Is Dayne Crist better than Jimmy Clausen?

OK, it's easy to pile on Clausen and the 0-3 Fighting Irish right now, but after what I saw from Dayne Crist tonight, it's at least worth a discussion...

You could make a pretty good argument for Crist. He's got a cannon for an arm, is a better runner than Clausen and is extremely poised under pressure. Clausen has perfect mechanics, a lightning fast release, rocket arm and a big-time pedigree. But for some reason, I just feel like Crist has the intangibles you look for in a starter. For one, he's played in much bigger games than Clausen ever did at Oaks Christian. He's overcome a lot more adversity (the broken vertebrae last year), and showed a ton of character.

Clausen was a fantastic player and there's no doubting his skills. But we never really saw him tested in HS so it's hard to really evaluate him. We've seen Crist tested and every time, he's able to stay poised, make big plays and lead his team.

Notre Dame didn't win tonight, but everyone who watched the game came away super impressed with Crist. Clausen's very good too, but it could be an interesting QB comeptetion in South Bend next fall.