Notre Dame Quarterback: Crist, Rees or Either?

Notre Dame training camp ended on Friday without a named starter for the first time since the disaster of 2007. This year the outlook is a little different than it was that year, and the starter under center on September 3 will be Brian Kelly's right choice, rather than the safest choice.

The suspense will not last long, however. Kelly has announced that he will announce the opening day starter at his Tuesday press conference.

With fall camp officially underway as of Sunday night, the decision should be made.

Kelly has said time and again that he was waiting for one of the two to separate themselves but they seemed to progress together. With two QBs on equal ground this late into the fall practices, it could help to look to the past.

In this slideshow we'll check on stats of each start for Crist and Rees and compare and contrast to see who played more effectively in what was each QB's first chance to hold the reins of a college offense.

Dayne Crist vs. Purdue

Crist's first start at home against Purdue.

23-12 Irish win.

Crist: 19/26 73% 205 yds 1 TD 0 INT 6 rush yards on 9 attempts, 211 total yards.

Team Rushing: 153 yards on 36 attempts, 4.3 yards per carry.

358 yards total offense.

Crist represented 60 percent of Notre Dame's total offense.

Dayne Crist vs. Michigan

Crist's second start at home against Michigan. Crist missed most of the first and the entire second quarter after the game's initial drive in which ND easily scored a touchdown.

28-24 Irish loss.

Crist: 13/25 52% 277yds. 2 TD 1 INT 19 rushing yards on 8 attempts. 296 total yards.

Team Rushing: 154 yards on 32 attempts 4.8 yards per carry.

431 yards total offense.

Crist represented 69 percent of Notre Dame's total offense.

Dayne Crist vs. Michigan State

Crist plays a solid game in East Lansing before seeing the Irish fall in overtime on a fake field goal that landed Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio in the hospital due to a heart attack.

34-31 Irish loss.

Crist: 32/55 58% 369 yds 4 TD 1 INT 8 yards rushing on 6 attempts, 377 yards total offense.

Team rushing: 92 yards on 26 attempts. 3.5 yards per carry.

471 total yards offense.

Crist represented 80 percent of Notre Dame's total offense.

Dayne Crist vs. Stanford

Crist struggles along with the rest of the team as they are manhandled at home by the Cardinal.

34-17 Irish loss.

Crist: 25/44 57% 304 yards, 1 TD 1 INT -17 yards rushing on 4 attempts. 287 total yards.

Team Rushing: 44 yards on 23 attempts. 1.9 yards per carry.

348 yards of total offense.

Crist represented 82 percent of Notre Dame's total offense.

Dayne Crist vs. Boston College

Notre Dame has a bounce-back game as the Eagles can't get out of their own way. Notre Dame strikes early and often and cruise to an easy victory.

31-13 Irish win.

Crist: 24/44 54% 203 yards 2 TD 1 INT 5 rushing yards on 6 attempts. 208 total yards.

Team rushing: 112 yards on 31 attempts. 3.6 yards per carry.

315 yards total offense.

Crist represents 66 percent of total Notre Dame offensive yardage.

Dayne Crist vs. Pittsburgh

Crist leads the Irish at home to a solid win over the Panthers.

23-17 Irish win.

Crist: 24/39 62% 242 yards 1 TD 0 INT 5 rushing yards on 7 attempts. 249 total yards.

Team rushing: 87 yards on 31 attempts, 3.6 yards per carry.

329 yards of total offense.

Crist represents 75 percent of Notre Dame's total offense.

Dayne Crist vs. Western Michigan

Crist bows out early in a blowout win over first-ever MAC opponent in WMU's Broncos.

44-20 Irish win.

Crist: 18/28 64% 255 yards 3 TD 1 INT -6 yards on 5 attempts. 249 yards of total offense.

Team rushing: 149 yards on 34 attempts. 4.4 yards per carry.

448 yards of total offense.

Crist represented 55 percent of Notre Dame's total offense.

Dayne Crist vs. Navy

Everybody's "WHAT WAS THAT?!" game. Notre Dame struggles offensively all day while the defense gives up a gazillion yards on fullback dives straight up the middle en route to a plain and simple ugly defeat. Crist is lifted early in the second half and Tommy Rees sees his first meaningful snaps since the Michigan game.

35-17 Irish loss.

Crist: 19/31 61% 178 yards 1 TD 2 INT 25 yards rushing on 10 attempts. 203 yards of total offense.

Team rushing: 106 yards on 30 attempts, 3.5 yards per carry.

363 yards of total offense.

Crist represented 56 percent of Notre Dame's total offense.

