Michigan State, Notre Dame Meet for First Time Since 2017 with Megaphone Trophy on the Line

Two unbeaten teams collide Saturday night in South Bend as Michigan State visits third-ranked Notre Dame in the first renewal of their long-running rivalry since 2017.

The Spartans arrive at 2-0 under first-year coach Pat Fitzgerald, having beaten Toledo 30-20 in the opener before pulling away from Eastern Michigan 35-7 last week, a game decided by 21 unanswered second-half points. Notre Dame is also 2-0 and has been dominant, opening with a 41-13 win over Wisconsin at Lambeau Field and following it with a 52-0 shutout of Rice.

Saturday’s game carries historical weight: it renews the competition for the Megaphone Trophy and arrives exactly 60 years after the programs’ famed 10-10 tie in the 1966 “Game of the Century.” The teams have met 79 times dating to 1897, with Notre Dame holding a 49-29-1 edge in the all-time series, though Michigan State has 14 wins in South Bend. The most recent meeting came in 2017, when the Fighting Irish won 38-18 in East Lansing.

How to watch

• TV: NBC, with Noah Eagle on play-by-play, Todd Blackledge as analyst and Kathryn Tappen on the sidelines
• Streaming: Peacock
• Radio: WJR-AM (760) in Detroit; Spartan Media Network
• Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
• Venue: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana

The broadcast lands on Comcast-owned NBC, whose shares closed at $23.02 previously and traded at $22.74, down 1.22%, giving the media and telecom company a market capitalization of roughly $92.5 billion. Peacock, NBC’s streaming platform, carries the game digitally as the network continues to feature marquee college football matchups in prime time.

Odds makers have installed Notre Dame as a heavy favorite, laying 29½ points in the first meeting between the programs in nearly a decade.

What to watch

• Whether Michigan State’s defense, which hasn’t allowed more than 20 points this season, can slow a Notre Dame offense averaging 46.5 points per game.
• How Fitzgerald’s Spartans handle their first road test and first ranked opponent of the season.
• Future scheduling between the two former longtime rivals, which had not met since 2017 prior to this game.

Source: original release