Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football series renewal long overdue

It's back. After what has felt like an eternity, Michigan State football and Notre Dame will be matched up yet again in a couple of seasons as the two rivals announced a future home-and-home series in 2026 and 2027.

Michigan State announced the news on Twitter on Thursday afternoon.

This is one of those rivalries that was gone for too long and honestly the entire college football world should be glad it's back because there have been some classics in this series.

Flash back to the last time these two teams met and Brian Lewerke was under center and the Irish came to East Lansing a year after Michigan State went 3-9 with one of those three victories against Notre Dame in South Bend. Brian Kelly and the Irish were able to pull off the big road win and Michigan State fans expected another disappointing season, but they turned it around and won 10 games.

On that same theme, the Spartans lost a thriller in 2013 in South Bend and it looked like the season might be a disaster, but Michigan State turned it around and went 13-1 with a Rose Bowl win.

Oh, and how could we forget "Little Giants" back in 2010?

There's also the 1966 "Game of the Century" between Michigan State that ended in a 10-10 tie.

This series has needed a renewal for quite a while now and it's good to see that Jonathan Smith will get a crack at the Irish in a couple of years when his team is more put together. Maybe that home-and-home series will have a playoff feel to it.

We can only hope at this point.