The Notre Dame football team hosted the 94th Blue-Gold game at 2 p.m this Saturday on a sunny afternoon in Notre Dame Stadium. The team was split into two groups: the offense wearing blue coached by offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and the defense wearing gold coached by new defensive coordinator Chris Ash. Three periods consisting of four series were played with 90 seconds between series and eight-minute intermissions between periods.
The game was not specific to the normal rules of football, and nor was the scoring. For the offensive team, it was six points for a touchdown, one for an extra point, one for each first down, two for any play over 20 yards, three for a field goal and two for a two-point conversion. On defense, it was one point for forcing a punt, five for a takeaway in plus territory, seven for a takeaway in minus territory, 12 for a defensive score, one for a tackle-for-loss, two for a sack, three for blocking a field goal attempt, two for a PAT returned for a score, two for a failed two point conversion, two for a fourth-down stop in plus territory or missed field goal and three for a fourth-down stop in minus territory.
Period 1
Beginning the first period, freshman quarterback Blake Hebert started the first series with a special seven-on-seven play at the 35-yard line, which did not include any points. Senior wide receiver Leo Scheidler received the pass from Hebert and moved the ball down the field. Hebert connected again to Scrap Richardson, but his third attempt, also intended for the freshman wideout was incomplete.
Junior quarterback Steve Angeli then stepped in to start off the scoring game for the Blue team, handing it off to senior running back Jadarian Price, who gained a few yards to open the drive. The Blue team got on the board after a 22-yard dash from Price earned them two points. Angeli looked to junior wide receiver Jaden Greathouse three times early in the drive, connecting on the third attempt for 10-yard first-down pickup on third-and-eight and another point for the Blue team. With the ball now lined up on the 22-yard line, Angeli handed it off to Price, who was pushed back two yards by a combination of freshman defensive lineman Cole Mullins and sophomore Bryce Young off the edge. Young would get to Angeli the following play for a sack, securing three points for the Gold team and cutting the deficit to one at 4-3. Senior kicker Noah Burnette came in to attempt the 50-yarder, but was no good, pulling the Gold team ahead 5-4 after the first series.
Junior quarterback Kenny Minchey came in for Angeli to start series No. 2 of the day. After an 8-yard gain from running back Aneyas Williams, Minchey missed his first passing attempt aimed at freshman pass-catcher Jerome Bettis Jr. He put the ball in the hands of Williams again the next play, and the sophomore helped Blue regain the lead with his 11-yard sprint to convert on third-and-short. Faced with a third-and-five soon after, Minchey found freshman wide receiver Elijah Burress to extend the Blue team's lead to 8-5. The Gold team pushed back, stuffing Williams for a one yard loss to make the score 8-6. Junior linebacker Preston Zinter would later sack Minchey on fourth-and-six, giving Gold the 10-8 lead.
Sophomore quarterback CJ Carr stepped in for the Blue team in the third series. Carr dropped it in a bucket down the left sideline to graduate tight end Kevin Bauman for a pickup of 23 yards and three points. Later in the drive, another deep 24-yard completion from Carr to sophomore tight end Jack Larsen gave the blue team three more points. Sophomore cornerback Karson Hobbs got one back for Gold, blowing up the reception by sophomore running back Kedren Young behind the line of scrimmage. They held Blue to a 43-yard attempt from Burnette. This time, the North Carolina transfer nailed it to give the offense three more points and an 18-11 lead going into the final series of the first period.
Angeli came back in for the offensive team in the fourth series. Sophomore linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa forced a loss of seven to gain two for Gold. Hebert checked in for Angeli, but missed on his third-down attempt in the direction of Burress. After forcing the punt, Gold ended the period down 18-14.
Period 2
Heading into the second period, the Blue team started with another scoreless seven-on-seven play. In series five, Minchey missed his first pass on a long ball to junior wide receiver KK Smith. His next attempt found senior tight end Eli Raridon for a 15-yard gain and a point for the Blue team before the 10-yard rush from Price made it 20-14. Gold responded with two points of their own when Viliamu-Asa blew up the Minchey keeper for a loss of four.
Going into series six, Carr re-entered the game and hit another deep pass to Young for a gain of 28 yards, giving his team three more points. After leading the offense into the red zone, Carr faked a handoff and tossed it to Burress for the first touchdown of the day. Burnette converted the point after to cap off Blue's best drive of the day and make it 32-18.
The seventh series began on Gold's 45 with Angeli back in at the quarterback position. The senior completed a 16-yard pass to Bettis Jr. to add a point on the first down. A series of rushes and short completions brought Blue to the 10-yard line, where Williams was stymied on multiple handoffs, including a fourth-down stand by junior safety Luke Talich that killed the drive. This brought the score to 35-23 heading into the final series of the second period.
Minchey now back at the helm, junior tight end Henry Garrity hauled in his pass down the middle for a 24-yard gain. Minchey found another tight-end through the air in Larsen for 17 more before taking it himself to cap off the drive and give Blue a 46-23 lead.
Period 3
Series nine continued the routine of starting with some seven-on-seven practice. The drive died quickly for Carr, who was picked off by junior safety Ben Minich to end the series with the offense still ahead 46-31.
Starting off the tenth series, Angeli handed off to running back Nolan James Jr. for a short gain before connecting on two consecutive passes to the freshman for gains of 13 and 37. Blue would punch it in the following play on a completion to Richardson, who took the ball to the end zone for a touchdown. Senior kicker Marcello Diomede's extra point gave the Blue team a 57-31 lead.
Minchey came back in for the game's penultimate series, starting with a completion to senior running back Gi'Bran Payne for a 24-yard gain. Minchey and company made it down to the seven-yard line but came up short in the end. Hobbs broke up the end zone attempt for Scheidler force a field goal, which Burnette converted from 25 yards out. The Blue team led 66-31 going into the final series.
Carr took over for the twelfth and final drive. He converted a pair of first downs on passes to James and Richardson before ending the game with an end zone connection to junior wide receiver Xavier Southall. With the extra point, Blue finished the game with a 76-31 victory.
