Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/181992
on paper revisited Notre Dame Running Game Vs. Oklahoma Run Defense The Irish actually had more yards on the ground this season against Oklahoma (220) than in last year's victory at Norman (215), and head coach Brian Kelly displayed a patience and commitment to it even after falling behind 14‑0. Junior George Atkinson III (14 carries for 148 yards, highlighted by an 80-yard score) broke tackles and read his blocking much better, especially on the much highlighted stretch to the left side with zone blocking, a Notre Dame staple last year. Freshman Tarean Folston's 36-yard run and the addition of senior quarterback Andrew Hendrix (five carries for 10 yards) to add some read option provided some much needed diversity. Advantage: Notre Dame Notre Dame Passing Game Vs. Oklahoma Pass Defense This was a major problem area for the second straight week, although it's not all on senior quarterback Tommy Rees' arm (9-of-24 passing for 104 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions). Missing a block on a blitz helped force the first of three interceptions, and a confused pass route aided another interception. Junior wide receiver DaVaris Daniels (one catch for 13 yards) was not a factor a second straight week, and no one else is emerging consistently enough to help compensate for it. The Irish did close to within 27-21 with touchdown tosses to senior wideout TJ Jones and junior tight end Troy Niklas, but Rees' final seven passes, after the Sooners moved ahead 35-21, fell incomplete. Advantage: Oklahoma Special Teams Neither team did anything game-changing for the positive in this area, nor anything that would cause defeat. Still, the two successful third-quarter field goals (19 and 27 yards) by Oklahoma's Mike Hunnicutt and a 40-yard kickoff return by Trey Franks to By lou somogyi the Sooners' 48 that set up one of those field goals give OU the nod. Advantage: Oklahoma Third-Down Conversions On paper this would appear to be a wash. Notre Dame was 4 of 12 (33.3 percent), while Oklahoma was 5 of 14 (35.7 percent) — but if you include a failed fourth down, it also was 33.3 percent. The good news for the Irish was they stopped Bell from picking up a first down on three short-yardage plays — once on fourth-and-one and twice on thirdand-one. They also threw running back Damian Williams for a one-yard loss on third-and-one. The bad news was Oklahoma's final touchdown came on a 54yard quick pass to Sterling Shepard on third-and-three. It also should be noted that two of the Sooners' interceptions occurred on situations when the Irish were facing third-and-seven and third-and-10. That gives just the slightest of tilt toward the Sooners. Advantage: Oklahoma Turnovers Plain and simple, this was the ball game. Notre Dame had three turnovers, all interceptions that ended up producing 21 Oklahoma points. One of those three touchdowns was by the defense. Equally important is the Sooners did not have any turnovers. Notre Dame has not had a single game this season in which it produced or induced more than one turnover. Advantage: Oklahoma Summary Notre Dame finally ran the ball the way it needed to, but spotting the Sooners a 14-point advantage less than three minutes into the game put it in a hole difficult to overcome. A 3-0 disparity in turnovers will usually result in a loss for the team on the short end of that ledger. Oklahoma not only had zero turnovers — like Notre Dame last year in Norman — but was efficient with both the run (212 yards, 5.0 yards per carry) and pass (238 yards and about eight yards per attempt).