​SOUTH BEND, IN – SEPTEMBER 19: Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Micah Gilbert (14) runs the ball after catching a pass during the game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on September 19, 2026 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images They always say to throw the records and the spread out of the window when it’s a rivalry game, but honestly, Notre Dame and Michigan State have been on such a long break — do the rules even apply here?Maybe and maybe not. Either way, the Irish came out on top for a 27-10 win to keep the Megaphone Trophy in South Bend.Regardless of the rivalry rules, Notre Dame got a fight from Michigan State on a rainy night in South Bend. It looked like Notre Dame was ready to blow this thing out of the water right from the start as CJ Carr hit Micah Gilbert for a 61 yard gain on the first play of the game, but the Irish couldn’t manage much more after that play and Spencer Porath was sent in to kick a field goal to put the Irish up 3-0. After the field goal, the Irish defense got a 3 and out to get the ball back, and Notre Dame went down the field for an insanely short 41 yard drive that ended with a short Nolan James touchdown run to go up 10-0.Sparty looked like they were about to implode as Luke Talich intercepted the first pass on the next MSU drive. BUT… Notre Dame found ways to make this as clunky as could be. After the interception, Notre Dame was looking at a three and out punt, but then opted to fake it with a run by Brayden Robinson — a play that came up a yard short because he cut inside instead of heading toward all of the green outside of a Flanigan block. Michigan State used that failed punt fake to muster enough offense to kick a field goal to make it 10-3. Notre Dame answered with a nice 75 yard drive that ended with a short Aneyas Williams touchdown run — which also resulted in a flag for excessive celebration. The short field it ended up giving Michigan State allowed them to drive down quickly on 2 plays for a touchdown of their own… and things got tight at 17-10.After almost a quarter of nothing in the 3rd, Notre Dame tacked on a field goal for some breathing room at 20-10. The next possession for Michigan State just saw them go backwards as the Irish forced a punt after two straight sacks to create a 4th and 32 down. CJ Carr and Micah Gilbert wasted little time as a couple of long passes to #14 put the Irish in scoring position, and Carr ran it in for his first rushing touchdown of the season to make the game 27-10 with a little less than 11 minutes left in the game. On Michigan State’s next possession, Adon Shuler picked off the first play of the drive, but the Irish missed out on an opportunity as they didn’t gain a first down and Spencer Porath missed his first field goal of the season.Notre Dame was able to stop MSU on the next drive and then run the cl