Blue-Gold. April 24, 2010

Welcome to the first Anti-Preview of the year. This is a week we have all been waiting for this spring, the Blue-Gold game. We are going to take a look at a preview of Saturdays game and clue you in on some of the important things, like what you should be drinking for Saturday.

So without further ado…

What should you be drinking?

Everyone should be thinking of this weekend as St. Patrick’s Day II. Whenever the Fighting Irish play the Fighting Irish, we all win. This weekend we must all remember the old Irish proverb, “It’s a marathon not a sprint.” So with that being said, you need to build a base. The base will be provided by the Super Irish Car Bomb.

Technical difficulties, watch this here.

• 2 pints of Guinness
• 3 shots of Jameson
• 3 shots of Baileys Irish cream.

Mix Baileys and Jameson in small glass, drop inside larger glass of Guinness. Consume. Enjoy. Feel sick. Repeat if necessary.   

After this solid base is built by the Super Irish Car Bomb, then relax for the rest of the day while enjoying one of the many Irish Stouts that are available,

What should you be eating?

When you think of traditional Irish food for St Patrick’s Day II, you think of corned beef or maybe Irish stew. What you should really be thinking of is bacon. If there is one thing the Irish excel at when it comes to food is bacon. They are a different level of bacon and its amazing. That’s why this week you should be eating Bacon and Cabbage. Its similar to Corned Beef and Cabbage only its better. You get to eat a lot of bacon while having a green vegetable to go with it, makes you feel healthier.

This recipe couldn’t be any easier. Unless you have had 3 Super Irish Car Bombs in a row, you should be able to make this.  Boil the bacon in water. When it comes to a boil, drain the water. Here is a step that might confuse some people. Cover the bacon again with cold water and bring it back to a boil, then simmer for 1 -1.5 hours. Its all about the double boil. The last 20 minutes add in the cabbage and potatoes. Boom, your basically done. Remove the bacon and slice. Add some salt and pepper to the cabbage and a chunk of butter. Serve with Car bombs.

What should you be wearing?

What to wear this week is a bit tricky. Its the first game of the year and we all want to bust our our favorite Notre Dame gear. Mine favorite is my 1994, #3 Champion Ron Powlus jersey. Its faded, its doesn’t fit, but its the best. This is the first time of the year that I can wear it and I want to. The other option would be to go with The Shirt. The Shirt comes out this Friday so we don’t know what it looks like yet. There is always the risk its that pale yellow nonsense but remember the money goes to a good cause either way. This week, wear your favorite Notre Dame paraphernalia, but come this fall, lets be unified in a color. Kelly green it is.

Now on to the important stuff…

Offensive MVP: This year we should see a repeat performance from last years Blue-Gold game MVP Armando Allen. When you think about the offense you think about outstanding questions. How much stamina does Dayne have in the knee and is it enough to play the entire game? Do the receivers, who Brian Kelly said is giving him the most angst at night, actually have enough grasp of the offensive playbook to make a difference in Saturdays game (man I hope so)? Do the offensive lineman know enough about their position or even which position they are going to be playing? The one part of offense that seems pretty much lock down is the running back position. The clear cut leader of that pack is Armando Allen. Its going to be awesome to see Allen in this spread offense. If anyone seemed ready for this switch in offensive philosophies its him. Allen has added that next level in his game this past year and by showing he can break tackles and get to the next level. You Mr. Allen have this award to lose this weekend.

Defensive MVP: The easy pick here would be Manti Te’o. Te’o seems destined for greatness and I would love to crown him right here and now. I think Te’o will have a standout game. Recently Kelly said of Te’o he has to “get much better as a football player.” With the switch to the 3-4 defense and the fire that Kelly is lighting under his star middle linebacker,  Manti will be pumped for this game. The games defensive MVP will come from Irish secondary however and its not normally a player I would pick, Harrison Smith. Mr. Smith, this is your year. Its time for you to step up and remind us of the player we all saw glimpses of your freshman year. Lets look at it this way. The Irish defense will be facing a spread attack led by a QB coming off a knee injury. The safety position is extremely vital in defending against the spread attack. Think of last year when the Irish defense went against the spreads of Nevada, Michigan and Purdue. Kyle McCarthy led the team in tackles in the Nevada and Purdue game and was second in the team in the Michigan game. The strong safety needs to play fast against the spread being able to come into the box quickly against the run, but also not getting beat deep against the likes of Michael Floyd and company. Look for Harrison Smith to have a standout game this week and cement himself as a leader in the secondary.

The Sleeper: Emeka Nwankwo. Who else could we pick here besides Emeka. This kid is ready to make a name for himself on the big stage and what bigger stage than in front of his coaches in the Blue-Gold game. Emeka needs a chance to usurp his teammates and he will make a big dent in that depth chart this weekend.

Something else to watch:

Two things:

1. The play of the backup quarterbacks. Tommy Rees and Nate Montana are it folks. Thats what we have in the depth chart right now. If Dayne’s recently constructed ACL gives out at any time, we have to rely on a true freshman or a backup high school quarterback this fall. Rees may be younger of the two but running the air-raid spread attack at Lake Forrest High School may give him the advantage this spring. Montana was a backup at De La Salle in California which in itself means he has some talent. Nate is still green and has to get used to actually playing in a game in a hurry if he wants a shot at the backup role heading out of spring camp.

2. The uniforms. If Kelly wants to make any changes to the uniforms, now would be the perfect time to do it. Many people are hoping that Kelly isn’t concentrating on the uniforms and what they look like, instead focusing on the important tasks at hand like winning football games. Still, as a life long ND fan Kelly has to have a favorite uniform. We all do. We all can close our eyes and picture the prototypical Notre Dame uniform. Does Kelly’s vision look like the uniforms they have now? Or does he make some subtle but awesome changes to the greatest uniform in sports.

So who’s going to win: Easiest question of the day. The Irish, zing! Thats the beauty of the spring game, we always win. C’mon, over the past few years we haven’t been able to say that often. The Irish will win on Saturday. In all honesty the defense has to win. They defense has to be lightyears ahead of the offense every spring. Last year the offense lead the charge and look what happened to the team. Both squads are getting new schemes so their will be an adjustment, but the defense should always catch on quicker than the offense. Lets hope for a strong defensive performance on Saturday with a bunch of great offensive positives. Those positives being a cohesive offensive line, a lack of any confusion with the new play calling and no injuries. If that happens, I think we all win.