Trevonics: Blue-Gold Game

By Trev Alberts
formerly of ESPN.com

What a special day! A long morning of tailgating, giving way to a friendly scrimmage between the Notre Dame warrior-poets, giving way to more tailgating in the noonday sun. Delectable meats and beverages weer in hearty supply, and optimism hung in the air with the charcoaly scent of grills wafting over the fields of fans. This is how we're remembering it, police records of our behavior be damned!

Success is also in the air this day, as our wager with Brian at The House Rock Built has left us with the non-slapped glow of victory! Let me run down the various propositions with you:

Gold +6.5 over Blue: Brian's faith in the 1st team offense turned against him, as it included equal faith in the 2nd team defense. Demetrius Jones threw a pick-six to David Bruton, giving the Gold team a lead that it would never surrender. Of course, the run game became the unexpected focus of the scrimmage, keeping the points low, and the running clock a runnin'.
Fire Mark May 1-House Rock Built 0

Under 41.5 points: Running game, running clock. This one was a no-brainer, a FireMarkMay specialty. Free money.
Fire Mark May 2-House Rock Built nil

Evan Sharpley +35 passing yards vs. Jimmy Clausen:JC, despite all of his holy and unholy powers, was not able to do much with roughly 5 passing attempts. All 4 QBs focused on shorter passes, as only Junior Jabbie and Demetrius Jones were given the green light to air it out, both on trick plays. Final tally: Sharpley's 31 to Clausen's 23.
Fire Mark May 3-House Rock Built nein

Travis Thomas -15 rushing yards vs. James Aldridge: Another victim of the scrimmage's equal playing time, as neither back saw enough carries to stand out. Junior Jabbie's unexpectedly impressive (91 yds on 13 carries) day keeps the stats low.
Final tally: Thomas 36-Aldridge 34.
Fire Mark May 3-House Rock Built 1

Total Turnovers Under 2.5: Brian's feeling was that the new QBs would make enough mistakes, even without being blitzed. It looked like he would be more than right with 2 early picks, but once everyone settled down, the big mistakes went away.
Fire Mark May 4-House Rock Built 1

Odd numbered MVP: #37 Junior Jabbie set himself from the pack early with back-to-back rushes of 17 and 16 yards. Clearly the standout of the day, he seemed to be everywhere he needed to be.
Fire Mark May 5-House Rock Built 1

Ambient gametime temperature over 68.5 F: Going against the traditional sound under bet, we took a chance that this year's spring game would not be dominated by freezing rain, sleet, or snow. Nature rewarded our faith with a balmy 77 degrees of clear, sunny skies. Perfect weather for cold-filtered refreshment.
Fire Mark May 6-House Rock Built 1

While we were victorious in our series of wagers, our "condition" kept us from determining an accurate margin of victory. Being the gentlemen we are, I had the kid settle for one ceremonial slap. Enjoy.



Trev Alberts is a former slapbet commissioner. He is still lobbying for a salary cap.