By Jojo Doria

South Bend, IN

Notre Dame overcame three turnovers with a stellar defensive performance Saturday in a 31-13 victory over No, 15 Michigan State Saturday afternoon.

The Irish held the Spartans' running game in check en route to their first victory of the season.

Notre Dame (1-2) allowed just 29 yards on 22 rushes to Michigan State (2-1). The Spartans also helped the Irish's cause by committing 12 penalties for 85 yards.

The Irish took a 21-10 lead into the half thanks to Cierre Wood and special teams.

Wood ran for two scores in the first half and George Atkinson III had an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for Notre Dame. It was the first kickoff returned for a touchdown by a Notre Dame freshman since Raghib Ismail in 1988.

Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees had a pair of early turnovers but did throw a 26-yard scoring strike to T.J. Jones with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter to extend the lead to 28-10.

Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 329 yards. With the Spartans driving for a score late, Robert Blanton intercepted a Cousins inside th five yard line with 3:32 to play and returned it 82 yards to set up a field goal.

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Tough Defense Helps Notre Dame Top Michigan State