Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/89723
✦ QUOTING KELLY "Our kids are certainly excited about the challenge of playing Oklahoma. It's a great program, a great tradition. Coach [Bob] Stoops is looking to do what we want to do here, and that's build a program on consistency. And that is the charge that we're under right now in our development of a football program, is to do this week in and week out." Golson facing a big and tall Oklahoma defensive line: "We see that a lot, especially if you're in a quick passing game. Defensive linemen know they don't have a great chance of getting to the quarterback in shotgun. "A well-coached defensive line understands when they On Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Everett can obviously constrict the pocket or get a great push. They know and sense when an offensive lineman is sit- ting on the line of scrimmage, and they do a very good job of getting their hands on it. I think it's a well coached group up front." going to have to do that [limit big plays] again on Satur- day if we expect to win. If they can throw the ball over our head, it puts us in a very difficult situation defen- sively. Our scheme, the way we coach it, the way our guys understand it, we have to minimize big plays." On Oklahoma's big-play ability on offense: "We're State played very good defense. And I think it starts with, if you look at Oklahoma in the last few weeks, just putting up so many points, you're not going to win those games. So it's going to start on the defensive side of the ball for us and to keep the points down, and then obvi- ously find a way to get some scores. "And it's going to be hard on both ends. I think we're On what Kansas State did to beat OU: "Kansas going to see two teams that are going to be really pushing hard to get points on the board on both sides." Senior running back Theo Riddick, who lined up at wide receiver during his sophomore and junior campaigns, leads the Irish in rushing with 451 yards (4.7 per carry) and has shown an ability to gain tough yards between the tackles. power running back: "I think it's rare because he was flipped from being a running back to a wide receiver and had to be brought back to where his natural position is. I don't think it's unusual. Because his body type was really more suited for the position. "We were in a different place in our program where we On senior Theo Riddick going from slot receiver to needed somebody to get out on the perimeter and give us that play. So his body type is such that he could be a physical player. "Now that he's at that running back position, he is in the right place." Tony Jefferson: "If you're out there, and I hate to give any recruiting advantages, you want to play safety at Oklahoma because those guys are free to play. You know, they play a lot of man coverage. So the safeties are free to come down and support the run. ✦ PAGE 12 On Oklahoma's use of its safeties, including junior PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA "It's part of what their defensive philosophy is. So [Jef- ferson is] all over the place. He's got some freedom in the passing game, but primarily he's in there to be a run fit player, and he does a very good job at it." "As we went through the spring it became pretty appar- ent to me that the success of our offense was going to be predicated on what we could do up front and running the football. "I think it started to emerge in all of our coaches' On Notre Dame's reliance on the running game: minds that it was going to be a run-first kind of offense and still spread the field, still be able to attack. "We need to get better in our passing game. We have to be better on third down. We have to be better in the red zone. We know that. But I think in answer to your ques- tion we felt it was going to be like an offense that had to run the ball effectively and somewhere near the range we are right now." ✦