Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 MAY 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI A s spring finales go, the Blue- G o l d G a m e t h a t c a p p e d spring drills April 13 truly was not necessarily about who "won" or "lost," but how the game was played. To head coach Brian Kelly, it show- cased the No. 1 offense in the first half, while the somewhat rebuilding defense — particularly at linebacker and the interior — began to assert it- self more in the second half when the top players on offense sat out most of that session. In front of an announced atten- dance of 30,074 in Notre Dame Sta- dium, the format was Offense (Blue) versus Defense (Gold), which re- sulted in a scoring system for the defense that included: Touchdown: six points Turnover forced: three points Three-and-out series: three points Stop/forcing a punt: two points Sack/tackle for loss: one point The latter was especially relevant because the defense "won" 58-45 on the strength of recording 15 "touch sacks" — some debatable — for mi- nus-105 yards. That sack total was one more than the 14 the defense had during the 4-8 season in 2016. Senior quarterback Ian Book com- pleted 16 of 21 passes for 220 yards with one touchdown, while junior run- ning back Jafar Armstrong accounted for 156 yards of total offense, rushing for 85 on nine carries and adding 71 on four receptions. Senior wide receiver Chase Claypool tied for the team lead in receptions with four for 92 yards. Senior defensive end Khalid Ka- reem led the sack brigade with three while Jayson and Justin Ademilola each had two apiece, as did fellow sophomore rover Paul Moala, whose nine tackles were a game high. The defense recorded six other tackles for lost yardage for six more points. Sophomore quarterback Phil Jurk- ovec completed 15 of 26 passes for 135 yards and took the brunt of the pass rush while getting touch-sacked 12 times (quarterbacks were off lim- its to contact). Kelly said afterward that the young signal-caller tended to hang on to the football too long. A clearly disappointed Jurkovec, who also had his sidearm throwing mo- tion tweaked by the staff, concurred and said afterwards it is an aspect on which he must improve. "Very frustrating," Jurkovec said. "I'm just not where I need to be … I have a long way to go with every- thing, physically and mentally. … I'm always going to have to work on my mechanics." Some projected starters or co-start- ers did not play while resting injuries, including senior running back Tony Jones Jr., fifth-year center Trevor Ruh- land, senior safety Alohi Gilman and sophomore linebacker Jack Lamb. FIRST QUARTER 1 Offense (Blue) vs. 1 Defense (Gold) From O25 Book led a 75-yard touchdown drive in 10 plays, completing 5 of 5 passes for 63 yards, mainly on hitch and in- termediate routes to Claypool and junior wide receiver Michael Young. Armstrong began the drive with an 11- yard run through a gaping hole in the middle, and on third-and-goal from the 12, Book found an open Young in perfect stride crossing the end zone. The offense had a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line before a false start on junior right tackle Robert Hainsey and a sack by senior defensive end Julian Okwara. Score: Offense 7, Defense 1 2 Offense (Blue) vs. 2 Defense (Gold) From O25 The defense scored all six points to tie the game when on consecu- tive plays Jurkovec was sacked by end Justin Ademilola, sophomore running back C'Bo Flemister was dropped for a four-yard loss by se- nior defensive end Jamir Jones, and then Jayson Ademilola recorded an- other sack. Because it was a three-and-out se- ries, the defense was rewarded with three more points. A 25-yard punt by freshman Jay Bramblett gave the offense the ball at the defense's 35- yard line. Score: Offense 7, Defense 7 1 Offense (Blue) vs. 1 Defense (Gold) From D35 Book hit Armstrong on a check down for 14 yards on the first play, and Armstrong followed with a 14- yard sweep. On the third play, Book on a roll-out to his right couldn't find an open receiver so he tucked and ran just inside and past the pylon for the score before getting touched. Score: Offense 14, Defense 7 2 Offense (Blue) vs. 2 Defense (Gold) From O25 After initially getting hit near the line of scrimmage, sophomore run- ning back Jahmir Smith bounced outside for a 27-yard gain into de- fensive territory. On third-and-eight, Jurkovec found sophomore wideout Kevin Austin for 12 yards on a cross- ing route. Freshman running back Kyren Williams had a nine-yard run and took a dump-off from Jurkovec for eight more yards. On third-and- goal from the 1-yard line, a Jurkovec pass to Austin resulted in pass inter- ference on senior walk-on cornerback Temitope Agoro. Williams bulled through for the touchdown on the next play. Score: Offense 21, Defense 7 1 Offense (Blue) vs. 1 Defense (Gold) From O25 With Jurkovec in for the top unit, he was sacked twice by Kareem, which resulted in two points for the defense on those lost yardage plays, and then three more points for a three-and-out. Score: Offense 21, Defense 12 2 Offense (Blue) vs. 2 Defense (Gold) From D47 On third-and-three from the de- fense's 30-yard line, Jurkovec con- nected with sophomore wide re- ceiver Joe Wilkins, who then added about 15 yards on a spin move on junior cornerback Avery Davis for a 27-yard gain to the 3-yard line. A tackle for loss by sophomore line- backer Shayne Simon on Flemister gave a point to the defense before the quarter ended. Score: Offense 21, Defense 13 SETTLING THE SCORE The offense produces early, while the defense takes over in the second half of the Blue-Gold Game