Fifty years ago, Michigan State and Notre Dame played in what was then called the Game of the Century. It pitted No. 1 Notre Dame against No. 2 Michigan State at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich.Of course, it ended in a 10-10 tie, a bit of a letdown considering the magnitude of the game. However, 50 years later, the game still stands as an iconic moment with both programs.And when the Spartans and Fighting Irish meet at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium, that historic game will be on the minds of many, almost as much as the fact the 2016 version of each team is trying to find its footing and jump into the national championship hunt.Very excited about going down to South Bend to play in this game, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. Its a rivalry game for us. Been involved in this football game probably since 97 as an assistant coach, and theres been some great games with Notre Dame.I think it all goes back to the 66 game certainly and even maybe before that. So its been a traditional-type rivalry and weve embraced that as we have so many of our other rivalries.Michigan State and Notre Dame have played 77 times, but this will be the first meeting since 2013 as the rivalry took a hiatus.Even with the break, the teams understand theyre getting ready for a big game.Its a winning team, so they know how to win, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said of the Spartans. We watched film after film of their games in the Big Ten and theres a lot of opponents that have em on the ropes and they find a way to win whether its Ohio State or Indiana who has a great chance to win the game, but they come back and beat them.So it says that you obviously have that winning attitude that you can close out games. But I think more than anything else is Michigan State is going to play the game with that mental and physical toughness and you have to match it.Notre Dame showed its own share of mental toughness in last weeks victory over Nevada, bouncing back from a double-overtime loss to Texas in the season-opener.The Fighting Irish allowed 50 points and more than 500 total yards in that game but were much more solid in the win over Nevada. What hasnt changed in two weeks has been the play of quarterback DeShone Kizer, who has taken control of the job he split with Malik Zaire in the opener. His passer rating is top-five in the nation and hes been nearly perfect in the red zone, completing seven of 10 passes with five touchdowns.Overall, the Irish have gained 444 total yards in each of the first two games, running for 239 against Nevada. Its that sort of production that has the attention of the Spartans.I would say overall their offense is extremely athletic and theyve got a lot of players, fifth-year senior linebacker Riley Bullough said. Kizer, hes an athletic guy, he can throw the ball but he can also take it and run. So to combat that, youve got to be fundamentally sound on defense. Everyones got to do their job. Theyve got to do it every single play for the entire game.Michigan State had a bye in week two, giving them time to straighten out several issues from an uninspiring victory over Furman in the season-opener that featured 10 penalties and a pair of turnovers.So instead of taking it easy during the bye, the Spartans went to work, fixing their own issues while getting a jump on the Irish.Ive been reminded by one of our coaches weve had one game in six weeks since coming here on Aug. 5, Dantonio said. So hopefully practice makes perfect. ... Again, weve waited. I dont think there is anybody in our program that wanted to sit last weekend. So I anticipate our guys being ready to go, enthusiastic, and it will be fun to go down there. There will be 10, 15,000 Spartan fans there as well. That makes it exciting as well. Cheap Custom Ducks Jersey .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. Custom Ducks Jerseys . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. http://www.customducksjersey.com/ .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Ducks Jerseys China . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. Cheap Ducks Jerseys . - Levi Browns tenure at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is over before it even began. PORTLAND, Ore. -- Traylin Farris was 12 of 13 from the field for 26 points as Portland State started slow but dominated the second half to roll over New Hope Christian College 110-79 on Tuesday night.Farris also had 11 rebounds for the Vikings who have hit or passed the century mark three times this season, losing to Cal State Fullerton in overtime 106-100 and beating George Fox 113-81.Deontae North added 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Brandon Hollins made 7 of 9 field goals for 15 points aand DeSean Parsons chipped in 14 for Portland State (4-4).ddddddddddddBoth teams were hitting 50 percent from the field in the first half as they entered the break tied at 52. The Vikings finished shooting 57 percent while New Hope Christian cooled to 40.5 percent. The Deacons did hit 13 of 32 from long range.Steven Shares had 22 points and Isiah Large 20 for New Hope. ' ' '