SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame’s annual Blue and Gold Game kicks off Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET at Notre Dame Stadium, which is under renovation as part of the university’s “Campus Crossroads” project.
Broadcast information
TV: NBC Sports Network, also streaming online at NBCSports.com and on the NBC Sports Live Extra app
Announcing crew: Paul Burmeister will handle play-by-play with analyst Ross Tucker. Jac Collinsworth, the son of NBC Sports broadcaster Cris Collinsworth and a current Notre Dame student, will be the sideline reporter.
Features: In-game audio from coach Brian Kelly, as well as interviews with current and former Notre Dame players. NBC’s halftime coverage includes an in-depth interview with Kelly.
Forecast
Clear and sunny, with temperatures in the upper 60’s to low 70’s.
Format
There will be two 12-minute quarters with normal clock stoppages in the first half; second half will have two 15-minute quarters with a running clock except for injuries and timeouts.
Each possession will begin from the 30-yard line, with no kickoffs and all punts being fair caught.
This will be a traditional game with regular scoring between a Blue team and a Gold team. DeShone Kizer will quarterback one side, Malik Zaire the other. Both quarterbacks will be live, as Zaire and Everett Golson were for last year’s spring game.
There will be a few tweaks to the game
“We’ll back off on some pressures, we won’t tempo as much, we’re going to slow it down a little bit,” coach Brian Kelly said. We’re not going to use two tight ends. I think from an offensive standpoint, we’ll just kind of slow it down a little bit and from a defensive standpoint we won’t be quite as aggressive with pressures. But everything else will be traditional scoring across the board.”
Other notes
— Click here for full rosters (http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/041516aab.html ).
— Former Irish players and 2016 Super Bowl champions David Bruton and Ryan Harris will be honorary captains.
— Kelly wants this game to be a test for a large group of young players who will, for the first time, see the field in significant roles this fall. “This is not just a glorified scrimmage for them,” Kelly said. “They better be focused and locked in. I want their demeanor to be such that they’re getting ready to compete in a game.
“That’s why it was important for me to get this to be a blue versus gold and not the offense versus the defense. My feelings are the important of having a big crowd and having a great day will only add to really seeing the demeanor of these young guys as they step into more important roles.”