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Notre Dame and Michigan State clash for the 80th time in their historic series and first since 2017 on Saturday afternoon in South Bend. The 2026 season also marks the 60th anniversary of the famous 10-10 tie between #1 Notre Dame and #2 Michigan State in 1966, with the Fighting Irish going on to win Ara Parseghian’s first national title that year. 

SERIES HISTORY

Notre Dame leads the all-time series with Michigan State 49-29-1, with the Fighting Irish having won 4 of the past 5 matchups. This will be Marcus Freeman’s first game against the Spartans as this series fell off the schedule following Notre Dame’s 2017 victory in East Lansing. Former Irish head coach Brian Kelly went 3-2 against Michigan State during his tenure. 

Just 2.5 hours separate the campuses, so it’s no surprise that the Irish and Spartans kicked off their gridiron rivalry all the way back in 1897. Michigan State also continued to play Notre Dame during the early 1900s despite Michigan head coach Fieldling Yost’s attempt to organize a Western Conference boycott of the Fighting Irish program. The schools’ respective alumni clubs introduced the Megaphone Trophy in 1949 to commemorate the shared history between the two programs, cementing the Spartans as one of Notre Dame’s traditional rivals. 

After the establishment of the Megaphone Trophy, the Irish and Spartans met every year on the gridiron from 1949-2013 with the exception of 1953, 1958, 1995, and 1996. Notre Dame had won 15 of the first 17 matchups in the early years of the series, but Michigan State took control of the rivalry in the mid-20th century, winning 11 of 12 games between 1950 and 1963 during the best stretch of Spartan football history. Following the famous 10-10 tie, the Irish seized back control of the series, dominating the 1970s through the mid-1990s, but in recent history, things have been very even with each team winning 8 matchups since 2000.

There are some familiar faces on the opposing sideline in this one. First-year Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald took over in East Lansing following a decorated career as both a player and coach at Northwestern. Fitzgerald had 11 tackles in Northwestern’s 1995 victory at Notre Dame and then went 1-1 against the Irish as a coach, with Northwestern taking down Notre Dame 43-40 during in 2014 before the Irish returned the favor in 2018. One of Fitzgerald’s first moves after taking over at Michigan State was to bring over former Notre Dame linebacker coach (and former MSU linebacker) Max Bullough as co-defensive coordinator. Bullough coached at Notre Dame from 2023-2025, a stretch during which the Irish finished 5th, 11th, and 22nd nationally in total defense, played for a national title, and saw its linebacker room transform from a scrappy, blue collar group that achieved more than the sum of its parts into one of the most athletic and fearsome units in the county. Additionally, former Notre Dame tight end coach John McNulty is in his first season as the Spartan quarterback coach. 

Marcus Freeman has also made the state of Michigan a big focus of Fighting Irish recruiting efforts. Notre Dame currently has 5 players from Michigan, headlined of course by starting quarterback CJ Carr. Notre Dame signed 3 offensive linemen in the 2026 recruiting class (Ben Nichols, Sullivan Garvin, and Gregory Patrick), and a convincing win over the Spartans will continue to help the Irish on the recruiting trail in the state. 

RESULTS SINCE 2000

2017 – Notre Dame 38,Michigan State 18 (Away)
2016 –Michigan State 36, Notre Dame 28 (Home)
2013 – Notre Dame 17,Michigan State 13 (Home)
2012 – Notre Dame 20, Michigan State 3 (Away)
2011 – Notre Dame 31,Michigan State 13 (Home)
2010 –Michigan State 34, Notre Dame 31 (Away)
2009 – Notre Dame 33,Michigan State 30 (Home)
2008 –Michigan State 23, Notre Dame 7 (Away)
2007 –Michigan State 31, Notre Dame 14 (Home)
2006 – Notre Dame 40,Michigan State 37 (Away)
2005 – Michigan State 44, Notre Dame 41 (Home)
2004 – Notre Dame 31, Michigan State 24 (Away)
2003 – Michigan State 22, Notre Dame 16 (Home)
2002 – Notre Dame 21,Michigan State 17 (Away) 
2001 –Michigan State 17, Notre Dame 10 (Home)
2000 –Michigan State 27, Notre Dame 21 (Away)

