ND beats Michigan State 31-24.

And I was there, thanks to the generosity of our neighbor from across the street, Sister Barbara. Sister Barbara works for the Archdiocese and thus is frequently in a position to offer things like football tickets to the novices (for another example, just last Saturday I and two of my confreres went to the Detroit Symphony thanks to Sister Barbara). The game was terrific - recap, play-by-play and other data available here. Novitiate house manager Chris Staab and I enjoyed what were literally front row seats, hardly six feet from the field. This was the first time I'd been to a Notre Dame away game, and it was much different from any home game. Somehow being massively outnumbered gave the Irish fans a distinctively different - and somehow much spunkier, if that's possible - spirit than they typically exhibit at home. Getting in and out of the stadium was a lot easier than on game day in South Bend - there was very little traffic, and Chris and I got to park for free in what seemed to be a farmer's field a mile or so from campus. (Yes, a farmer's field - East Lansing had a much more rural feel to it than I would've expected.) The MSU campus seemed fairly nondescript, though having now slogged through it I can appreciate what alumnus Father Dave Godleski once told me about its sheer massiveness. All in all, a great win for the Irish and a great night out for this Jesuit novice. AMDG.