Notre Dame football: Who has the edge in every facet of the Blue-Gold Game?
Notre Dame ends spring ball with the 93rd edition of the Blue-Gold Game, which will kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday in South Bend and be broadcast on Peacock. With the rosters set in stone, here’s a detailed look at who has the edge in every facet of the game.
Blue run game vs. Gold run defense
Running the ball will be tough for either team, given the disparity in depth between Notre Dame’s offensive and defensive lines (this is not an issue unique to the Irish). The Blue team does have both the projected starting guards, junior Billy Schrauth and senior Pat Coogan. It also has sophomore Sam Pendleton at center; Pendleton struggled with low snaps in Saturday’s scrimmage but has quietly progressed up the depth chart since late last season.
However, branching out to the edge vs. tackle matchups, it doesn’t look good for the Blue side. Graduate Vyper Jordan Botelho, junior defensive end Joshua Burnham and junior Vyper Junior Tuihalamaka should be able to handle a young tackle pairing of junior Aamil Wagner and sophomore Sullivan Absher.
The Gold team also has the luxury of graduate defensive tackle Howard Cross III, who makes life difficult for the best interior offensive linemen in the nation. Sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love is probably the most explosive skill player on the team, but that matters less if he doesn’t have rushing lanes.
Advantage: Gold
Blue pass game vs. Gold pass defense
The Gold team can handle the Blue team’s passing weapons on the outside. Graduate wide receiver Kris Mitchell has had a good spring, but sophomore cornerback Christian Gray awaits him Saturday afternoon. Gray doesn’t give up much. On the boundary, senior cornerback Chance Tucker locked down senior cornerback Deion Colzie during Saturday’s scrimmage.
The Blue team, though, might have the biggest advantage in the game here. Sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse and graduate nickel back Jordan Clark are both on Blue, so sophomore linebacker Jaiden Ausberry will be matched up with Greathouse in the slot.
Ausberry is an exciting, young player and the looks he’s getting at nickel and sub-package safety are very encouraging for his progress. It would be shocking if he can cover Greathouse one-on-one. The Austin (Texas) Westlake graduate went for over 100 yards in last season’s Blue-Gold game, and he’s set up well to do the same this time around.
Add in Love’s work in the passing game and junior quarterback Steve Angeli being the first signal-caller taken, and the situation suddenly looks dicey for the Gold team.
Advantage: Blue
Gold run game vs. Blue run defense
The quarterback run game is an intriguing factor here. Sophomore Kenny Minchey has some serious wheels, and Notre Dame — knowing that senior Riley Leonard is probably the starter come Aug. 31 — likely has an extensive zone-read, QB power and QB sweep section in its playbook.
How well-equipped is the Blue team to stop that? Very, given that it has the projected starting linebacker trio of graduate student Jack Kiser, sophomore Drayk Bowen and junior Jaylen Sneed. Kiser was part of a group that did very well against rushing quarterbacks last season, and Bowen and Sneed have excellent speed. Graduate defensive end R.J. Oben has played a ton of football, too, and he knows how to deal with read-options.
Up front, graduate defensive tackle Rylie Mills should overpower the Gold team’s guards in a still-not-100 percent senior Rocco Spindler (knee) and a sophomore with zero college snaps in Chris Terek. Oben and sophomore Vyper Boubacar Traore aren’t known for their run defense, so there could be some opportunities for junior running back Gi’Bran Payne there. But there won’t be enough to overcome the Blue team’s advantage at the second level.
Advantage: Blue
Gold pass game vs. Blue pass defense
The scholarship skill position players on the Gold team: Payne, sophomore WR KK Smith, freshman WR Micah Glibert, sophomore tight end Cooper Flanagan and senior tight end Davis Sherwood. That’s it. Gilbert and Flanagan have both impressed coaches in spring ball and Smith is an intriguing slot option, but both depth and star power are concerns here.
If Smith does line up in the slot — and in that case, a walk-on would line up on the outside — he’ll have to deal with Clark. Gilbert vs. junior cornerback Jaden Mickey is a matchup to watch, but Mickey has two years of experience on the freshman.
Then there’s the pass-rushing situation. Oben, Traore, Mills, Sneed, Bowen, freshman defensive end Bryce Young and junior defensive tackle Donovan Hinish will cause problems for the Gold team, even with the starting offensive tackle combination of sophomore Charles Jagusah and graduate student Tosh Baker. Minchey will have to scramble to make plays in this one, but the group up front might not let him.
Advantage: Blue
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