Michigan State, Notre Dame football series renewal is good news for the sport

The rivalry is back, folks. While it may not be the best rivalry out there, Michigan State and Notre Dame football matching up again is good for the sport.

Both schools announced a renewal of the Battle for the Megaphone on Twitter on Thursday. They will face for the first time since 2017 in 2026 down in South Bend before going up to East Lansing in 2027. It's hard to believe this will be the first matchup between the two former annual foes in a decade. There are sure to be fireworks.

These two rivals go back decades and while Notre Dame holds a healthy all-time lead, there have been some instant classics in recent years.

Looking back, the 2013 game was a thriller as Notre Dame took advantage of some, well, questionable pass interference calls to hand the Spartans their own loss of the season. Michigan State could have very well played for a national title that season if it wasn't for Notre Dame.

Before that, it was the 2010 "Little Giants" game in which the Spartans beat Notre Dame on a fake field goal in overtime to shock Brian Kelly's Irish. That was one of the most electrifying moments in the rivalry.

Even before that, Michigan State and Notre Dame played in the "Game of the Century" back in 1966 which ended in a 10-10 tie.

These two rivals make the sport more fun and it's just another great non-conference matchup that college football fans will be able to look forward to. Hopefully by 2026 Jonathan Smith will have turned things around and Marcus Freeman will be no stranger to the playoff.