Notre Dame Grinds Down Michigan State 27-10
Micah Gilbert caught eight passes for 170 yards and did not score. Notre Dame still beat Michigan State 27-10, because the Irish scored three rushing touchdowns, kicked two field goals and never threw a touchdown pass.
Spencer Porath opened the scoring with a 25-yard field goal early in the game, and Nolan James Jr. ran in from 2 yards to make it 10-0 late in the first quarter. Liam Boyd kicked a 32-yarder for Michigan State, Aneyas Williams scored from a yard out for 17-3, and Cam Fancher answered with a 15-yard run with 3:21 left in the half. That made it 17-10, and it was as close as the Spartans got. Notre Dame led from the first score to the last and was never tied.
The second half was a Porath field goal from 35 yards (20-10 entering the fourth) and a CJ Carr 3-yard run with 10:55 to play, and that was it. Michigan State did not score after the break, which means the last 30 minutes of the game produced ten points, all of them Notre Dame's.
The numbers behind it are plain. Notre Dame had 399 yards to 167, ran for 165 against 44, sacked the Spartans four times and threw no interceptions while Michigan State threw two. The Spartans passed for 123 yards in all and ran for just 44.
Notre Dame is 3-0 and Michigan State is 2-1. On the fantasy side, Gilbert's 25 points from catches alone led the game, with James right behind at 20.8 on 26 carries.