Saturday, September 15, 2012 08:00 PM (ET)

Recap: Notre Dame 20, Michigan State 3

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 15, 2012

No. 19 Notre Dame 20, No. 10 Michigan State 3:
Everett Golson passed for one touchdown and rushed for another and No. 19 Notre Dame stuffed the offense of No. 10 Michigan State in a showdown at East Lansing, Mich.

John Goodman made a spectacular one-handed 36-yard touchdown pass to help the Fighting Irish to their first 3-0 start since 2002 and snap the Spartans’ 15-game home winning streak.

Notre Dame frustrated the offense of Michigan State (2-1) throughout the contest and limited Spartans’ star Le’Veon Bell to 77 yards on 19 carries.

The Fighting Irish added a 29-yard field goal by Kyle Brindza to cap a fourth-quarter drive and take a 14-point lead with 6:21 left. Notre Dame took possession on its own 4-yard line and traveled 84 yards over 6 1/2 minutes.

All-American linebacker Manti Te’o, who had 12 tackles for his 20th career double-digit tackle game, recovered Bell’s fumble on Michigan State’s ensuing drive with 4:19 remaining and Brindza added a 47-yard field goal 61 seconds later.

Golson and Goodman got Notre Dame on the board with 10:34 left in the first quarter. Golson scrambled toward the right sideline and threw deep to the left before Goodman made a superb left-handed grab of the ball while being interfered with in the end zone by Michigan State safety Isaiah Lewis.

The Fighting Irish tacked on another touchdown with 10:50 left in the first half when Golson scored from 6 yards out to cap a five-play, 51-yard drive.

Michigan State tallied with 3:43 left in the half when Dan Conroy boomed a 50-yard field goal.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Te’o played despite double tragedies during the week. His grandmother passed away Tuesday because of an illness and his girlfriend died the following day due to leukemia. … Michigan State offensive tackle Fou Fonoti missed the contest after injuring a foot in Wednesday’s practice. … Notre Dame is 3-11 on the road against Top 10 programs over the past 16 seasons.
Covers 25 Years Logo Established in 1995,
Covers is the world
leader in sports
betting information.
Covers is verified safe by: Evalon Logo GPWA Logo GDPR Logo GeoTrust Logo Evalon Logo