No. 3 Notre Dame takes command in second half to beat Michigan State 27-10

CJ Carr threw for 234 yards and ran for a touchdown, Nolan James Jr. rushed for 121 yards and a score, and No. 3 Notre Dame took control in the second half to beat Michigan State 27-10

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- CJ Carr threw for 234 yards and ran for a touchdown, Nolan James Jr. rushed for 121 yards and a score, and No. 3 Notre Dame took control in the second half to beat Michigan State 27-10 on Saturday night.

It was the 13th straight victory dating to last season for the Fighting Irish — all by double digits. Coach Marcus Freeman broke the Notre Dame record for consecutive double-digit victories, exceeding the 12 by Knute Rockne from 1921-22.

Micah Gilbert had eight catches for 170 yards, the most yards for a Notre Dame receiver since 2019.

Carr's streak of 12 games with a passing touchdown ended, with the Fighting Irish (3-0) scoring all three TDs on short rushes.

Notre Dame outscored Michigan State 10-0 in the second half, limiting the Spartans (2-1) to 40 yards of offense over the final two quarters. Michigan State only had one play in Notre Dame territory in the second half, and a 9-yard sack sent the Spartans back into their own territory.

“It wasn’t perfect, as everybody saw, but it was a good victory and a hard-fought victory,” Freeman said. “Those are the type of victories that you’re going to have to win and find a way to win.”

Notre Dame punished the Spartans with four quarterback sacks, six tackles for loss and two interceptions, by Luke Talich and Adon Shuler.

“We make that a staple of our defense,” linebacker Drayk Bowen said. “We want to take the ball away. We want to be at least plus-two in every game. It’s intentional work in practice ... whether it’s a punch-out or we have a chance to intercept it.”

Carr's 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter made it 27-10. James scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter, and Aneyas Williams ran it in from 1 yard out with 4:46 left in the second.

Williams' TD made it 17-3, but the Spartans closed within 17-10 by halftime. Cam Fancher, who platooned with Alessio Milivojevic at quarterback, scored on a 15-yard scramble.

Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald said Notre Dame's quick start wounded the Spartans' chances for an upset.

“We had talked to them about avoiding the first-round knockout, and obviously we didn’t do a very good job of that, spotted them 10,” Fitzgerald said. “But we responded to that. We started moving the ball. We just sputtered. Credit Notre Dame. They have a darn good football team. We couldn’t give them the things we gave them and expect to win the game.

“I think we took a step today, from a maturity standpoint, but we did not from an execution standpoint.”