Notre Dame vs Michigan State - Matchups To Watch, Game Wreckers, Keys To Victory

We're half way through the week which means we're one day closer to Notre Dame kicking off their first night game inside of Notre Dame Stadium in the 2026 season. The Irish host the Michigan State Spartans in a rivalry renewed this Saturday night. Today on the Irish Breakdown podcast, we talk about the matchups that matter, the potential game wreckers for this matchup and the keys to victory for the Fighting Irish. We also previewed the Week 3 slate of college football. 

Part 1 - Ends 0:20:39

To kick off today's show, we talked about Notre Dame's home-and-home series that they scheduled with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2032 and 2033. These two blue-bloods haven't met on the gridiron since 2001. 

Part 2 - Ends 0:52:18

In part two of today's show, we started off by talking about the matchups that matter in the battle for the Megaphone Trophy. Notre Dame has to be dominant on both sides of the ball, specifically in the trenches. 

Part 3 - Ends 1:21:02

In part three of today's show, we break down the game wreckers on both offense and defense for the Fighting Irish. Offensively, there's key players that have to set the tone and potentially battle through some adverse weather conditions. Defensively, they'll have to stop a prominent rushing attack. 

Part 4 - Ends 1:54:07

In part four of today's show, we list our keys to victory on offense and our keys to victory on defense for Notre Dame in their matchup with the Michigan State Spartans. Starting fast on both sides of the ball and dominating the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense will be key in this game. 

Part 5 - Remainder Of Show

For the remainder of today's show, we break down the Week 3 slate of college football. Finally, we get some big time matchups with multiple ranked vs ranked games. We also run through the games of the week, the most underrated matchups, the Heisman race and teams on upset alert.