Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/181992
Taking A Closer Look What Worked • The Irish ground game. Notre Dame struggled to establish a running game against its last three opponents, but took it to Oklahoma on the ground. As a team, the Irish has 29 rushing attempts for 220 yards and one touchdown, and did a terrific job of extending drives and establishing field position. Junior tailback George Atkinson III led the way with 14 carries for 148 yards and a score, while freshman Tarean Folston helped spark the offense. The Sunshine State native ran for 43 yards on his only two carries, including a 36-yard scamper in the first quarter that set up a six-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Tommy Rees to senior wide receiver TJ Jones. • Containing Blake Bell's runs. Although Notre Dame has two All-America candidates in nose guard Louis Nix III and defensive end Stephon Tuitt, many were concerned about the mobility and athleticism of Oklahoma quarterback Blake Bell. The 6-6, 252-pound signalcaller has thrived on extending plays with his legs and has proven to be very tough to stop in short-yardage situations. The Irish defense did a terrific job of shutting Bell down in those situations and was physically tougher than the Sooners' offensive line. Bell finished with 59 yards on 12 carries, but failed to convert three short-yardage runs — two third-and-ones and one fourth-and-one. What Didn't Work • The Notre Dame passing attack. Senior quarterback Tommy Rees struggled to find his rhythm throughout the day and barely exceeded the century mark in passing yards. He completed 9 of 24 throws for 104 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Rees looked uncomfortable in the pocket and failed to establish a true passing threat. The offensive line held up nicely after the initial series and did a good job of giving him time, but this wasn't Rees' day to make plays for the Irish offense. After playing solid throughout the first four games, the leader of the offense took a step back against the Sooners. • Hitting open receivers. As a collective unit, the Notre Dame wide receivers played one of their best games of the season. Rees and backup quarterback Andrew Hendrix, however, failed to accurately connect with the receivers throughout the night. In the second quarter, junior DaVaris Daniels ran down the sideline uncovered, but Hendrix failed to find him for what would have been an easy touchdown. Instead, the senior quarterback threw an incompletion to the opposite side of the field, and the Irish were forced to punt. Two of Rees' three interceptions were the case of inaccurate throws. Rees' throws to Daniels and Jones were tossed behind each receiver, tipped and intercepted by Oklahoma defenders. — Tom Loy by the numbers 3-3 Record in Notre Dame's last six games. It makes the 12-0 regular season and No. 1 ranking in 2012 seem much more distant. The most recent time the Irish had gone 3-3 over six games was in head coach Brian Kelly's first six contests in 2010. By lou somogyi 4 Quarterback sacks recorded by Notre Dame this season, including none against the Sooners on 31 pass attempts. Going into the Oklahoma game, Notre Dame ranked 114th among 123 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in sacks, the lowest rating by the Irish in any team category.