Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/176703
Game Preview: Oklahoma at defensive end — sophomore Charles Tapper and redshirt junior Geneo Grissom — both weigh less than 265 pounds. The 3-4 alignment allows the Sooners to get their linebackers more involved in the actions. Senior Corey Nelson and redshirt sophomore Frank Shannon are two of the defense's best players and line up at linebacker. At times, Hale said, the Sooners put both their outside linebackers on the line of scrimmage to create a 5-2 look that reminds old Oklahoma fans of the Bud Wilkinson days. "They do that sometimes against the teams that are going to try to run the ball on them," Hale said. "They're a lot different on defense, much more multiple. They're not stubborn in how they line up on teams. To their credit, they went to the drawing board." Change has the restless Sooners fan base hoping for a return to the top rung of college football's ladder this season. The Sooners won a share 2013 oklahoma Schedule Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 Louisiana-Monroe W, 34-0 Sept. 7 West Virginia (FOX) W, 16-7 Sept. 14 Tulsa (ESPN2) W, 51-20 Sept. 28 Notre Dame (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 5 TCU TBA Oct. 12 vs. Texas TBA Oct. 19 at Kansas TBA Oct. 26 Texas Tech TBA Nov. 7 at Baylor (FS1) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 Iowa State TBA Nov. 23 at Kansas State TBA Dec. 7 at Oklahoma State TBA * at Dallas of the Big 12 conference title in 2012 with a 10-3 record, but that was seen as a failure by most fans in Norman. A mixture of running and passing the ball, a renewed focus on defense and a 3-0 start have fans thinking they might be on their way back to the top. "I think the general national perception is that OU is not an elite team, not one of those teams that's in the national title talk, and I think that bothers some people," Hale said. "The first three games have got people excited. They look good. Defensively, they're playing with some bite again." A trip to South Bend will serve as an early-season litmus test for how much an altered look will help Oklahoma against the tougher teams on its schedule in 2013. A win against the Irish could make the Sooners a dark horse candidate to slip into national title talks as the year progresses. ✦ 2013 Notre Dame Schedule Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 Temple (NBC) W, 28-6 Sept. 7 at Michigan (ESPN) L, 41-30 Sept. 14 at Purdue (ABC) W, 31-24 Sept. 21 Michigan State (NBC) W, 17-13 Sept. 28 Oklahoma (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 5 vs. Arizona State^ (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 Southern California (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at Air Force (CBSSN) 5 p.m. Nov. 2 Navy (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at Pittsburgh (ABC/ESPN) TBA Nov. 23 Brigham Young (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Stanford (FS1) TBA ^ Shamrock Series at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas