Notre Dame Football

Game Thread | Notre Dame Blue-Gold Game

By Matt Freeman

April 21, 2023

24,286

2023 Blue-Gold Game

Notre Dame Stadium | 2:00 p.m. ET | Peacock

Roster| Visit List | Blue-Gold Teams

Wrap it Up

Notre Dame will put a final stamp on the spring with the Blue-Gold Game on Saturday and the most important piece of the day will be getting out of it injury free. The Irish enter the game will several injuries, but most are precautionary as Marcus Freeman lost Logan Diggs to a labrum injury late in last year’s game.

Yet, it’s a chance to compete, add more good (or bad) film on tape and it also allows some to get the nerves out as it will be their first time playing in front of a large group of fans in Notre Dame Stadium.

Will the quarterback battle be solved on Saturday? No. It will be a small glimpse into the progress all four quarterbacks have made over the last 14 practices. It’s also important to remind yourself that Tyler Buchner won’t be live, so a piece of his game won’t be on display.

On defense, it will be fun to see some of the younger guys for the first time in extended action. The sophomore edge rushers have flashed this spring and can add more momentum heading into the offseason. Early enrollee linebacker Drayk Bowen has turned heads already and it will be the first look at him in an Irish uniform.

All in all, football is back for a few hours at Notre Dame and that makes for a fun spring day - regardless of whatever weather decides to show up in South Bend.

Game Format
- The game will be played with traditional scoring with four 15-minute quarters and there will be a running clock at selected times.

- The quarterbacks will wear red jerseys and cannot be tackled. The defenses are limited to one pressure defensive call per four plays.

- There will be some selected players who will wear green jerseys and can compete for both teams.

- There will be no kickoffs in the game, the ball will be placed at the 35-yard line after each scoring play.

- Punt returns will be live.

Five Players to Watch
RB Gi'Bran Payne
Normally how a running back performs in a spring game is nothing to get worked up about, but there is a bit of pressure on Payne to use this as another example of why he should be in the mix this fall.

The backfield is crowded already with Logan Diggs and Audric Estime, but JD Price should be healthy in the fall and Jeremiyah Love is arriving in the summer. It would help Payne a lot if he left the staff with a strong statement heading into the summer.

OL Billy Scrhrauth
The line is going to be a bit jumbled by the split teams so the overall performance of both groups will be tough to judge. Individually there should be a lot of eyes on Schrauth who is vying for the starting left guard spot and he's gotten better each week this spring.

Chris Tyree
Tyree wasn't going to play the same role that Lorenzo Styles did last season, but he may be able to provide some of the spark that we expected and didn't get from Styles. The coaching staff seems to be excited about his progress at a new position this spring and he could give the Irish a different option out of the slot to pair with the bigger Jayden Thomas.

Jason Onye
The reviews have been nothing but positive for the third-year defensive tackle this spring. and now fans will finally get to see what the fuss is about. He's put himself in a place to be a key rotation player inside and he has the potential to be a disruptive presence in the backfield on Saturday.

Jaylen Sneed
In both open practices, Sneed wasn't able to participate fully. He will be full go in the Blue-Gold game and everyone wants to see what the former highly-ranked recruit can do. Is he ready to be a playmaker on Notre Dame's defense? Irish fans will be hoping to see evidence of that.

For Your Nerves