Respectful once again

EAST LANSING - Notre Dame wants back at Michigan State for 2007.

Michigan State still wants back at Notre Dame for 2006.

The vengeful feelings, though, no longer extend beyond the football field - after a short stretch in which the Fighting Irish and Spartans engaged in what Javon Ringer called "a lot of that childish stuff."

A series that began in 1897 has been known for hard-fought games and shared respect (and hatred of Michigan). Mark Dantonio's arrival at MSU seemed to soften the vibe after a couple years of visible dislike between predecessor John L. Smith, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and their players.

When the Irish (2-0) and Spartans (2-1) meet Saturday at Spartan Stadium, it will be about two programs seeking a big victory, not worrying about "where the trophy will be or who's gonna plant a flag," said MSU quarterback Brian Hoyer.

The trophy and the flag started it all. After MSU beat the Irish and first-year coach Weis in overtime in 2005, Notre Dame did not have the Megaphone Trophy - the winner's reward since 1949 - ready to hand over.

That, the Spartans claimed, is why Eric Smith, Kaleb Thornhill and others planted an MSU flag on the field. The Spartans also claimed the Irish had done the same to them after winning in Spartan Stadium in 2004.

"That was definitely childish on our part," Ringer, then a freshman, said of the flag plant. "It was unclassy."

Bitter loss

The next year, Weis claimed he was hit during a sideline scuffle, which prompted a personal foul penalty on MSU receiver Matt Trannon - offsetting a late Notre Dame hit on MSU quarterback Drew Stanton.

The Irish came back from a 17-point deficit, 16 in the fourth quarter, for a 40-37 win. The following Monday at Smith's news conference, he showed an aerial video of the incident to prove that Weis had not been hit and had lied.

Weis responded by saying it "might have been one of my guys that slapped me, for all I know."

The next week, after a deflated MSU team was stunned at home by lowly Illinois, Smith slapped himself in the post-game news conference to mock Weis. It ended up making a national mockery of Smith.

The Notre Dame collapse was the beginning of the end of a promising season for MSU, and Smith's tenure as coach. It remains vivid in the memories of the Spartans who were there.

"I hope it does," Dantonio said when asked if that defeat still lingers. "We talk about it. Not because it was anything in regards to Notre Dame, but it was sort of something that stood as a point of reference for our football team in terms of everything that came after it."

Rise and fall

That night at Spartan Stadium was at once a testament to the MSU football program's potential and a reminder of its repeated failures. A packed house roared in the night rain as MSU retired former star Bubba Smith's jersey before the game.

Stanton and the Spartans raced to a big lead on national TV. Then it all fell apart under the burning lights.

"One of the most memorable games I've been a part of," Notre Dame senior receiver David Grimes said.

"I remember the stadium was as live as I've seen it since I've been here," MSU senior defensive tackle Justin Kershaw said. "A night I won't forget. Some of the highest highs and lowest lows I've experienced."

Bad memory

It remains a talking point in the MSU locker room.

"We've got to express to the younger guys the type of fallout that game had," Hoyer said. "It caused a lot of pain for a lot of people."

Of course, it also helped lead to Smith's dismissal, Dantonio's hiring and renewed life for the MSU program.

Perhaps the Spartans shouldn't be too angry about it.

"I wish we could have pulled that game out, but you never know what would have happened if we would have won that game," Kershaw said. "I'm glad where this program is now."

Weis, meanwhile, is trying to return his program to respectability after last season's 3-9 disaster. Included was a 31-14 home loss to the Spartans.

That was one of many 2007 humiliations that the Irish are hoping to avenge in 2008 - as they did last week in whipping Michigan 35-17.

At least it was a humiliation that came free of "that childish stuff," which appears to be swept away from a 111-year relationship that's been mostly civil.

"I'm glad it's more of a mutual respect now," Ringer said. "We can go out there and just play good, hard football."