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The 2013 Notre Dame Blue-Gold Spring Game is in the books, with the Blue (defense) defeating the Gold (offense) 54-43. The Irish offense struggled to find its footing in the first half, with returning quarterback Everett Golson generally ineffective. A clearly frustrated coach Brian Kelly told the NBC sideline reporter that Golson had reverted to some of his "playground football" tendencies.
The highlight of the game came in the game's penultimate series. Freshman quarterback Malik Zaire hit C.J. Prosise for a score, and Notre Dame sent out defensive tackle Louis Nix -- who a mic'd Brian Kelly called "Irish chocolate" earlier in the game -- for the two-point conversion. After shouting out what we presume was made-up reads to his receivers, Nix took the snap, faked a pass, and rumbled through the line for the conversion.
On the other side of the ball, the Notre Dame defense looked solid in its first public scrimmage after the graduation of Manti Te'o. Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco had the Irish defense hitting hard, no more so than a huge hit by Carlo Calabrese on running back George Atkinson III late in the first half.
Notre Dame's spring practice schedule comes to an end. The Irish return in August.
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