Drew Stanton is four years and 20 NCAA starts younger than Jon Beutjer.

But that doesn’t mean the Michigan State quarterback will have any trouble keeping up with Illinois’ veteran.

Stanton, a sophomore, has rushed for 315 yards so far this year. Beutjer’s net is -19.

“They’ve settled on what they want to do, and they’ve found the guy they want to do it,” said Illinois head coach Ron Turner. “He’s a great competitor; he’s very strong. They run the quarterback draw, they run option, they run quarterback follow where he fakes it, follows the guard up in there, follows to the hole. He’s strong, a very strong runner, very skilled.”

Before the season began for Michigan State, no one knew who the starting quarterback would be. Senior Damon Dowdell and redshirt-freshman Stephen Reaves were other candidates for the position.

Dowdell started the first game and Reaves opened the second and third, but when Stanton got a shot at the job, he ran with it.

Despite throwing two interceptions in the first half, the 20-year-old held his composure and ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns against Indiana in the Trojans’ Big Ten opener Sept. 25. He also threw for 172 yards and completed 15-of-23 passes.

In that game, the Spartans held Indiana scoreless through the second half.

After five games, Stanton leads the Spartans in both rushing and passing and is second in scoring behind senior place kicker Dave Rayner.

Turner said the change in Michigan State’s offense is noticeable.

“You can tell they’ve found a leader,” he said.

Another key player for the Spartans will be junior running back Jason Teague, who has two touchdowns and 274 rushing yards.

Nothing is certain in Saturday’s matchup. Both teams are 2-3 overall, and Michigan State’s 1-1 split in the Big Ten hardly dwarfs Illinois’ 0-2 record.

While the Spartans outplayed Indiana in the second half to win 30-20, Iowa easily overpowered them Oct. 2, as quarterback Drew Tate led the Hawkeyes to a 38-16 victory.

Possible game day change

The Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday that the Illinois-Minnesota football game may be rescheduled.

It is possible the game will be changed to Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m., if the Minnesota Twins advance to the American League Championship Series. The game was originally scheduled for the following day.

“If it (changes), it does, but I’d rather play it Saturday at 11 a.m. than Friday at 7:30,” Turner said.