Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: OKLAHOMA in their conference. Jefferson led the team with 37 tackles during the team's 4-1 start. Senior strong safety Javon Harris contributed two interceptions through the first five games. Oklahoma gave up an average of 171.4 passing Advantage: Oklahoma SPECIAL TEAMS yards in its first five games, which is less than the 206.5 yards the Irish averaged in their first six. the Irish, kicking a game-tying and game-winning field goal in the final minute of victories over Stan- ford and Purdue. He made 10 of 12 attempts in the first half of the season. Redshirt sophomore Mike Hunnicutt has made Sophomore Kyle Brindza has been Mr. Clutch for Notre Dame's George Atkinson III has had a chance to return only one kickoff per game so far, but its punt return group has regressed to 2011 levels of fu- tility. Freshman Davonte Neal is averaging 3.7 yards per return, which is good for 105th in the nation. Advantage: Oklahoma COACHING 28 of 32 career attempts for the Sooners, with the only miss so far this season coming on his first kick of the year. Both punters, Ben Turk and Oklahoma's Tress Way, average slightly above 40 yards per kick. The Sooners get separation in the return game though. Oklahoma punt returner Justin Brown (16.33 yards per return) and kick returner Brennan Clay (29.67 yards per return) both ranked 10th in the nation in their respective roles through Oct. 13. Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 1 vs. Navy* (CBS) Sept. 8 Purdue (NBC) Oct. 20 Brigham Young (NBC) W, 17-14 Oct. 27 at Oklahoma (ABC) Nov. 3 Pittsburgh (NBC) Nov. 10 at Boston College Nov. 17 Wake Forest (NBC) Nov. 24 at USC Oct. 13 Stanford (NBC) W, 20-13 (OT) 8 p.m. 3:30 p.m. TBD 3:30 p.m. TBD * at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland; ^ at Soldier Field in Chicago vs. Miami^ (NBC) 2012 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE W, 50-10 Sept. 15 at Michigan State (ABC) W, 20-3 Sept. 22 Michigan (NBC) Oct. 6 W, 41-3 W, 20-17 W, 13-6 ing an impressive 13-year stay at Oklahoma. He and his brother, Mike, helped return Oklahoma to a con- sistent national powerhouse over the last decade. The natives are getting restless, though, after a few seasons in which the Sooners have not completely lived up to very high expectations. Irish head coach Brian Kelly is on the other side of Bob Stoops has a national title on his résumé dur- Advantage: Even INTANGIBLES the arc. He has Notre Dame off to its best start in a decade and has created a solid foundation to keep heading upward. under Bob Stoops and won 14 times. All but one of those 14 wins came by a double-digit margin. The only loss came this season in a 24-19 upset by then- No. 15 Kansas State. Both teams have BCS hopes going into the game, Oklahoma has played 15 ranked teams in Norman and the winner can keep its name in the national title conversation at the start of November. Notre Dame is 8-1 all time against the Sooners, but they haven't played one another since Stoops' first sea- son in 1999. An unfamiliar Big 12 stadium atmo- sphere and Oklahoma's near-pristine track record at home gives them a mental upper hand. Advantage: Oklahoma Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 24, Oklahoma 23 Jason Sapp: Notre Dame 24, Oklahoma 20 Wes Morgan: Oklahoma 21, Notre Dame 20 Dan Murphy: Notre Dame 27, Oklahoma 24 PREDICTIONS