Nate Montana could be the starting quarterback for Notre Dame come September. In the process the former walk on could rival the Notre Dame legend created by his dad Joe.

That astonishing possibility became clear after Montana had a much better game driving the Gold offense in an impressive win over the Blue team led by first string quarterback Dayne Crist in the annual Spring match up. His team won 27-19,

Montana completed 18 of 30 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns.

In contrast, incumbent Dayne Crist only managed 20 of 31 passes for 172 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Advantage Montana.

Thus the previous far-fetched notion that another Montana might line up under center for Notre Dame has suddenly become a real prospect.

Montana has had a checkered career so far, even leaving Notre Dame to try and improve his prospects at a junior college.

Now he is back and he knows it

"Today really cemented it, I guess," Montana said. "Today was the first day I've relaxed and felt the most comfortable out of all the practices. They threw a lot at us, but today was just nice and relaxing for me."

Maybe this kid has that Montana killer touch, knowing when to come through when the chips are down,

Brian Kelly pronounced himself satisfied with the game."It's the first coat of paint for us," Kelly said. "This is a process, and we know that this is not a destination for us. But we got a chance to see some things (Saturday) that we can build on."

Nate Montana certainly now has something to build on.