NOTABLE GAMES

2017 – Notre Dame 38, Michigan State 18

Notre Dame improved to 3-1 with a dominant 38-18 win on the road in East Lansing. QB Brandon Wimbush rushed for a score on the opening drive and CB Julian Love returned an interception for a touchdown on the ensuing possession to give Notre Dame a 14-0 lead less than 5 minutes into the game. The Irish extended their lead to 28-7 by halftime with 2 second quarter scores from RB Dexter Williams. Michigan State would eventually roll up 496 total yards and outgain the Irish by almost 150 yards, but the Spartans were undone by 3 turnovers and 9 penalties. The Irish would win the next 5 games to improve to 8-1 before getting blown out at #7 Miami to end the team’s national title aspirations. 

2016 – Michigan State 36, Notre Dame 28

After dropping a heartbreaker in double overtime at Texas to start the season, Notre Dame appeared to have steadied the ship with a blowout win over Nevada. A sloppy performance against Michigan State under the lights was a harbinger of things to come, though. Michigan State extended its lead to 36-7 with a 73-yard touchdown run by Gerard Holmes before the Irish offense finally woke up. QB Deshone Kizer engineered 3 consecutive touchdown drives to cut the deficit to 36-28 with 6:02 remaining, but after the teams traded 3-and-outs, Notre Dame never got the ball back again. As was often the case in the abysmal 2016 season, Notre Dame’s defense was shredded, giving up 501 total yards, including 260 on the ground. On offense, the Irish turned the ball over 3 times and rushed for just 57 yards. The 38-35 loss to Duke the following week proved the end of the Brian Van Gorder era in South Bend, but the damage was already done en route to a 4-8 finish. 

2013 – Notre Dame 17, Michigan State 13

With season-long suspensions of five Notre Dame players placing a pall over the program following the blowout loss in the 2012 national championship game, the Irish were sloppy in the opener, lost on the road to Michigan, barely survived on the road at Purdue, and hosted Michigan State on a sleepy Saturday afternoon in South Bend. In an ugly game, Notre Dame took advantage of 115 yards of Michigan State penalties and a Matthias Farley interception of a Michigan State trick play to outlast Michigan State 17-13. The Irish would go onto finish 8-4 but much to everyone’s surprise, Michigan State ripped off 10 consecutive victories to close the season ranked third in the country, including a win over #2 Ohio State in the Big Ten title game and victory over Stanford in the Rose Bowl. 

2012 – Notre Dame 20, Michigan State 3 

#20 Notre Dame upset #10 Michigan State in East Lansing, spurred by an emotional performance from linebacker Manti Te’o, who had lost both his grandmother and what he thought was his girlfriend on the same day earlier that week. Te’o had a career-high 12 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery, and 2 pass breakups to lead an Irish defense that held Le’Veon Bell and the Michigan State rushing attack to just 50 yards. QB Everett Golson completed just 44% of his passes but did not turn the ball over and accounted for 2 touchdowns, and the Irish rushing attack ground out 122 physical yards. The Irish continued to rack up wins, finishing the 2012 season undefeated and ranked #1 in the country before falling to #2 Alabama in the national championship. 

2010 – Michigan State 34, Notre Dame 31 

Michigan State stunned Notre Dame in overtime with a gutsy fake field goal for the walk-off win. With Notre Dame leading 31-28 and facing a 46-yard field goal to send the game to double overtime, Spartan coach Mark Dantonio called his “Little Giants” play, and holder Aaron Bates found tight end Charlie Gantt for the touchdown. The loss spoiled a brilliant performance from Irish QB Dayne Crist, who threw for 369 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Irish would fall to 1-3 in Brian Kelly’s debut season the following week with a 37-14 loss to Stanford but rallied to win 7 of the last 9 games to finish 8-5.

