The wait will be over for Gholston and the rest of the No. 13 MSU football team in two days when the Spartans take the field against No. 24 Boise State (8:00 p.m., ESPN).

For cornerback Johnny Adams, the opportunity to play under the lights on national television against a ranked team with the new scoreboards shining throughout the night is the type of experience that made his decision to turn down the NFL and come back for his senior season worth it.

“Me, personally, I’m excited to play football again,” Adams said. “I get to come back and play with some of the guys that I love playing with.”

The excitement of a high-profile season opener isn’t lost on head coach Mark Dantonio, who admitted to being a little “stir crazy,” in anticipation of a new season.

Regularly stressing the necessity of taking one game at a time, Dantonio said part of the energy comes from the year’s first game being the beginning of a new challenge.

“We expect to be good; we know what we’re doing,” Dantonio said. “Our confidence level is very high, our chemistry is very good, (and) I think winning does that for you. … We’re always trying to get better and (look) at the next challenge. The next challenge is Boise.”

After months of working through a difficult camp, sophomore center Travis Jackson said the team has grown close and is excited for the opportunity that lies ahead.

“We’ve really come together,” Jackson said. “We came in here with a lot of positions being new guys, especially on the offense, and just watching the team grow together over camp and in this past week has been a really fun thing to watch.”

The Spartans will have seven new starters on offense after the loss of captains Kirk Cousins and Joel Foreman to graduation, among others.

Redshirt freshman Jack Allen is in line to replace Foreman at guard and Fou Fonoti, Allen’s roommate, said his fellow offensive lineman is ready to step in and deliver.

“With him never playing guard and coming out here and having such a great camp has really been reassuring to us,” Fonoti said.

“I can see it in his eyes that he’s very excited. His preparation’s there, he knows what’s ahead of him and everything that he has on his plate, but the excitement’s there … and all of us want to go out there and play for each other.”

In light of the significant turnover from last season’s starting offense, the expectations have been raised for junior running back Le’Veon Bell, who will take on the bulk of the carries for the first time in his career.

The responsibility is one Bell said he relishes as a competitor and one of the offense’s most experienced players.

“The game has really slowed down for me, (and) I’m seeing things before the play even starts now,” Bell said. “I know I’ve got to make plays, (and) that’s something I’m prepared to do. I want to do whatever it takes for us to win games. I’m a competitor, and that’s my nature.”

And although the goals of a second-consecutive Legends Division championship and another shot to get back to the Rose Bowl loom overhead, Jackson said the atmosphere of Friday night will be a special moment he won’t soon forget.

“It’s really awesome to have a nationally televised game on a Friday night, there’s not really anyone else playing, and against a team like Boise State,” he said. “You grew up seeing them on every headline in college football and getting to play against a team like that is just really exciting, especially for our first game in our opener.”