Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/90407
ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERED Notre Dame leaves no doubt of its legitimacy in a 30-13 win at Oklahoma scanned the cramped interview room tucked away inside Oklaho- ma's Memorial Stadium happy to entertain a final inquiry. No one spoke. For the second time that night, the crowd watch- ing him fell silent. In a definitive 30-13 I rish head coach Brian Kelly fielded 15 minutes worth of questions and then road victory against No. 8 Oklahoma, there were none left to ask. Kelly, his quarterback and his suffocating defense had answered them all. The No. 5 Fighting BY DAN MURPHY to butt into the national championship discussion with a 7-0 start devoid of style points. Could its de- fense stand up to an elite Big 12 passing attack? Could its rookie quarter- back handle what was undoubtedly the biggest, most intimidating stage of his young career? Oklahoma (5-2) raised those points more than once Saturday night, and each time the Irish had an answer. Their biggest response prove he could carry his team to a win. The Irish QB completed all four of his passing attempts on the drive that fol- lowed, none bigger than the play-action bomb he dropped into the arms of freshman Chris Brown behind the Sooners' safe- ties for a 50-yard gain. Then he pushed his way into the end zone from a yard out to retake the lead for good. "I think the big play of Irish rode into Norman as a double-digit underdog, escorted by doubts about its legitimacy and its right came on a 73-yard tie- breaking march late in the fourth quarter. Okla- homa redshirt sopho- more backup quarterback Blake Bell tied the score at 13-13 with a one-yard goal-line plunge, setting up sophomore Everett Golson with a chance to the game was obviously the big response after the touchdown. … That gave us a spark, and we were able to build off of that," Kelly said. "To- night was a big step up for our quarterback, and our offense elevated itself against great competition on the road."