MSU senior safety Jason Harmon knows his school has dominated its rivalry with the Fighting Irish for the better part of a decade. That doesn't make the one blemish on his Notre Dame résumé any easier to stomach.
"My worst memory is knowing we had that game, we really had it won," he said. "That kind of sticks with me."
It was in Harmon's sophomore year that Notre Dame beat the Spartans, 21-17, on a touchdown pass with a little more than a minute remaining. MSU's loss in 2002 marks its sole defeat in the last seven years at the hands of the Irish.
"We're really winning the battle now against Notre Dame," Harmon said.
The confidence conveyed in Harmon's statement is typical of MSU players, Notre Dame head coach Tyrone Willingham said. It's a big reason why the Spartans have controlled the rivalry lately.
"Michigan State believes that it plays its best football against Notre Dame," Willingham said.
"When you are thinking a certain thought process and you have confidence in that thought process, you play to a certain manner, to a certain level. And I think for Notre Dame, that's the way Michigan State plays.
"And I would think that that belief has been passed on going back probably many, many years."
For many Spartans, the idea that MSU shines against Notre Dame is learned through the increased intensity of practices and coaches the week leading up to the game.
When redshirt freshman linebacker Kaleb Thornhill arrived at MSU, he had a more up-close perspective of MSU's success against Notre Dame than most incoming players. He used to watch his brother and former MSU linebacker Josh Thornhill beat the Irish.
Kaleb Thornhill said he remembers his older brother watching film on Notre Dame and the conversations they had after the game.
"How (MSU) kicked their butt because most of the time they beat them, of course," Kaleb Thornhill recalled.
Actually, the Spartans never lost to Notre Dame during Josh Thornhill's career, which spanned from 1998-2001.
After the first week of the season, it appeared a relatively weak Notre Dame team would visit East Lansing, giving MSU a good chance to continue its recent command of the series.
Coming off a disappointing 5-7 2003 campaign after winning 10 games the year before, Notre Dame lost to Brigham Young 20-17 two weeks ago. To his credit, Willingham rallied his team and led it to a surprising 28-20 win against No. 17 Michigan.
The win rejuvenated the Irish's young season and renewed a sense of confidence within the team. The Spartans have noticed the stakes have been raised for Saturday night's game.
"They're real serious right now, they have a lot of momentum," Harmon said. "We're happy about that, we're happy they won last week."
The Spartans see an opportunity to snatch some of that confidence with a win and use it throughout the season. Although both teams have identical records (1-1), Notre Dame's win against U-M dwarfs MSU's win against Central Michigan.
"It'd be great for us to knock them off and that'd be a huge win for us," senior place-kicker Dave Rayner said. "We could use their success and kind of boost ours."
Seizing that momentum by winning Saturday could play a big role in how the Spartans fare in the Big Ten this season. MSU plays Indiana (2-0) in its conference opener following Notre Dame.
"It could turn around a whole season," Harmon said of playing the Irish. "This is one of those games that kind of makes you or breaks you. It can give you a lot of confidence or it can break you down."
Deputy Sports Editor Jonathan Malavolti contributed to this report.
