The game was played in windy and rainy conditions for most of the night. Notre Dame won the coin toss and took the ball as Charlie Weis normally does. Michigan State chose to play with the wind at their backs for the first quarter. The commentators for the game, especially Bob Davie, questioned Weis' decision, believing that the windy conditions would affect play significantly. It seemed to as Notre Dame was held without a score for the entire first quarter, while the Spartans threw two quick touchdowns, one after a fumble on a punt return by Tom Zbikowski, and added a field goal before having to change sides. In the second quarter Notre Dame switched to a no-huddle offense with worked to confuse the Spartan defense for a drive allowing Brady Quinn to throw a 32-yard touchdown to Rhema McKnight. On their next drive, however, Quinn threw an interception to Ervin Baldwin which was returned for a 19-yard touchdown to give the Spartans a 24–7 lead. Quinn would throw another touchdown to Jeff Samardzija and Spartan quarterback Drew Stanton would add another touchdown pass to Kerry Reed to end the half with the Spartans leading 31–14.