Spartans and Irish are fully armed
Fans will probably have to endure some thunderstorms under the lights in Spartan Stadium, but odds are Notre Dame and Michigan State will put on a show to make it all worthwhile.
Both teams bring plenty of weapons to the table. Shannon Shelton of the Detroit Free Press reports that quarterbacks Drew Stanton and Brady Quinn are each team’s likely MVPs. They are arguably two of the best quarterbacks in the nation.
“Brady Quinn … he’s a great guy, Heisman candidate, great arm, good football sense,” cornerback Demond Williams said. “It’s a good challenge, but we practice against Drew Stanton every day and he’s just as good, if not better.”
One wouldn’t expect the Spartans to say anything else, just as Notre Dame players are firm in their belief that Quinn is the better of the two. But outside the Spartan and Irish camps, the debate rages as the duo prepares for their face-off on national television in prime time at Spartan Stadium.
Joe Rexrode of the Lansing State Journal writes that Drew Stanton is faster than ever with his feet and his split second decisions.
“I just think he’s so far advanced now that when we say something to him he understands it completely and he doesn’t have to think it through,� MSU offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin said of his star pupil. “It’s there and he’s got the picture of it and he knows what I’m thinking. … He recognized what Pittsburgh was doing right off the bat and went to a couple things that, a year ago I’m not sure he would have seen it as quick as he did.�
So that’s what Notre Dame must deal with tonight, under the lights at Spartan Stadium, in what is indirectly a duel between Stanton and Notre Dame golden boy Brady Quinn. The Fighting Irish were here two years ago, in a similar evening setting, to watch Stanton come off the bench at halftime and nearly bring MSU all the way back from a huge deficit with his legs. Hence began The Stanton Era.
There are of course plenty of other subplots in the game. Here are the game matchups from both the Lansing State Journal and the South Bend Tribune.