The Tulsa Game

The Tulsa game represents several things in Notre Dame's 2010 season.

It was the low point. Following the death of student videographer Declan Sullivan, the Irish lost to Tulsa on a last second interception when they were in game-winning field goal range.

It was a transition point, as Crist was injured and Tommy Rees took over.

It was a turning point. After the losses to Navy and Tulsa and the injury to Crist, the Irish rallied around Rees and went on an impressive four-game win streak to end the tumultuous first year under Brian Kelly.

What it is not is a good reference for what we're looking at.

Crist did not complete a pass and only played a few snaps before being injured on a 29-yard first quarter run.

Rees did not get to prepare for the game in practice all week and struggled early, throwing for 334 yards and connecting on four TDs and three INTs in the 28-27 loss.

Tommy Rees vs. Utah

Notre Dame welcomed favored Utah to South Bend in Tommy Rees's first start. The Irish defense awakens, Brian Kelly finds Cierre Wood and behind superb play by the Freshman QB, Notre Dame routes the Utes.

28-3 Irish win.

Rees: 13/20 65% 129 yards 3 TD 0 INT, -7 yards rushing on 2 attempts. 127 yards total offense.

Team rushing: 127 yards on 29 attempts, 4.4 yards per carry.

256 yards total offense.

Rees represents 47 percent of Notre Dame's total offense.

Tommy Rees vs. Army

Rees plays well in an easy Irish win.

27-3 Irish win.

Rees: 13/20 65% 214 yards 1 TD 1 INT, 1 rushing yard on 3 attempts. 215 yards total offense.

Team rushing: 155 yards on 38 attempts. 4.1 yards per carry.

369 yards of total offense.

Rees represented 58 percent of Notre Dame's total offense.

Tommy Rees vs. USC

Behind a stiff Notre Dame defense, a strong performance on the ground and a Ronald Johnson drop, Notre Dame finally defeats the Trojans at a rain-soaked Coliseum.

20-16 Irish win.

Rees: 20/32 63% 149 yards, 2 TD 3 INT. -3 rushing yards on 4 attempts. 146 total yards.

Team rushing: 147 yards on 32 attempts. 4.6 yards per carry.

296 total yards of offense.

Rees represented 49 percent of Notre Dame's total offense.

Tommy Rees vs. Miami

Rees has his best game as a starter in routing the Hurricanes in El Paso, TX. Rees and the Irish jump out to a 24-0 halftime advantage and cruise down the stretch to win the 2010 Sun Bowl on New Year's Eve.

33-17 Irish win.

Rees: 15/29 52% 201 yards 2 TD 0 INT, 2 yards rushing on 1 attempt. 202 yards total offense.

Team rushing: 196 yards on 48 attempts, 4.1 yards per carry.

397 yards of total offense.

Rees represents 51 percent of Notre Dame's total offense.

Conclusion for 2011

At the outset of this project, I had believed that Rees was the beneficiary of a better ground game, more balanced play calling and certainly a better defense. I expected that Crist's individual numbers would pop out as being superior.

The differences weren't as vast as I expected, but there was an advantage tilted to Crist.

As a whole the Irish averaged 26 points per game (25.8 with Crist and 27 with Rees).

Notre Dame averaged 253 yards through the air at a 59 percent completion rate. Crist was right on those numbers, Rees' starts were lower yardage (173 yards per game) and a higher completion rate (60 percent).

Rushing output did improve with Rees in the game, rising to 156 yards per game against the season average of 126 yards per contest. Crist received 112 yards per game of run support.

On the year Notre Dame averaged 68 plays per game, splitting 37 pass against 31 on the ground. Crist saw nearly exactly those numbers as his norm, while Rees threw the ball 25 times to 37 rushes.

The total offensive output decreased under Rees to 329 yards per game from 385 with Crist.

Crist represented 67.5 percent of the team's total offense in games he started, while Rees accounted for 51.3 percent.

They each managed an average of two touchdowns and one interception per game. Crist did rush for four TDs in addition to his passes.

They each showed flashes of brilliance, and flashes where their inexperience was evident.

Rees did benefit from a simplified offense, a more run-oriented approach and a suddenly improved defense, but the growth, maturity and leadership he showed is hard to ignore.

Crist brings to the table greater athleticism and a better skill set, but has lingering doubts about consistency and longevity as he has seen season-ending injuries in each of his active seasons.

I expect Crist to be awarded the starting slot, if for no other reason than it was his job to lose.

If it should go the other way, I won't be surprised or disappointed.

The offense will look different for each of them, and really it could serve the team well either way.

Crist or Rees?

Maybe it doesn't matter.