Spartans Prepare For Road Test At Notre Dame

Sept. 14, 2011

By Steve Grinczel, Online Columnist

Since the time someone with a hammer and chisel started keeping track of wins and losses on the first hunk of clean slate, an outstanding record never produced a victory.

Case in point: Michigan State's 17-game win streak against Minnesota from 1977-97 didn't prevent the Spartans from losing to the Golden Gophers in '98.

So, if MSU wins at Notre Dame Saturday, it won't be because it has won six of the last seven games in South Bend or because it has a 10-4 overall mark against the Fighting Irish in the last 14 seasons.

What having the upper hand in the win-loss columns will do, however, is provide MSU with a psychological boost instead of a potential mental block that has to be overcome in addition to all the other barriers that naturally stand in the way of winning.

"It doesn't do anything but give us confidence," said senior wideout Keshawn Martin, who is 2-1 against the Irish. "We know we can beat these guys. We know we can play with them."

A year ago, Michigan State and Notre Dame were deadlocked for 60 minutes. The Irish took a three-point lead in overtime, but the Spartans countered with a game-winning touchdown off a dramatic fake field goal that entered the term "Little Giants" into the college football lexicon.

That was confidence in full bloom.

In '09, MSU was driving for what might have been the game-winning touchdown - or at least an overtime-forcing field goal - when then-sophomore quarterback Kirk Cousins' ill-advised pass was intercepted at the 4-yard line with 57 seconds remaining in what ended up as a 33-30 loss.

Perhaps a lack of confidence in the deepest recesses of Cousins' mind manifested itself on that play.

"He had one bad pass at the end of the game where he forced it," said Coach Mark Dantonio. "When you talk about football being a game of inches (the MSU-Notre Dame series) is really the epitome of that because these games can swing one way or the other and so many have been like that.

"It's a game of inches and an attention to detail and all the little things that make a difference."

If confidence can eliminate one instance of doubt or uncertainty by a player, or players, during a key play then its importance can't be overstated. That's why Dantonio, who is 7-1 overall as the MSU head coach (3-1) and an assistant (4-0) against the Irish, won't downplay the Spartans' recent success at Notre Dame.

"We'll speak to that," he said. "I think you have to speak to your successes and try to build on your successes. We want to have our players have confidence when we go down there. The fact we've won down there before gives us confidence."

The 2-0 Spartans also have momentum on their side from improving greatly on their lackluster victory over Youngstown State with a near-perfect performance in the 44-0 shutout of Florida Atlantic.

Dantonio is aware that at 0-2, Notre Dame likely will be approaching the game from a different perspective. The Irish could be reeling and demoralized after playing well enough against South Florida and Michigan to be undefeated.

Michigan State can't take that for granted, however, and has to assume Notre Dame's resolve will be equal to MSU's, even if its genesis is different.

"You can flip it the other way, too," Dantonio said. "You challenge yourself if you've not had success in certain situations. I think it can go both ways. My feeling is, they don't really care that we're 2-0.

"I just know that within a team, you have to get yourself ready to go. There's a lot of gray area and a lot of things that can go wrong on either side. But I think the motivation for both teams will be just fine. I've never seen Notre Dame not play hard."

No team has done a better job of handling the Notre Dame Stadium mystique than Michigan State, which with 13 wins is tied with Southern California for the most wins there by an opponent.

The Irish have to know they won't be facing a MSU team with stars in its eyes.

"Going into a big game like Notre Dame, we're comfortable with ourselves and comfortable with different game plans," said sophomore middle linebacker Max Bullough.

The Spartans also understand that as great as "Little Giants" was a year ago, it will in no way impact the outcome of this game.

"Playing a team you've beaten is always going to give you confidence," said junior nose tackle Anthony Rashad White. "But, that's in the past. We've got to worry about this year and if we come prepared we can beat them again."