1. Linebacker depth bolstered, but starters remain the same

The NCAA recently granted sixth-year senior Ed Davis his eligibility, and he currently sits behind junior Chris Frey at the SAM linebacker position.

“We have a deep linebacker situation,“ Dantonio said. “We've got good players. Do I expect (Davis) to play? I expect him to play.” Dantonio added that playing time would be determined by how well he practices and how his health holds up.

The middle stays the same with senior Riley Bullough, but sophomore Andrew Dowell, following a strong opening week performance against Furman, maintains the starting position over junior Jon Reschke, who started at the STAR spot last season but missed the opener with a hand injury.

2. Defensive back redemption

Last time around, as Dantonio pointed out, Notre Dame took chances deep 20 times, and now, the defensive back unit is looking for redemption, as seniors Demetrious Cox and Darian Hicks were members of that unit.

The Spartans were flagged numerous times for pass interference and defensive penalties, but Dantonio appears to have his unit cleaned up.

“From my perspective, we made plays, you know, flags came out a little bit, but from my perspective, we made plays on the ball,” Dantonio said. “Sometimes those are bang-bang type situations where you're trying to, everybody's trying to do the right thing, so not looking backwards. But at the same time, regardless of what happens, you need to move on and play the next play. I think that's the most important thing.”

3. A family affair

One thing MSU fans have noticed in the past is the Bullough name. His father played for MSU, as did his brothers — Max, a former Spartan, while Byron is currently on the team.

However, Bullough’s mother went to Notre Dame, and his grandfather played for the Irish in the “Game of the Century," so for Bullough, the game has extra meaning.

“My mom bleeds green nowadays, so she'll definitely be wearing the Spartan jersey and rooting us on,” Bullough said. “Being voted the captain was a huge thing for me, to be able to carry on that tradition, and now to be seen as one of the leaders on the team and to go down and play Notre Dame, a team that we rooted for growing up because we understand what kind of program it is, but now to go down there and get a win would be huge for this team and to start this season off.”

4. O’Connor looking to grow like the others

O’Connor is filling in the shoes of former Spartan greats Kirk Cousins and Connor Cook, and despite losing in their road games against Notre Dame, Dantonio said he thinks that is where both of those quarterbacks gained their maturity.

“Both of those quarterbacks really grew from their experience down there playing in that football game,” Dantonio said. “And that's all I can ever ask is you go in, you compete, do your very best, compete, expect to win, play to win and grow from it.”

Now, it is O’Connor’s turn, as he looks to achieve something neither of those two did — a road win against the Irish.

5. Honoring a legacy

MSU and Notre Dame will be meeting for the 78th time in their rivalry, and it will be 50 years since the 1966 “Game of the Century”, where the No. 2-ranked Spartans and No. 1-ranked Irish battled to a 10-10 tie.

“I think there are things that happened in this rivalry that led to the emergence of Michigan State being a major football player in the country,” Dantonio said. “And that's because people got together, whether it was (former MSU president) John Hannah and people at Notre Dame got together and they made it happen. So from that point of view, I think there will always be a respect from the people of Michigan State in place because of that aspect.”

Now, the rivalry continues, and Dantonio and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly face off once again, with heavy implications pending for each side and the remainder of their seasons.