Blue Prevails Over Gold In Notre Dame Spring Game
Notre Dame capped its 2024 spring practice session with the Blue-Gold Game on Saturday.
The game, won 28-21 by the Blue Team may have provided more confirmation of what we already knew than answers to the unknown.
The Irish have a star in running back Jeremiyah Love.
They look to have future stars in CJ Carr, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Aneyas Williams, Bryce Young and Micah Gilbert among others.
The Irish certainly improved their roster via the transfer portal this offseason with Kris Mitchell and RJ Oben highlighting so on Saturday.
Notre Dame has deep quarterback, running back and tight end rooms, but is likely to go as far as its defense will take it this fall.
With presumed starting quarterback Riley Leonard sidelined with an injury, Steve Angeli and Kenny Minchey took the leads while Carr looked comfortable, confident and sharp during his time on the field.
It was competitive all the way with frontline players remaining in the game to the end .
Carr came on the field with a running clock in the fourth quarter and marched the Gold Team 75 yards and hit Gilbert with a perfect a 29-yard scoring pass to tie the game 21-21 with five minutes to play.
Angeli responded on the next possession and after a 13-yard completion to Jaden Greathouse, hit Kris Mitchell for a 62-yard deep score to make it 28-21.
The Gold Team’s final possession of the game ended when Carr’s fourth-down slant to KK Smith fell incomplete with Micah Bell in defense. Angeli hit Greathouse on a slant to convert a fourth-down in the final seconds to put the game away.
Angeli finished 17-for-25 for 228 yards and two touchdowns while Minchey was 12-for-19 for 123 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Carr, playing for both teams, finished 15-for-23 for 165 yards with a touchdown.
Gi’Bran Payne led all rushers with 58 yards on 10 carries while Williams had 39 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Love rushed for 36 yards and a score while catching five passes for 41 more yards.
Gilbert led all receivers with 79 yards and two touchdowns on five catches while Deion Colzie had four catches for 58 yards. Mitchell had two catches, including the 61-yarder for the score.
Eli Raridon pulled in five catches for 41 yards and Jack Larsen had four catches for 41 yards to lead the tight ends.
The Blue Team got on the board first, when Angeli hit Raridon for a 21-yard touchdown up the seam. Raridon juggled the ball and took a hit, but was able to hang on and spin into the end zone. Mitch Jeter’s extra point gave the Blue Team a 7-0 lead 10 minutes into the game.
Minchey was picked off by Luke Talich on the Gold Team’s next drive when he overthrew Cooper Flanagan on a 3rd-and-long after completing three of four passes and converting a first down with his legs earlier in the drive.
The Blue Team’s opening drive ended with zero points when kicker Jeter’s 50-yard field goal attempt came up well short. The drive was aided by an 18-yard scamper by Love on 4th and 2, but stalled when Angeli failed to hit an open Raridon up the seam on second down, two plays before Jeter’s field goal attempt.
The Gold Team went three-and-out on its opening drive after Gilbert dropped a pass from Minchey that would have been good for a first down.
Carr entered the game at the end of the first quarter and promptly led the Blue Team down to a touchdown, a seven-yard run by Williams that gave Blue a 14-0 lead. Carr completed three of four passes on the drive, including a nice 18-yard toss to Colzie on third down after buying some extra time with his legs.
Minchey responded by the leading the Gold Team on a 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive of its own, capping it off with a 5-yard touchdown sweep, to cut the lead in half. Payne picked up 30 yards on four carries on the drive while Minchey accounted for 45 total yards (25 rushing, 20 passing).
Carr completed seven straight passes after missing on his first attempt, but back-to-back incompletions led to a Blue Team punt. The Gold Team went three and out on the ensuing possession, giving the ball back with just a minute to play in the half.
Angeli re-entered the game to operate the two-minute drill with a minute to play, but failed to convert a first down. Oben ended the half with a sack of Minchey.
Carr finished the half completing seven of his 10 pass attempts for 66 yards while Minchey connected on eight of 15 for 51 yards. Minchey also ran for 29 yards and the score on five carries.
Payne led all first-half rushers with 52 yards on seven attempts while Williams had 34 yards and the touchdown on eight carries. Love rushed for 26 yards on five carries while also catching a pair of passes for 10 yards.
Raridon caught five passes for 41 yards and the score while Colzie had 58 receiving yards on four catches.
The opening drive of the second half ended when early enrollee Bryce Young forced a Payne fumble, which was recovered by Talich, the safety’s second takeaway of the game.
After the Gold Team went three-and-out on the ensuing drive, Minchey went to work, connecting with KK Smith on a deep 38-yard pass before a beautiful 26-yard toss to Gilbert for a touchdown to tie the game 14-14 with 5:52 to play in the third quarter.
The Blue Team responded with a 10-play, 75-yard capped by a six-yard touchdown run by Love as they regained a 21-14 lead at the end of the third quarter. The drive was keyed by a 32-yard completion from Angeli to Love, who refused to go down. Angeli completed six passes on the drive - three to Love, two to Larsen and one to Jaden Greathouse.
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