan Agricultural College from joining the league for decades. Luckily for the Spartans, they were able to set up a regular scheduling agreement with Notre Dame. That agreement helped Michigan State build up more national recognition that eventually helped them land a spot in the Big Ten.
Where Things Stand Entering Matchup
MSU predicted record: 2-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Michigan State comes into this game off a pair of predicted wins over Mid-American Conference foes Toledo and Eastern Michigan. This will be the Spartans first true test of the year, with the Fighting Irish expected to contend for a national championship this fall.
Notre Dame should also be 2-0 coming into this matchup, and I quite frankly would be shocked if they weren’t. The Fighting Irish open the season with a neutral site game against Wisconsin and then play Rice in their home opener the week prior to the Spartans coming to town. They’ll be favored by more than three scores in each of those matchups and should be undefeated when Michigan State travels to South Bend.
Prediction
Prediction: Notre Dame wins 30-17
On a national primetime stage, I like Michigan State to hang around with Notre Dame for three quarters before the Fighting Irish pull away. The Spartans will force Notre Dame to three field goals as the Michigan State defense bends and doesn’t break for most of the game. But eventually, Heisman candidate CJ Carr hits a deep ball to push Notre Dame to a convincing lead they’ll never surrender.
Michigan State doesn’t win the game, but they show they’ll be more competitive under the new coaching staff and certainly will be in play to reach a bowl game this fall.
Next Up
Next on the game-by-game predictions list is the Spartans’ Big Ten opener against Nebraska. That prediction will be released tomorrow.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Michigan State football 2026 game-by-game predictions: Notre Dame
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