No. 22 Notre Dame holds off Michigan State

Scores

Final

(22) Notre Dame 17

(3-1)

Alerts

Coverage: NBC

3:30 PM ET, September 21, 2013

Notre Dame Stadium, NOTRE DAME, IN

		1	2	3	4	T
	MSU	0	7	3	3	13
#22	ND	3	7	0	7	17

Top Performers

Passing: T. Rees (ND) - 142 YDS, 1 TD

Rushing: C. McDaniel (ND) - 16 CAR, 40 YDS, 1 TD

Receiving: M. Kings Jr. (MSU) - 5 REC, 37 YDS, 1 TD

No. 22 Notre Dame gives first loss to Michigan State

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Associated Press

Adam Rittenberg interviews Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio talks about the Spartans' 17-13 loss to Notre Dame.Tags: Michigan State Spartans, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Mark Dantonio, Big Ten

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame took advantage of a trick play that backfired, as well as four pass interference calls and a holding penalty that kept drives alive, to defeat Michigan State for the third straight time.

More from ESPN.com

Tommy Rees had his worst game of the season and penalties plagued Notre Dame throughout the game, but the Irish recovered to take the win, writes Matt Fortuna. Blog

The end result looked dishearteningly similar for Michigan State. The Spartans need to stop beating themselves, writes Adam Rittenberg. Blog

The mistakes led to all of Notre Dame's points in the 17-13 victory, including two on the game-winning drive after a pass by Michigan State receiver R.J. Shelton led to an interception by safety Matthias Farley, setting up the go-ahead touchdown.

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said he couldn't ever recall so many defensive pass interference calls in one game.

"I've been coaching 30-plus years, no. Never," he said. "I guess that's where we should stop."

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said he wasn't surprised by the calls because of the number of long passes the Irish attempted.

"When you know the quarterback is going to throw it back shoulder, and the defensive back doesn't know where it is, you have an advantage in that situation," he said. "You're going to get some pass interference calls when you put the ball in a good position."

The costliest mistake, though, likely was the interception thrown by Shelton that shifted momentum Notre Dame's way after the Spartans were making progress against the Irish. Shelton threw into double coverage and Farley picked it off.

Dantonio said he called the trick play.

"I felt," he said, "like we needed a big play."

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The Spartans were called for two pass interference calls on the ensuing drive, allowing Notre Dame to maintain possession. The Irish, who continually passed, even on short running situations, scored moments later when Notre Dame appeared to surprise the Spartans with a call. Cam McDaniel raced into the end zone to take the 17-10 lead with 14:44 left to play.

The Irish (3-1) also took advantage of another questionable pass interference in the first half that set up a 2-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Rees to TJ Jones, and a holding penalty that kept alive a drive that led to a 41-yard field goal by Kyle Brindza. The Spartans (3-1) had 10 penalties for 115 yards by the Big Ten officials. But the Irish were flagged eight times for 86 yards.

"We've got to be able to handle those things," Dantonio said, "and play through the adversity."

Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard said the Spartans couldn't let the penalties affect them.

"In the end, we just got to make more plays to help the offense out," he said. "The refs call what they had to call. They thought it was pass interference. We got to continue to play."

The Spartans entered with the nation's No. 1 defense, allowing 50 yards a game rushing, and 127 passing. Michigan State's defense had also scored four touchdowns, which is also how many it had allowed. They stopped the Irish on the ground, holding them to 82 yards, and limited Rees to a season-low 142 yards passing. But it wasn't enough, as the rivalry was decided by a touchdown or less for the ninth time in the past 14 meetings.

Rees, who opened the season with three 300-yard passing games, was 14-of-34 passing.

"He just missed open receivers," Kelly said. "I mean, we had guys open. He just didn't hit them."

Rees said the Irish needed to attempt some long passes because of what the Michigan State defense was giving them.

"We want to hit those, and we hit a few of the early, but we missed a couple big ones," he said. "We found a way to get the ball in the end zone in the end, but we need to find a way to be more efficient."

Despite the offensive struggles, the Irish have now won 10 straight at home for the first time since 1999, when Bob Davie was coach. Notre Dame won 19 straight under Lou Holtz 1987-90.

Dantonio said the difference was the Spartans only managed one touchdown in four trips inside the red zone and missed a field goal.

"When you get into the red zone, you have to score touchdowns," he said. "You've got to score touchdowns in those situations."

Of course, Notre Dame had something to do with that. And Kelly was pleased with the overall defensive effort.

"Both defenses," he said, "really carried the day here today."

His was better.

Top 25 Overview

It was over when... Michigan State had a chance to tie the game in the fourth but settled for a FG. It couldn't get a drive going the rest of the way.

Gameball goes to... Cam McDaniel carried the ball 16 times for 40 yards, including a 7-yard TD in the fourth quarter that proved to be the decisive blow for the Irish.

Stat of the game... 201. Michigan State and Notre Dame combined for 201 penalty yards. The Spartans ranked up 10 flags, and the Irish had eight.

Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison

	MSU	ND
1st Downs	19	14
Total Yards	254	220
Passing	135	142
Rushing	119	78
Penalties	10-115	8-86
3rd Down Conversions	8-18	6-17
4th Down Conversions	1-2	0-1
Turnovers	1	0
Possession	30:38	29:22

Passing Leaders


Michigan State	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
Cook	16/32	135	4.2	1	0

Notre Dame	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
Rees	14/34	142	4.2	1	0

Rushing Leaders


Michigan State	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
Langford	14	68	4.9	0	11
Hill	13	34	2.6	0	7

Notre Dame	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
McDaniel	16	40	2.5	1	14
Atkinson III	6	23	3.8	0	10

Receiving Leaders


Michigan State	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
Fowler	3	39	13.0	0	19
Kings Jr.	5	37	7.4	1	12

Notre Dame	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
Robinson	3	54	18.0	0	24
Fuller	1	37	37.0	0	37

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTER				MSU	ND
	FG	03:48	Kyle Brindza 41 Yd	0	3
SECOND QUARTER				MSU	ND
	TD	07:43	Macgarrett Kings Jr. 12 Yd Pass From Connor Cook (Michael Geiger Kick)	7	3
	TD	00:17	TJ Jones 2 Yd Pass From Tommy Rees (Kyle Brindza Kick)	7	10
THIRD QUARTER				MSU	ND
	FG	06:21	Michael Geiger 25 Yd	10	10
FOURTH QUARTER				MSU	ND
	TD	14:44	Cam McDaniel 7 Yd Run (Kyle Brindza Kick)	10	17
	FG	10:40	Michael Geiger 42 Yd	13	17

ESPN College Football

Michigan St 13

(22) Notre Dame 17

No. 22 Notre Dame gives first loss to Michigan State

Adam Rittenberg interviews Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio

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Adam Rittenberg interviews Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio

VIDEO: MSU-Notre Dame postgame

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Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison

Passing Leaders

Rushing Leaders

Receiving Leaders

Scoring Summary