Blue-Gold Game: Blue Wins 47-44
The 89th annual Notre Dame Spring Football game went to the Blue team who scored an impressive 47-44 victory over the Gold team on Saturday afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium.
Brandon Wimbush finished the day 19 of 33 for 341 with two touchdowns and one interception. Ian Book was 17 of 30 for 292 yards with a touchdown pass. Dexter Williams was the leading rusher with 11 carries for 117 yards and a score. Chase Claypool was the receiving leader with six catches for 151 yards and two scores.
"I thought we did some good things offensively," said head coach Brian Kelly. "Some things that we need to improve in and same thing on defense. Special teams, we've been outside twice all spring, so we don't have the ability, really, to do much kicking indoors, so I'm not that concerned with our special teams game. I think all those kids are going to be really good for us in the ball.
"I think at the end of the day when I walk away from this, our guys competed, we got a lot of young players an opportunity to go in there, and we worked on some of the things that I think I had mentioned in a couple of other press conferences. We needed to throw the football more effectively. We needed some receivers to step up and make plays, and I thought we saw that today."
The offense didn’t have all the fun as the defense was able to score points. A defensive touchdown would get six points, a turnover or a three and out would get three points. A defensive stop was worth two points, and a sack or tackle was worth a point.
The Blue team started the final quarter still up by nine and driving to extend the lead. The running backs continued to impress on the day as Jafar Armstrong had another nice carry. Book made a few nice throws to get the Blue team into the red zone, and they settled for a field goal by Justin Yoon from 46 yards out. The Blue team extended the lead to 47-35 with about eight minutes to go.
"Some of our guys are really calm, cool and collected, but they needed to kind of get in an optimal zone relative to how they compete, and I thought they did a nice job today of amping up," Kelly stated. "You know, when you're in spring ball and you're just practicing against each other, the intensity, the adrenaline is not there like a game.
"So we challenged our guys to get into a level, a comfort level where there was great intensity but you know, certainly it's not Michigan. I really was pleased internally with some of the things that a couple of our players did today, and it showed, the way they performed. They performed pretty well."
Avery Davis took over as quarterback after a nice first half as a runner and receiver. Davis had a nice start to the drive getting the Blue team up to midfield rather quickly.
Davis had a total of 13 touches as a runner and receiver and was two for two passing the ball.
Wimbush took over to start the second half for the Blue team who held an 11 point lead at halftime. On the second play of the drive, Williams ripped off a huge gain down the sideline which got the Blue team into the red zone. They scored as Wimbush found Claypool for the receiver’s second touchdown of the afternoon to make it 44-28 with 8:44 to go in the quarter.
After the Gold team scored on a three and out to make it 44-31, Book went back out looking have another successful half. Book took a sack on third down as the defense had another successful drive which cut the lead to 44-35 with about three minutes to go in the quarter.
The offense went for it on fourth down on the next drive and picked it up as Book found Michael Young for a huge conversion. The quarter ended with the Blue team ahead 44-35.
Young totaled four receptions for 82 yards on the afternoon.
Wimbush completed his first pass to Alize Mack as the first string group started on offense. Tony Jones Jr. got stacked up at the line leading to a third and long. A dropped pass by Miles Boykin forced a punt, giving it to the defense with 13:41 to go in the quarter. The Gold team picked up three points with the defensive stop.
Book took over deep in his territory, being forced into a third and long right away. A deep pass was broken up by Nick Watkins which allowed the Gold group to pick up another three points.
Wimbush got started quickly on the ensuing drive with back to back catches by Young, but he fumbled the second catch in the red zone which gave the Gold team four points.
The second string group took over as Book hooked up with Claypool on a deep pass. Claypool made the catch on a jump ball and broke free of a tackler, scoring from 85 yards out. The Blue team cut the lead to 10-7 with the touchdown.
Wimbush hit Boykin down the sideline with a beautiful throw on the next drive as he continued his strong start. Wimbush fired a bullet in the middle of the field to Chris Finke just outside the red zone. The offense stagnated in the red zone and settled for a field goal by Yoon to cut the lead to 12-10 with seven minutes left in the quarter.
The running game was featured on the next drive as Book utilized Davis on a couple plays to get the drive moving. Facing a third down, Book was sacked which gave the defense a point. The defense picked up four points on the drive with a sack, a tackle for loss and a defensive stop.
Wimbush and the first stringers took over down by six with about four minutes to go in the quarter. Williams picked up some short yardage on third down to keep the drive alive. Wimbush found Finke on third down with another nice throw. Jalen Elliott nearly had an interception on the next play but was unable to hang on. Wimbush hit Cole Kmet on third down for another conversion. Wimbush wasn’t able to pick up another conversion, but the group settled for a Yoon field goal from 40 yards out. The quarter ended with Gold being up 16-13.
Book took over for the offense down by three. Claypool made another nice play as he continued to have a good first half. Book hit Claypool again, this time in the red zone to keep the drive moving. The Blue team settled for a field goal which tied the game at 16 with 12:04 to play in the first half.
Wimbush took over trying to take the lead, but Elliott picked him off giving the Gold team three points for the turnover. On the next play, Armstrong burst up the middle and scored just the second touchdown for the offense. The score gave Blue a 23-19 lead.
Wimbush took over trying to add to the lead for Blue. On the second play of the drive, Wimbush delivered a strike to Boykin for a touchdown from 64 yards out to extend the Blue lead to 30-19.
Blue seemed to find their rhythm as both Book and Wimbush continued to have good halves after quiet starts. Book had another solid drive, getting the offense into field goal range. Yoon missed the kick short which gave the Gold team a few points, cutting the lead to 30-23.
Wimbush made a pair of nice throws on back to back plays to Finke and Boykin to get the Blue team up to midfield, trying to add to their lead. The Blue team punched it in as Williams scored from a yard away to put the team up 37-23 with about four minutes to play before the half.
Book took over on the next drive as he tried to continue his strong play. Two plays into the drive, Book made a nice throw to Young for a first down around midfield. The drive stalled after that as the defense picked up a couple more points to cut the lead to 37-26 with 2:07 to go in the half.
On third down, Wimbush found Claypool again after he nearly fumbled the snap. The offense stalled soon after, forcing them into a fourth down attempt which they picked up thanks to a defensive penalty down the sideline. The Blue team ultimately settled for a field goal, giving them a 40-26 halftime lead.
Player of the Game: Wimbush. The senior had a very strong afternoon with a couple of beautiful throws. Obviously, it’s only April, but Wimbush looks ready to go.
Unsung Hero: Williams. The running back burst on the scene with a couple of big runs. Williams should be a big part of the Irish offense this season.
Next: The Irish will host Michigan on September 1st to open their season.