Jason Onye of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish . Getty
Notre Dame takes the field against the Michigan State Spartans tonight without two defensive starters, testing a unit that has allowed just 13 points in two games.
Safety Brauntae Johnson and defensive tackle Jason Onye are both out for a second straight week, thinning a Fighting Irish rotation that must withstand a Michigan State offense built around a physical running game.
Johnson injured his left foot in the first half of Notre Dame's Sept. 6 win over Wisconsin, according to On3's Week 3 report. He will be out "a couple weeks," Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said, though Freeman expects Johnson back before the season ends.
Onye hurt his left ankle in that same Wisconsin game, sitting out a second straight start while Notre Dame rotates Boubacar Traore, Francis Brewu, Armel Mukam and Bryce Young along the interior.
GettyJason Onye of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Johnson has quickly become one of Notre Dame's most productive defensive backs. He started eight of Notre Dame's 10 games as a redshirt freshman in 2025, intercepting four passes, including a pick-six against Pittsburgh, and finishing with 48 tackles, according to career numbers logged by ESPN .
Luke Talich replaces him in the starting lineup, a bigger but less ball-hawking presence at safety. At least one national draft analyst slotted Johnson among the top 20 prospects at any position heading into the 2027 cycle, a projection that only sharpens the sting of another missed game.
Onye, a sixth-year senior from Rhode Island, missed most of the 2024 season before returning last year to post 26 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks over 12 games. The NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility.
Transfer wideout Quincy Porter , though not a starter, has yet to play a snap for the Irish since arriving from Ohio State in January, still working back from an August knee procedure, according to a South Bend Tribune report .
Notre Dame also lost reserve right tackle Owen Strebig to a concussion, a Thursday addition to the injury list, according to a Thursday update from Fighting Irish Wire . True freshmen Charlie Thom and Grayson McKeogh move up the depth chart behind him, though every starter on Notre Dame's offensive line remains available tonight.
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH — 2026 SCHEDULE
Date
Opponent
H/A
Time / Result
TV / W-L
Sun, Sep 6
Wisconsin *
Neutral
W 41-13
1-0 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 12
Rice
Home
W 52-0
2-0 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 19
Michigan State
Home
7:30 p.m.
NBC
Sat, Sep 26
@ Purdue
Away
11:00 AM
Peacock
Sat, Oct 3
@ North Carolina
Away
TBD
TBD
Sat, Oct 10
Stanford
Home
12:30 PM
NBC
Sat, Oct 17
@ #11 BYU
Away
TBD
TBD
Sat, Oct 31
Navy *
Neutral
9:00 AM
TBD
Sat, Nov 7
#5 Miami
Home
4:30 PM
NBC
Sat, Nov 14
Boston College
Home
12:30 PM
NBC
Sat, Nov 21
#16 SMU
Home
4:30 PM
NBC
Sat, Nov 28
@ Syracuse
Away
TBD
TBD
Times listed local to broadcast. * Game played at a neutral location.
Notre Dame opened as a massive favorite, with the spread sitting between 29 and 29.5 points and the moneyline as long as minus-10,000, according to odds compiled by CBS Sports .
Michigan State arrives 2-0 under first-year coach Pat Fitzgerald, leaning on running back Cam Edwards, who has already piled up 250 rushing yards and three touchdowns, according to a Bleacher Report preview of the matchup . Notre Dame's thinned interior defensive line will be tested directly if Edwards finds running lanes early.
Michigan State captain and linebacker Jordan Hall remains questionable with an elbow injury that already kept him out of the Spartans' win over Eastern Michigan, according to The State News ' reporting on Hall's status . If Hall sits again, Michigan State's communication on defense gets harder on a hostile first road trip.
Notre Dame's talent gap looks enormous on paper, with the Irish averaging 46.5 points while allowing 6.5. The margin for error along that defensive front is thinner than a 29-point spread suggests, with two starters unavailable and the depth chart already stretched.
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This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Notre Dame Injuries Today: Who's Out Against Michigan State and Why? appeared first on HEAVY .
