It wasn’t always pretty. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman will almost certainly be less than thrilled when he watches the game film, and the Fighting Irish head into their first practice after their 27-10 win over Michigan State. However, the Golden Domers are too good to let a team like the Spartans really stay in the game for all that long.
Notre Dame is now 3-0 and rolling exactly the way they need to stay on track for a berth in the College Football Playoff. So who stood out positively, and who stood out negatively, in Saturday night’s showdown between two old rivals?
4 winners and 2 losers from Notre Dame's businesslike win over Michigan State
Loser: Aneyas Williams
Aneyas Williams has had a rough go this season, and Saturday night was the culmination. He came into the game against Michigan State hearing his position coach talking about benching him, and then he struggled on the ground yet again. He finished with just 9 carries for 25 yards. He did score a touchdown, but Freeman yelled at him for his TD celebration, drawing a flag. Nolan James Jr. got the bulk of the carries in the second half.
Loser: Notre Dame’s special teams
Special teams have been hit-or-miss in the Marty Biagi era at Notre Dame, and they were pretty much a miss on Saturday. The Irish ran a fake punt on 4th and 14 that only got 12 yards in the first half. That allowed the Spartans to stay in the game. Then, poised to salt it away essentially, Spencer Porath missed a field goal that would have given his team a 30-10 lead. Coming into tonight, Porath was 5-for-5 on field goal attempts.
Winner: Micah Gilbert
Notre Dame has been looking for a receiver to break out opposite Jordan Faison. Gilbert had the best game of any Irish receiver this season, catching 8 passes for 170 yards. It was the first time an Irish wideout had 170+ yards receiving since Chase Claypool in 2017. Coming into tonight, Gilbert’s career high was 9 catches in a season. He’d never gotten 100 yards in a season, let alone a game.
Winner: Luke Talich
Luke Talich started his second straight game because Brauntae Johnson is still out with an injury, and he had plenty of success in that relief role. Talich had 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, and his first interception of the season. He was all over the field all night.
Winner: Nolan James Jr.
Nolan James Jr. has been coming on in recent weeks, but he may have won the starting job on Saturday night. Aneyas Williams seemed to frustrate the coaching staff in the first half, and James was the workhorse in the second half. In the game, he had 26 carries for 121 yards and a touchdown. 18 of those 26 carries came in the second half. He is also Notre Dame’s first 100-yard rusher of the season.
Winner: Notre Dame pass defense
The Notre Dame secondary seems to be the no-fly zone for opposing offenses. On Saturday night, they allowed Alessio Milivojevic to complete just 9 of 17 passes for 123 yards. He didn’t throw for a touchdown and 2 interceptions made it his first career multi-interception game.
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