Apr 20, 2013; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish nose tackle Louis Nix (1) gestures before a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

This past Saturday was the 84^th annual Blue and Gold game in South Bend. It was the offense in white and the defense wearing blue squaring off for intersquad bragging rights before the season starts. The defense came out with the win 54-42, but the real score was 17-2 favoring the offense. The biggest worry for many fans would be how will Te’o, Lewis-Moore, and Motta be replaced? Carlo Calabrese looked like himself, a hard hitting linebacker that is mainly a 1^st and 2^nd down guy. He still struggles with his pass coverage’s, but he looks improved on his footwork. Kona Schwenke came away with the safety for the blue team and looks improved from his past years. He has played all 4 years, but has never started. Kona will be a key backup for the defensive line this upcoming season.  Shumate was the 3^rd leading tackler on Saturday with 7 and one pass breakup. Farley looked good, but he and Shumate must compete with Redfield when he gets on campus, which could get interesting.

The defense dominated the entire game recording 10 sacks, 2 interceptions, a safety, and only 42 rushing on 17 attempts (2.47 yards a carry). The secondary looked improved throughout the game only giving up 283 passing yards with a lot of substitutions. Overall the zone coverage looked better, but there were still obvious holes over the deep middle. That is one of the usual holes in a zone, but safeties can jump converge on receivers faster than they have in the past. Louis Nix III is the anchor of this defense and I expect him to be the leader this season. Tuitt will have a breakout season in 2013 and the country will realize how great of an athlete he is. As the incoming freshmen come onto campus it will be clearer how deep the Irish really are on defense. Look for Vanderdoes, Smith, and Redfield to contribute in 2013.

Apr 20, 2013; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (8) slides in the third quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Getting a look at the Notre Dame players only seven rows behind the sideline was an easy way to really learn a little more about where these players stand. Here are some notes about things that stood out during the 84th Annual Blue-Gold Game:

• Malik Zaire is a physically built Quarterback. When he stands next to Everett Golson, he looks like the player who has been through three springs instead of one. If a person was approaching the two without any prior knowledge they would probably believe that Zaire was the person who is slated to start in the fall and not Golson. What does this mean? Not too much because it is of course more than just physical traits that make up a great Quarterback. However, it could mean that Golson will be extremely injury prone like we saw last season. Notre Dame will always need a solid #2 Quarterback who is ready to come in at a moment’s notice.

• Notre Dame utilized a four man front frequently throughout yesterday’s game. This had been discussed at length during the spring and it appears to be here to stay. The game has not been reviewed yet to see exactly how much time Notre Dame spent in 3 down and 4 down but it felt as if Notre Dame was in 4 down more than 50% of the time. They could be moving in this direction for two reasons. One, this season they will not have Kapron Lewis-Moore who helped them anchor the line along with Louis Nix and Stephon Tuitt. Second, Notre Dame was gouged in the Championship game when Alabama’s Offensive Line got to the second level and blocked Notre Dame’s Linebackers, most notably Manti Te’o. So, this could be a move schematically to prevent these types of runs from happening.

• C.J. Prosise received most of the work yesterday in the slot. When he was not in the game, he was rotating with a Tight End like Ben Koyack. Prosise showed many flashes of his ability to be a dynamic player despite only hauling in two passes. One long pass that he failed to snag should have been pass interference on Notre Dame Safety Matthias Farley. Obviously, he needs to come down with the ball regardless. But, overall he is getting open enough to be dangerous against most defenses.

• A Freshman Running Back either Greg Bryant or Tarean Folston will have an excellent opportunity to play this season because of the influx at the position. Even though it appears like George Atkinson III has nailed down the spot, he still posesses many of the same issues he had a year ago. He runs too high and fails to get down hill fast enough. The reason he runs to high could be because of his time as a sprinter. Cam McDaniel showed some nice things on Saturday but does he have anything that is other than “nice”? This seemed like a question that would be resolved going into the spring but now it seems like one of the biggest coming out of spring.

Mar 15, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Kevin Ware (5) goes up for a layup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half of a semifinal game of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

The Fighting Irish took on the Cardinals in the Big East Semifinals. Notre Dame had never advanced to the final of the Big East Tournament. For the fourth straight year, Mike Brey and company tried to make it out of the Semifinals and to a Saturday matchup for the title. But, unfortunately, the Irish again came up short. As strange and negative as it sounds, Notre Dame will never play in the Big East Championship game.

Notre Dame did an excellent job in the first half of handling the pressure from Louisville. However, Louisville still forced 10 Notre Dame turnovers in the first half. Additionally, the Irish were out-rebounded by the Cardinals 16-11 in the first period of play.

Mike Brey was visibly frustrated at the end of the first half. He was angry with the officials for the calls that went against him. He was also frustrated with Notre Dame’s performance on defense at the end of half. The Irish left Luke Hancock wide open for three, which gave the Cardinals a 32-25 lead.

In the second half, the Cardinals suffocated the Irish in the second half. Notre Dame hung tough but faded with five minutes remaining.

The Irish were led by Jack Cooley and Jerian Grant who each had 14 points. Cooley added 6 rebounds. Grant chipped in 5 assists.

Mike Brey and his team will return to South Bend and await their seeding in the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame will look to correct some early exits in NCAA Tournament in recent history.