Two of college football's biggest institutions meet in Week 3 as the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish renew their rivalry with the Michigan State Spartans in South Bend. This will be the first installment of the Battle for the Megaphone since 2017. Both teams enter with 2-0 records but the Irish are roundly regarded as true championship contenders and have a Heisman Trophy candidate under center in quarterback CJ Carr.
While the Spartans are on the right path to recover from a string of losing seasons, the Fighting Irish may very well give them their toughest test of the season. Michigan State and Week 3 college football at DraftKings and get $200 in bonus bets when you spend $5+: Anyone who wants to wager on Notre Dame vs. Michigan State in Week 3 needs to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.
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The Irish declined to partake in last season's bowl games after failing to be selected for the College Football Playoff. The team looks determined to not miss out a second time, having started with a 41-13 win over Wisconsin before bullying Rice 52-0. The meeting with Michigan State represents a second meeting with a lower-end Big Ten team in three outings.
Carr has been strong thus far, going 35-for-49 for 492 yards and six touchdowns. Leading receiver Jordan Faison has eight catches for 135 yards and two scores. While the Spartans don't necessarily represent too daunting an opponent for the Fighting Irish (as the heavy spread would indicate), Notre Dame does need to treat this rivalry game with real seriousness.
The toughest remaining opponents on Notre Dame's schedule are No. 11 BYU (away), No. 5 Miami (home) and No. 16 SMU (home). Notre Dame should be capable of beating all three, even though a trip to Provo is never easy. There isn't a Big Ten or SEC heavyweight in that group, which means the Playoff committee will want to see the Fighting Irish beating up on all of their unranked opponents.
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