2006 – Notre Dame 40, Michigan State 37 

One week after #2 Notre Dame was upset at home by Michigan, the Irish outlasted the Spartans 40-37 on the road. Michigan State raced out to a 31-14 halftime lead, but the Irish outscored MSU 26-6 in the second half. QB Brady Quinn threw for 319 yards and 5 touchdowns but the Irish still trailed before CB Terrail Lambert intercepted Spartan QB Drew Stanton with 2:53 remaining and returned it for the game-winning touchdown. The Irish went on to rip off wins in the next 7 games before falling at #3 USC in the season finale and losing to #4 LSU in the Sugar Bowl. 

2005 – Michigan State 44, Notre Dame 41 

Michigan State upset #10 Notre Dame in double overtime despite 487 passing yards and 5 touchdowns from Irish QB Brady Quinn. In head coach Charlie Weis’s home opener, Notre Dame overcame a 21-point deficit to force overtime and took a 41-38 lead in the second period before RB Jason Teague gave the Spartans the victory win a touchdown run. After the game, Michigan State players planted a flag in Notre Dame Stadium turf, one of the enduring symbols of this rivalry. The Irish recovered to win 7 of the next 8 games before falling to #4 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. 

1988 – Notre Dame 20, Michigan State 3

Notre Dame dominated Michigan State 20-3 in East Lansing to improve to 2-0 on the 1988 season. Despite injuries to Braxston Banks and Anthony Johnson, a physical Irish rushing attack ground out 245 rushing yards, led by Mark Green and Tony Brooks. LB Michael Stonebreaker keyed the Notre Dame defense with a pick-six, and Rocket Ismail made an impact on special teams, not in the return game but by blocking a Spartan punt. Notre Dame would finish the 1988 season undefeated and defeat #3 West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl for the program’s most recent national title.  

1987 – Notre Dame 31, Michigan State 8

One week after taking down #9 Michigan in Ann Arbor, #9 Notre Dame blew out #17 Michigan State in South Bend. WR Tim Brown announced his presence to the nation, returning punts for touchdowns on back-to-back possessions. The Irish would reach as high as #4 in the rankings but drop the last 3 games of the season to finish #22. Still, Brown would capture the program’s most recent Heisman Trophy, finishing with 846 receiving yards, 144 rushing yards, 401 punt return yards, 456 kickoff return yards, and 8 total touchdowns. 

1977 – Notre Dame 16, Michigan State 6

After the stunning upset loss at Ole Miss in Week 2, Notre Dame had no margin for error the rest of the way. The #14 Fighting Irish improved to 3-1 with a sloppy 16-6 victory over Michigan State in South Bend. QB Joe Montana completed just 8 of 23 passes and threw 3 interceptions, but a terrific defensive performance carried the Irish to victory. Bob Golic had 18 tackles and Ross Browner had 11, and the Irish also picked off 4 Spartan passes. After a well-deserved bye week, Notre Dame dispatched Army 24-0 before the famed Green Jersey game against #5 USC galvanized the team. Notre Dame would win out and take down #1 Texas 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl, jumping from #5 to #1 to win Dan Devine’s only national title in South Bend. 

1973 – Notre Dame 14, Michigan State 10

After starting 2-0 with easy victories over Northwestern and Purdue, Notre Dame found itself in a fourth quarter dogfight with Michigan State after the Spartans returned an interception for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-10. With Michigan State driving deep into Irish territory, Notre Dame defensive back Mike Townsend made a crucial interception to seal the victory. The Fighting Irish went on a tear from there, with a 9-point win over #6 USC being the only victory by single digits until the 24-23 triumph over #1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to win the national title. 

1966 – Notre Dame 10, Michigan State 10

In arguably the most famous – and one of the most controversial – games in college football history, #1 Notre Dame traveled to East Lansing to face #2 Michigan State. In 1965, Michigan State had defeated Notre Dame en route to a shared national championship and had eyes on another. Notre Dame was already without star running back Nick Eddy, and also lost starting quarterback Terry Hanratty in the first quarter to injury. Backup quarterback Coley O’Brien kept the Irish in the game, and the defense forced three Spartan turnovers. The controversy arrived late in the fourth quarter, as with the ball on his own 30-yard line and 1:24 left, Ara Parseghian chose to play conservatively, run the ball, and preserve the 10-10 tie, which resulted in the Irish maintaining the #1 ranking. The following week, Notre Dame would rout USC 51-0 and win Parseghian’s first national title.

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