Notre Dame Legends Take on Japanese National Team

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Notre Dame football alumni will be taking on the Japanese National Team in American football on Saturday, July 25, 2009 in Tokyo at 4 p.m. local time (3 a.m. US ET).

Led by former head coach Lou Holtz, the Notre Dame Football Legends have spent the last nine days preparing at training camps in South Bend, Indiana and at Nihon University in Tokyo.

“It will be great to get back out there on the football field wearing the gold helmet for Notre Dame again,” said quarterback Tony Rice, who led the 1988 football National Champion Fighting Irish team.

But Rice and backup quarterback Gary Godsey have suffered from injuries since arriving in Tokyo, so head coach Holtz has placed safety Ambrose Wooden as an emergency replacement as quarterback.

"I am hoping it is like riding a bike and that the players who have played in big football games will remember how to play," said coach Holtz.  "I worry most about our skill positions. We haven't played in a complete game, and sometimes the mind is willing but the body isn't. But whatever happens, I have told the players to have fun and to represent themselves and the University of Notre Dame with pride."

Ron Israel, of The Legends team warned his teammates of Japan wide receiver Noriaki Kinoshita: “He’s fast and he’ll get by you if you can’t jam him at the line of scrimmage,“ said Israel.

Israel knows about Kinoshita by way of playing alongside him, as they both played for the Amsterdam Admirals of the NFL Europe in 2005. Israel was a receiver for the Atlanta Falcons practice squad in 2008.

Holtz has been scouting out the competition, and he believes he understands their strengths and weaknesses. While speaking to opposing head coach Kiyoyuki Mori, Holtz said, “Your quarterbacks throw a ball very well and your receivers run great routes.”

CBS College Sports Network will broadcast the Notre Dame Japan Bowl to a nationwide audience in the United States on Monday, Aug. 10 (9 p.m., ET; taped 7/25/09) as part of the network's "Countdown to Kickoff Week" programming.

Notre Dame Legends Roster

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