NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

For the first time since 2017, Notre Dame will square off with Michigan State. Their last meeting was in East Lansing and the Irish walked away with a 38-17 victory propelling their 2017 turnaround. Unfortunately, the last time these two met inside of Notre Dame Stadium, the Spartans walked away victorious with a 36-28 victory over the Irish in 2016. This Saturday night, Notre Dame and head coach Marcus Freeman have the opportunity to right that wrong under the lights, but they'll have to do it against a new-look Spartan team and first-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald in the battle for the Megaphone Trophy. 

Location: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)
Date: Saturday – September 19
Time: 7:30 PM
TV: NBC/Peacock
Line: Notre Dame -29.5; O/U 52.5

Let's kick off our preview of this matchup with an overview look at the Michigan State Spartans

HEAD COACH – PAT FITZGERALD

Overall Record: 112-101
Record at Michigan State: 2-0

First-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald is one of the most experienced coaches in the Big 10. He was at Northwestern from 2006 to 2022 before returning to the Big 10 this season to coach the Spartans. Fitzgerald has experience going to, and winning inside of Notre Dame Stadium. When he was the head coach for the Wildcats in 2014, they walked into Notre Dame Stadium and beat the struggling Fighting Irish 43-40 in over time in the middle of November. This stage won't be anything new to the coaching veteran. 

He'll be looking to do that with a rebuilt roster and a new-look coaching staff that features first year coordinators Nick Sheridan and Joe Rossi. They also brought in former Notre Dame linebackers coach Max Bullough who returned home to his alma mater earlier this offseason. Former Notre Dame receiver KK Smith is also now a member of the Spartans roster on offense. For the fourth year in a row, Michigan State has started the season 2-0, but it's what comes in the following weeks that derails their season. Fitzgerald took over a program that hasn't finished with a winning record since 2021 but looks to right the ship this season. 

Offensive Coordinator: Nick Sheridan (1st season)
Defensive Coordinator: Joe Rossi (1st season)

RICE 2026 SCHEDULE 

2026 STATISTICAL OVERVIEW

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Rushing: RB Cam Edwards – 48 att., 250 yards, 5.2 YPC, 3 TD; RB Jaziun Patterson – 10 att., 46 yards, 4.6 YPC, 1 TD; RB Marvin Parrish – 10 att., 39 yards, 3.9 YPC; RB Brandon Tullis – 4 att., 37 yards, 9.3 YPC

Passing: QB Alessio Milivojevic – 38-54, 70.4%, 417 yards, 7.7 YPA, 3 TD, 0 INT, 153.4 Rating

Receiving: WR Rodney Bullard Jr. – 10 rec., 116 yards, 11.6 YPC, 3 TD; TE Jayden Savoury – 8 rec., 99 yards, 12.4 YPC; WR Chrishon McCray – 10 rec., 79 yards, 7.9 YPC; WR Charles Taplin – 3 rec., 65 yards, 21.7 YPC, 1 TD; WR Fredrick Moore – 4 rec., 43 yards, 10.8 YPC, 1 TD; RB Cam Edwards – 3 rec., 36 yards, 12.0 YPC

Tackles: S Devin Vaught – 13; LB Brady Pretzlaff – 13; LB Dion Crawford – 7; DT Eli Coenen – 7; NB Michael Richard – 6; CB Tre Bell – 6; S Nikai Martinez – 6; CB Charles Brantley – 5; LB Caleb Wheatland – 5; DT Ben Roberts – 4

Tackles For Loss: DT Eli Coenen – 3.0; CB Tre Bell – 2.5; DE Kenny Soares Jr. – 1.5; LB Jordan Hall – 1.0; NB Michael Richard – 1.0; S Devin Vaught – 1.0 

Interceptions: DE Kenny Soares Jr. – 1

MICHIGAN STATE OVERVIEW

Michigan State has struggled over recent seasons and are shades of what they were at times in the Mark Dantonio era. The Spartans haven't finished the regular season with a winning record since 2021. Matter of fact, they haven't played in a post-season game since 2021 when they won in the Peach Bowl over the Pitt Panthers 31-21. Since then, they've gone a staggering 20-30 including the two wins this season. Fitzgerald and his staff were brought in to turn the program around. 

The Spartans brought in 29 transfer portal players to aid in their turnaround after losing 44 outgoing players. They were able to pick up some players in the portal who have experience at the P4 level like cornerback Charles Brantley who transferred in from Miami, linebacker/edge rusher Kenny Soares Jr. who came in from NC State and linebacker Caleb Wheatland who transferred in from Auburn. Will they be competing for the Big 10 title this season? Most likely not, but a turnaround in year one led by Fitzgerald would bode well for the Spartan's future. 

—— 

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER 

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @TTrow5
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos