Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/181992
It has been traditional for the Notre Dame players to meet in the northwest corner of the field after each game, win or lose, to sing the school's alma mater before heading to the locker room. Two years ago, Kelly decided he'd rather have the team regroup in the locker room immediately following a loss. Saturday was the team's first loss at home since then, so some players forgot the new protocol. "Coach didn't let everybody know what he wanted us to do," senior captain Bennett Jackson said. "After a loss we go into the locker room, and half the guys didn't get that message. There were a few guys that went into the tunnel." After students started to boo as some players made their way to the locker room, the rest of the team reversed course and stayed on the field for the song. Irish Excel On Third-And-Short Oklahoma quarterback Blake Bell's 6-6, 252-pound frame causes nightmares for opposing defenses on thirdand-short situations. He appeared often near the goal line in place of decorated signal-caller Landry Jones in 2012, and even scored the first rushing touchdown of the season against Notre Dame in game No. 8 last season. With Bell the starter in 2013, the Irish were mostly successful in limiting him on short-yardage attempts. "We just had guys executing their fundamentals and filling the holes. We had high energy as a defensive unit, and guys were running downhill with great eyes," senior cornerback and captain Bennett Jackson said. "When you execute your fundamentals, there shouldn't be any positives for the offense." Bell's first rush did not come until 11 minutes into the game. Early in the second quarter, with the Sooners on the Notre Dame 43-yard line, leading by a score and the Irish desperate for a fourth-and-one stop, junior linebacker Ishaq Williams and fifth-year senior Carlo Calabrese combined to hold Bell for no gain and turn the ball over on downs to the Irish offense. The Irish defense came up with another critical stop on the first drive of the third quarter. With the Sooners leading 21-7 and needing only a yard to move the chains on third down, Calabrese again held Bell to zero yards on a quarterback keeper. Oklahoma punted, and the Irish reached the end zone a play later. The Sooners clinched the victory on a third-and-short play, when Bell made the Irish pay with his arm rather than his legs by connecting with sophomore Sterling Shepard, who ran 54 yards for Oklahoma's fourth and final touchdown. Andrew Hendrix Adds Diversity For the first time in 2013, senior backup quarterback Andrew Hendrix saw the field for the Irish during a meaningful series and helped them tally its first touchdown. Hendrix, who played intermittently in 2011 as a change-of-pace signalcaller, entered on the team's fourth drive and threw only one pass while having some success running the football on the read option.