Things We Learned: Notre Dame’s defense ahead of its offense, but all carry competitive energy into the summer

Marcus Freeman could not get through his pregame sideline interview without rattling off his favorite buzzword.

“I want to see how competitive they are,” the Notre Dame head coach said before Saturday’s Blue-Gold Game.

If that was Freeman’s goal, then he at least learned his No. 3 or 4 quarterback is exceedingly competitive, as early-enrolled freshman Steve Angeli ended the Irish spring practices with a dive into the end zone for the winning touchdown as the clock reached zero, Gold beating Blue 13-10.

That should be the closest moment Angeli has in 2022 to a meaningful play, but the freshman putting his body on the line in an exhibition was emblematic of the ethos Freeman is trying to instill throughout his program.

“To end it like that, you couldn’t have scripted it a better way to end it on the last play,” Freeman said. “This group has a lot of momentum right now. Continue to form our identity, but it’s really good to end it that way.”

FOR THE WIN!

Steve Angeli runs it in with no time left on the clock for the gold team! @NDFootball | #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/64cK99ZxY4

— Notre Dame on NBC (@NDonNBC) April 23, 2022

What does not have a lot of momentum right now is the rest of Notre Dame’s quarterbacks and offense as a whole. Angeli finished 11-of-17 for 180 yards with a touchdown pass and the 10-yard scoring rush. Meanwhile, junior Drew Pyne went 22-of-33 for 185 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions, a third undone by an offsides penalty but immediately leading to one of the pair that stood. Playing for both the Blue and Gold teams throughout the first half, Pyne could not find anything resembling a rhythm, and his interceptions came from misdiagnosing coverage or panicking under pressure.

His first pick,