April 24, 2006
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Brady Quinn is read to lead the team out on the field to begin warm up drills for the 77th Annual Blue-Gold Game.
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Senior captain Travis Thomas greets some Irish fans while heading out to the field for warm ups.
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"The Bus" makes his return to Notre Dame Stadium to serve as an honorary coach.
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Mike Golic seemed to enjoy every minute of his time as honorary coach of the Blue Team.
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Head coach Charlie Weis takes the field for the team's final spring workout of 2006.
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The Gold Team coaching staff (left to right) Rocket Ismail, Jappy Oliver, Michael Haywood and Bernie Parmalee lead their group onto the field.
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The Blue Team sprints out of the tunnel, led by Jeff Samardzija (left) and Brady Quinn (right).
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Sophomore David Grimes (#11) looks for running room as sophomore Scott Smith (#41) closes in.
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Offensive MVP (#26) Travis Thomas turns the corner and eludes the grasp of sophomore Kevin Washington (#42).
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After pitching over seven innings and earning a victory for the Notre Dame baseball team on Friday evening, Jeff Samardzija (#83) caught five passes for 93 yards and a touchdown during the Blue-Gold Game.
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Jeff Samardzija and Ambrose Wooden (#22) battle for a jump ball in the end zone.
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Samardzija and Wooden continue their battle, as Wooden knocks the ball incomplete.
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Junior Darius Walker (#3) runs through the tackle of senior Chinedum Ndukwe (#18). Walker rushed for 83 yards on 13 carries (6.0 average) during the game.
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Jeff Samardizja (#83) and Rhema McKnight (#5) celebrate Samardzija's 35-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter.
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Sophomore Evan Sharpley helped the Gold Team to a touchdown drive and ended up 10 of 12 for 112 yards with a long pass of 40 yards (to junior Darrin Bragg).
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Senior Geoff Price booms one of his four punts in the game. Price kicked for both teams, launching a long punt of 50 yards. His overall average on four punts was 32.5.
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Brady Quinn finished the abbreviated game 16 of 25 for 181 yards and one touchdown.
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Quinn did lead the Irish on their final scoring drive, driving 76 yards in nine plays to set up the game-winning field goal by Carl Gioia.
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Seniors Derek Landri (#66) and Trevor Laws (#98) posted a productive day on the defensive line. Laws was named the defensive MVP with two sacks and 4.5 tackles. Landri had a tackle for loss.
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Coach Weis has a discussion with a Blue-Gold Game official.
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Carl Gioia boots the game-winning 20-yard field goal to push the Blue Team to a 10-7 victory. The running clock certainly played a role in the low scoring game. The Blue Team (which featured the No. 1 offense) only ran 43 plays in the game. A typical game during the fall could see anywhere between 80 to 100 plays run.
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Captains Brady Quinn (offense) and Tom Zbikowski (defense) leave the field after the Blue-Gold Game. The Irish will return to the Notre Dame Stadium gridiron on Saturday, Sept. 9, for the 2006 home opener against Penn State.
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Jerome Bettis talks with the media after the Blue-Gold Game. Bettis: "Obviously the talent level is going up and will continue to with each recruiting season. I think that is where the program is heading. They have a coach who understands the nuances of the game but also how to relate to the recruits. I am proud of the direction in which the program is heading."
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Mike Golic jokes with the media after the Blue-Gold Game. Mike Golic: "I felt for awhile that Notre Dame was letting its name speak for itself. Charlie has put some aggressiveness back into the recruiting process and understands the type of players we want to recruit."
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Bob Golic joked with the media after the Blue-Gold Game, but also remarked that he liked the direction of the Irish football program. Bob Golic: "There is a different look in the eyes of the players and the fans. They see something. The new leadership has come in and taken the first steps. There is new excitement and a feeling of optimism. Notre Dame is back to where it was in the past."
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Raghib "Rocket" Ismail served as an honorary coach for the Blue-Gold Game as well.
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Placekicker
Carl Gioia kicked a 20-yard field goal as time expired to give the Blue Team a 10-7 victory over the Gold Team in Notre Dame's 77th Annual Blue-Gold Spring Football Game Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.
A spring game-record crowd of 41,279 watched head coach Charlie Weis's 2006 edition of the Fighting Irish for the first time on a sun-splashed day. Using an innovative split-squad format, Weis split the team into two units bolstered by a third, green-clad group of offensive linemen and kicking specialists who served both squads. The game was set up to feature the starting offense and defense facing each other exclusively, as well as exclusive competition by the reserves against other backup players.
Photos by Marcus Snowden and Brother Charles McBride, CSC.
