Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/176703
Game Preview: Oklahoma nerback KeiVarae Russell and junior safety Matthias Farley are all in their second seasons starting for the Irish, but there have been considerable breakdowns in the secondary and a dearth of turnovers in the early going. The Irish defense as a whole has forced just three takeaways in three games, while allowing an average of 23.7 points per contest. Last year's illustrious unit recorded seven turnovers in the first three contests, while allowing an average of 10.0 points per game in the three victories. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly recently emphasized the importance of defensive backs not chasing down a mobile quarterback too early in a play at the risk of leaving a receiving target open. With Bell's dual-threat abilities, the Sooners' offensive success might boil down to the discipline of the Irish secondary on such plays. Advantage: Oklahoma Notre Dame Running Game Vs. Oklahoma Run Defense Notre Dame's ability to not only stop the run, but also to gain yards on the ground offensively led to the signature 30-13 victory in Norman, Okla., last season. Cierre Wood's 62-yard touchdown scamper in the first quarter set the tone for the evening, and he (74 yards), Theo Riddick (74 yards) and Everett Golson (64 yards) all impacted the running game. Although none of those three players will suit up for the Irish on Saturday, the same theme needs to carry over to the 2013 game for Notre Dame to prevail. Kelly and offensive coordinator Chuck Martin are still mixing and matching the personnel at running back while trying to find the pair of backs they will hand it off to consistently. In the early going, those two ball carriers have been juniors Amir Carlisle (30 carries for 148 yards) and Cam McDaniel (29 rushes for 125 yards. Along the defensive line, the only Oklahoma returning starter is junior defensive end Chuka Ndulue, who registered 45 tackles and five sacks a year ago. The other three mainstays (redshirt junior Geneo Grissom, redshirt sophomore Jordan Phillips and sophomore Charles Tapper) are unproven in big-game situations prior to running out of the Notre Dame Stadium tunnel. Senior linebacker Corey Nelson, whose made a team-best 20 tackles, has led the way for a unit that was tied for fourth nationally in scoring defense (9.0 points allowed per game) through three weeks. Advantage: Even Notre Dame Passing Game Vs. Oklahoma Pass Defense Following the semester-long suspension of Golson, the most-discussed issue heading into the 2013 season was how senior Tommy Rees would fare in his absence. Through three games, Rees had performed much better than many of the Irish faithful expected with an average of 323.0 passing yards per game and a seven-to-two touchdown-to-interception ratio. Although Golson's speed sparked the offense at times in last year's road victory, the Sooners do not have to game plan for that possibility with Rees behind center. In the early going, opposing defenses have opted to give Rees plenty of room in the intermediate passing game. He has largely taken advantage and has even succeeded in the deep passing game the few times he has attempted to find a target, typically junior wide receiver DaVaris Daniels. Like the defensive line, the Oklahoma secondary is young, with only senior cornerback Aaron Colvin a returning starter. Colvin was tabbed as a first-team All-Big 12 performer in 2012. The ability of the Oklahoma linebackers — two of three starters returned — to bottle up the Irish intermediate passing game might determine Notre Dame's success with moving the ball. Junior tight end Troy Niklas has already burned a pair of teams when they allow him to slip past the linebackers and into the secondary. He managed a 66-yard touchdown reception against Temple and caught a 20-yard touchdown pass at Michigan. Advantage: Notre Dame