Relive Golden Tate’s Memorable Touchdown vs. Michigan State

The big news out regarding Notre Dame football on Thursday morning is that the Fighting Irish and Michigan State Spartans are renewing their once-annual rivalry in 2026 and 2027.

The meeting in 2026 will be played at Notre Dame with the return trip to East Lansing coming the following September.

Plenty of memories come to mind when you think of Notre Dame and Michigan State.  For fans of a certain age the legendary 1966 game is certainly the first.

For others it might be tim Brown putting on a show early in 1987 to kickstart his Heisman Trophy campaign.

For others it may be the misfortune of Notre Dame going 0-5 against the Spartans under Bob Davie, or perhaps the memorable comeback win in East Lansing in 2006.

My personal favorite memory of the Notre Dame-Michigan State series came in 2009, however.  Trailing 30-26 with just over five minutes to play, Jimmy Clausen placed a perfect ball in the hands of Golden Tate for the go-ahead score.

Tate’s momentum didn’t stop him however as he wound up diving straight into the Michigan State band in what will forever be an iconic Fighting Irish football photograph etched into my brain.

That stopped a two-game slide in the series for Notre Dame and will forever be one of the most memorable plays of Tate’s incredibly memorable career with the Fighting Irish.

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