Michigan State heads to Notre Dame with unbeaten start, unresolved questions

EAST LANSING — Michigan State’s football program is 2-0 under coach Pat Fitzgerald, but the early-season record masks plenty of work the second-year coach says remains undone. The Spartans beat Eastern Michigan 35-7 on Sept. 12, yet the victory required more mid-game correction than Fitzgerald anticipated, and the competition level is about to rise sharply.

Next up is the team’s first road trip of the season and its final nonconference matchup: a visit to fourth-ranked Notre Dame (2-0) in South Bend on Sept. 19, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. on NBC, part of the network’s Big Ten package. NBC is owned by Comcast Corporation (CMCSA), whose shares traded at $25.20 on Monday, up 0.6% from a previous close of $25.05, giving the media and telecom company a market capitalization of roughly $92.5 billion.

Fitzgerald was candid after the Eastern Michigan win about the risk of a flat performance against a Mid-American Conference opponent with a marquee game looming.

“This is easily a letdown game for a team with a lack of maturity or a lack of focus and discipline,” he said, adding that he was “in no way, shape or form satisfied” and that his team “can’t allow a lull to happen” and cannot be “outphysicaled.”

That lull showed up in the second quarter against the Eagles. The Spartans’ offense again bogged down after crossing midfield — an issue that also surfaced in the Sept. 4 opener against Toledo. Facing fourth-and-11 at the EMU 35, Fitzgerald kept his offense on the field rather than attempting a long field goal. Sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, who had thrown two incompletions on the drive — one nearly intercepted — and lost a yard on a screen to running back Marvis Parrish, rolled right and hit receiver Charles Taplin for 19 yards and a first down. A false start followed, but five plays later Cam Edwards scored on a 1-yard direct-snap run, the first of his two touchdowns on the day.

Fitzgerald noted that the way the Spartans prepared during the week carried through to Saturday’s result, and expressed confidence that the team avoided a trap-game outcome despite the offensive inefficiency.

The stakes change considerably in South Bend. Eastern Michigan fell to 1-2 with the loss, while the Irish bring a 2-0 mark and a top-five ranking. Any of the mistakes that proved survivable against MAC opponents — stalled drives, penalties, lulls in physicality — figure to be far more costly against a contender.

What to watch

• Whether Michigan State’s offense sustains drives against Notre Dame after repeated mid-game stalls against Toledo and Eastern Michigan.
• Milivojevic’s efficiency on the road in his first marquee nonconference start.
• Edwards’ role in the run game after his two-touchdown performance.
• NBC’s broadcast window as part of Comcast’s college football schedule on Sept. 19.

Source: original release