It seems many of the top college programs have quarterback battles going on
this spring and things are no different in South Bend for Coach Brian
Kelly’s Fighting Irish. Notre Dame closed the spring last weekend with the annual Blue-Gold game, an ugly affair in bad weather that saw the Gold win 17-14. All eyes on that game were on quarterbacks Tommy Rees and Dayne Crist, the top competitors for Notre Dame's starting quarterback job. However, nothing was resolved in the spring game as both departed shortly after playing a largely uneventful quarter. Rees had the better game, going 7-for-14 for 61 yards, though he did have an interception.
Crist was 5-for-11 for 34 yards. Kelly said beforehand he didn’t expect to name a starter just off that game and he didn’t. Crist, a senior, was the starter to begin last season but suffered a
season-ending knee injury that required surgery. He says is now nearly back to
100 percent or very nearly so. Crist was somewhat inconsistent in his nine
starts before injuring his knee against Tulsa. Until that point in the season,
Crist had averaged 254.1 passing yards per contest, including a 369-yard,
four-TD performance at Michigan State. Rees played very well in Crist’s place in
leading the Irish to a season-ending four-game winning streak, including ending
an eight-year Irish losing streak to Southern Cal and a dominant 33-17 win over
Miami (Fla.) in the Sun Bowl. The four-game win streak to close the season was
the longest by a Notre Dame team since 1992. One big thing hanging over the Irish is the status of star wide receiver
Michael Floyd, who remains suspended after an alcohol-related
arrest. Kelly still hasn’t said how long the suspension will last. Floyd
surprisingly passed on the NFL draft after catching 79 passes for 1,025 yards
and 12 touchdowns last season. Overall Notre Dame is expected to have 19 combined starters (players that
started at least seven games) from offense, defense and special teams. The Irish
lose only one player from each level of the defense (line, linebacker,
secondary). Notre Dame is 28/1 on Bodog’s NCAA football odds to win the national
title this upcoming season and opens on Sept. 3 against South Florida. Bet on NCAA football futures now at Bodog!
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