By Staff
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A record crowd of more than 51,000 watched the Gold squad take a 10-6 victory over the Blue in the annual Notre Dame football spring game on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.
Many of the fans in attendance came to see freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen play.
But Fighting Irish coach Charlie Weis may have fooled his fans by featuring the running game more than the passing attack. Running back Junior Jabbie certainly opened some eyes with his performance, which could be a key for Notre Dame this fall.
Not only do the Fighting Irish have to replace quarterback Brady Quinn, but it must replace running back Darius Walker, who left Notre Dame early for the National Football League Draft.
Jabbie, who did not have a carry in 2006, finished with 87 yards on 13 carries.
Jamie Aldridge and Travis Thomas, who was a defensive back last season, both had nine carries.
"I kept the number of passes to a minimum because I wanted them to come out there and run the football," Weis told reporters. "I think the one thing, one of the main things I wanted to come out here in the spring was establish a toughness on the offense that I think we've started to get away from a little bit. That's why I want to see a heavy dose of running."
While Weis was trying to emphasis his offense, it was the defense that scored the first touchdown.
David Bruton returned an interception 35-yards for a touchdown. Ryan Burkhart added the extra point and the Gold squad had a 7-0 lead.
The Blue cut the lead to 7-6 in the second quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Demetruis Jones to Robby Parris.
The only scoring in the second half came in the final quarter when Burkhart connected on a 24-yard field goal.
While many Irish fans want to know who will replace Quinn at quarterback, Weis said no decisions have been made.
"Well, I don't want to individualize things, but I can tell you this: none of the four, I would say ever played themselves out of contention, and that's as strong a statement as I can make there," he said. "Normally it has to be somebody separates where they play themselves better. Sometimes it happens because somebody actually plays worse and none of them have played themselves out of the mix."
Classen was 3-of-7 in the contest.
Legendary Notre Dame coaches Ara Parseghian coached the Blue squad and Lou Holtz the victorious Gold squad.
Notre Dame will open its season Sept. 1 when it hosts Georgia Tech.
Notre Dame Spring Game
Gold 7 0 0 3 – 0
Blue 0 6 0 0 – 6
Gold – Bruton, David 35-yard interception return (Burkhart, Ryan kick)
BLUE – Parris, Robby 15-yard pass from Jones, Demetrius
Gold – Burkhart, 24-yard field goal