Michigan State rides 2-0 start into primetime road test at Notre Dame, airing on Comcast’s NBC

Michigan State football is unbeaten through two weeks, but head coach Pat Fitzgerald isn’t celebrating. The Spartans followed their season-opening win over Toledo on Sept. 4 with a 35-7 victory over Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 12 — a game that required more adjustment than the final score suggests, including a sluggish second quarter and sputtering offensive drives.

Now comes the real measuring stick: a Sept. 19 trip to fourth-ranked Notre Dame (2-0) in South Bend, Indiana. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on NBC, the broadcast home of Big Ten football and a marquee asset for Comcast Corporation. NBC’s college football package is part of Comcast’s broader Media segment, which spans the NBC broadcast network, Peacock streaming, and cable properties. Comcast shares traded at $25.20 in recent action, up 0.6% from a previous close of $25.05, with a market capitalization of roughly $92.5 billion. High-profile Big Ten matchups on NBC’s airwaves have become a regular feature since the conference’s latest media-rights cycle, giving the company weekly national windows during the fall.

For the Spartans, the emphasis this week is on cleaning up the lapses that were survivable against Mid-American Conference opponents but could prove costly against an elite Irish team. Fitzgerald highlighted one critical moment against Eastern Michigan: facing fourth-and-11 at the Eagles’ 35, he kept the offense on the field rather than attempting a long field goal. Sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic rolled right and hit receiver Charles Taplin for 19 yards to extend the drive. After a false start, running back Cam Edwards punched in a 1-yard touchdown on a direct snap — the first of his two scores on the day.

“I’m in no way, shape or form satisfied with where we’re at,” Fitzgerald said after the game, stressing that his team cannot afford a lull or get outphysicaled against Notre Dame.

The game marks Michigan State’s first road contest of the season and its final nonconference matchup before Big Ten play begins.

What to watch

• Michigan State’s Sept. 19 kickoff at Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC) — the Spartans’ first road game and last nonconference date.
• Whether Milivojevic builds on the fourth-down conversion momentum against tougher competition.
• NBC/Peacock viewership figures for the primetime window, a data point for Comcast’s sports-rights strategy as the season progresses.

Source: original release