Notre Dame football will conclude its spring practices today with the annual Blue & Gold game, giving all fans a preview of what they’ll see when the season starts in the fall.

The Irish will be back on the field, but it won’t be quite like the football that we normally see, especially the scoring. While touchdown will still be 6-points, the point after one, and field goals three, there are other ways that the offense can put points on the board. Mike Berardino shared how the game will be scored, with a point being given for a first down, two-points for an “explosive” play over 20-yards.

Defensively is where it could get confusing for the fans, but when it’s offense against defense, you have to be able to get them some points as well. They’ll get a point for forcing a punt, five-points for a takeaway in plus territory, and seven if the turnover is in minus territory. A defensive score is twelve, while a point is given for a tackle-for-loss with two-points for a sack.

It doesn’t end there with three-points for a blocked field goal, two for a point-after score, another two if they stop a two-point conversion, two-points if a fourth-down stop is made in plus territory and three if its in minus. They can also earn two-points if a field goal is missed.

Clearly the scoring won’t be nearly like what we would see in a regular game, but this is the spring and head coach Marcus Freeman is trying to make it as fair for the defense as possible.

12 points for a defensive score — “at the discretion” of Marcus Freeman, former DC. #NotreDame #NDFootball pic.twitter.com/HvmVrUCvPv

— Mike BerardinoNDI (@MikeBerardino) April 24, 2026

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Notre Dame Blue & Gold game primer: How the game will be scored