East Lansing — There will be plenty of familiar faces on each side of the ball Saturday night when Michigan State hosts Notre Dame, and that’s not an odd thing when teams from the same region of the country play on a regular basis.
It’s true for the coaching staffs and, more importantly, the players. For at least a few of them, it will pit friend against friend.
That’s the case for Michigan State junior linebacker Andrew Dowell and sophomore quarterback Brian Lewerke. Dowell and his brother, safety David Dowell, graduated from St. Edward High in Lakewood, Ohio, in 2015 with current Notre Dame cornerback Shaun Crawford while Lewerke and Fighting Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush were roommates during the Elite 11 quarterback competition in high school.