# Third & Gold: Jessica Smetana on expectations for Notre Dame, revisiting the Michigan State rivalry

An episode of [Notre Dame football with Eric Hansen & Tyler James](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1603749412), 17 Sep 2026, 1 h 09 min.

Audio: https://mgln.ai/e/256/injector.simplecastaudio.com/d9fe9384-e0fe-4378-bc6b-e8dba55b098e/episodes/358d475e-8ec4-4049-bd26-2023cc23af54/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=d9fe9384-e0fe-4378-bc6b-e8dba55b098e&awEpisodeId=358d475e-8ec4-4049-bd26-2023cc23af54&feed=_ttSvT_E

Jessica Smetana, a Notre Dame graduate and podcast cohost of The Echoes and College Football Happy Hour, discusses her expectations for the Irish this season, handling overreactions, the biggest concern in ND's offense, where Michigan State fits among ND's rivals, the buzz building for Miami-Notre Dame, predictions for the end of the season and more. Then Eric Hansen and Tyler James answer questions from X/Twitter and The Lou Somogyi Board (32:30). Check out The Echoes: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEchoesNDpod Check out College Football Happy Hour: https://www.youtube.com/@CFBHappyHour 📌 Subscribe for weekly Notre Dame football analysis, interviews and updates — all year long. 💸New BlueandGold.com subscribers: Sign up for an annual subscription and get your first week for just $1! https://www.on3.com/teams/notre-dame-fighting-irish/join/?utm_source=publisher&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=subscriber_referral&ref=1041164 📗Order BGI's new book — The Gold Standard: The Best of Notre Dame Football, 1976–2025 — here: https://bluegoldonline.com/store/The-Gold-Standard-The-Best-of-Notre-Dame-Football-1976-2025-p838457929 👀 Tune in Monday at 7 p.m. EDT for the next edition of Football Never Sleeps on the Blue & Gold YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NotreDameFightingIrish Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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