College football scouting reports: Notre Dame, Northwestern, N. Illinois

Here's a breakdown of three games on Saturday involving area teams: Notre Dame, Northwestern and Northern Illinois

Michigan State (1-1) at Notre Dame (1-1)

When: 2:30 p.m. at Notre Dame Stadium

TV: Channel 5

Radio: WLS 890-AM

Series: Notre Dame leads 44-27-1.

Coaches: Mark Dantonio (17-11, third year at Michigan State; 35-28 in sixth year overall); Charlie Weis (29-20, fourth year at Notre Dame).

Players to watch: Michigan State sophomore QB Kirk Cousins won a close battle in camp and kept going from there. He ranks sixth nationally in pass efficiency as he has clicked on 23 of 35 passes for 347 yards, 4 TDs and no picks. Senior wideout Blair White ranks among the nation's top 10 receivers in catches (16) and yards (267). Junior LB Greg Jones, the Big Ten's preseason defensive player of the year, paces the league and ranks third among FBS teams with 29 tackles in 2 games.

This marks junior QB Jimmy Clausen's 25th start (and 26th game) at Notre Dame. When compared to previous Irish QB Brady Quinn at the same point in their careers, Clausen blows him away in every category from TDs (39 to 28) to pass efficiency (128.2 to 111.9). He has't thrown an interception in the last three games. Sophomore WR Michael Floyd has developed into the nation's best big-play threat. Not only does he share the national lead in TD catches (4), he leads the nation with an average of 29.1 yards for each of his 11 receptions.

The skinny: The Spartans have won the last six Megaphone Trophy meetings in South Bend (a Notre Dame stadium record) and nine of the last 12 overall. Notre Dame clearly gets everything done through the air and, while Michigan State retained three of its four starters in the secondary and eight defensive starters overall, it hasn't looked good against the pass to date. Benet Academy graduate Dan LeFevour, the veteran Central Michigan quarterback, devoured the Spartans last week to the tune of 328 yards and 3 TDs in the Chippewas' 29-27 upset.

Northwestern (2-0) at Syracuse (0-2)

When: 6 p.m. at Carrier Dome

Pay TV: ESPN GamePlan/ESPN360

Radio: WGN 720-AM (in progress after the Cubs game), WNUR 89.3-FM

Series: Tied 4-4.

Coaches: Pat Fitzgerald (21-18, fourth year at NU), Doug Marrone (0-2, first year at Syracuse)

Players to watch: Northwestern senior Mike Kafka has yet to accounted for any touchdowns this season. He has hit 29 of 44 passes for 350 yards and 1 INT while rushing 11 times for 21 yards. Put another way, the Wildcats have yet to take the leash off their dual-threat QB. Junior Stephen Simmons has emerged as the first among running back equals with 31 carries, 150 yards and 2 scores, but he's questionable with a leg injury. The defense has yet to hit its strides as senior DE Corey Wootton, for example, has just 1 tackles and 2 QB hurries to date. CBs Sherrick McManis and Justan Vaughn are questionable with leg injuries, which means redshirt freshman Demetrius Dugar is on alert.

Former Duke point guard Greg Paulus transferred to Syracuse over the summer, enrolled as a graduate student and earned the Orange's quarterback job. After ignoring football for four years, the former high school All-American has completed 33 of 51 passes for 272 yards, 2 TDs and 3 INTs. Senior WR Mike Williams, who caught 10 TD passes in 2007, is Paulus' top target with 12 catches. Senior DT Arthur Jones leads the defense. The all-Big East pick owns 31.5 tackles for loss over the last 25 games.

The skinny: Marrone, the former New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator, has come back to fix his alma mater. In time, he'll install a complex offense similar to the Saints. But for now, Paulus is trying to dink and dunk the Orange down the field. That style has led to 27 points in the Orange's season-opening losses to Minnesota and Penn State, but just 7 points over the last six quarters. While that sounds like a good deal for the Wildcats, they also were supposed to take care of Eastern Michigan last week with ease and that didn't happen. Fitzgerald and his staff harped on the fundamentals this week in practice. Will it pay off? Gauge the defense's aggressiveness to find out.

Northern Illinois (1-1) at Purdue (1-1)

When: 11 a.m. at Ross-Ade Stadium

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

Series: First meeting

Coaches: Jerry Kill (7-8, second year at NIU; 111-65 in 16th year overall); Danny Hope (1-1, first year at Purdue; 36-23 in sixth year overall)

Players to watch: NIU junior running back Chad Spann has just 20 touches this year (17 carries, 3 catches), but he has 5 touchdowns to show for his efforts. That ties him for second nationally in scoring, trailing only Arizona State kicker Thomas Weber (40 points). QB Chandler Harnish threw 11 INTs in his final six games last year, but he doesn't have any miscues this year. He has hit 25 of 38 passes for 317 yards and 2 scores. Senior center Eddie Adamski (Carmel), who'll make his 40th career start on Saturday, graded out at 99 percent on efficiency and 96 percent on technique in the Huskies' 41-7 win over Western Illinois.

Purdue sophomore running back Ralph Bolden, who had just 28 rushing yards coming into this season, leads the nation in rushing (50 carries, 357 yards) and shares (with Spann and six others) the national lead with 5 TDs. New QB Joey Elliott has thrown for good (486 yards, 4 TDs) and for evil (5 INTs). Kicker Carson Wiggs set a school record in Purdue's opener when he booted a 59-yard field goal against Toledo.

The skinny: Not only does Bolden lead the nation in rushing, he's off to the best two-game start in Purdue history. Kory Sheets had 261 yards and 4 TDs in the first two games last season. Northern Illinois did an excellent job holding down Wisconsin's running game two weeks ago (38 carries, 152 yards), but the Huskies' decision to stack the box allowed the Badgers to throw for 281 yards. Elliott's erratic arm suggests NIU might be able to get away with focusing on the run. On the other sideline, Harnish is still looking for a go-to guy. Ten Huskies have caught passes, but only Lake Park alum Willie Clark (5 catches, 63 yards) has snagged more than 3.