Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/90407
ON PAPER REVISITED a no-huddle offense, it appeared the run was an afterthought for a team that had been averaging 199.7 yards per game on the ground. But when it came time to hunker down, the Irish controlled the line of scrimmage. The Sooners' 24 rushing attempts netted only 15 yards — with not one gaining more than seven yards. Leading rushing Damien Williams' 13 carries totaled 29 yards. Notre Dame weathered the early passing barrage, OKLAHOMA RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE The way the Sooners came out firing passes with BY LOU SOMOGYI and thereafter the Sooners were unable to estab- lish a rhythm or consistency with the run. The Irish defense made them into a one-dimensional attack. Advantage: Notre Dame tor Bob Diaco implemented a vintage Lou Holtz/ defensive coordinator Barry Alvarez strategy used during the 23-game winning streak in 1988-89. Control the line of scrimmage by not allowing the opponent to run, sacrifice some zone soft coverage in order to keep the ball constantly in front of you, throw in an occasional blitz to aid the mainly three- or four-man rushes, do not permit yards after catch and, finally, excel in the red zone, forcing field goals instead of touchdowns. The approach worked al- most perfectly. Quarterback Landry Jones put up numbers that OKLAHOMA PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Head coach Brian Kelly and defensive coordina- shine on the stat sheet (35 completions in 51 at- tempts for 356 yards), as did 5-9, 160-pound slot man Jalen Saunders (15 catches for 181 yards). How- ever, while the Sooners were proficient between the 20-yard lines, the Irish repeatedly excelled when most needed — including holding Oklahoma to 2 of 11 on third-down conversions by the time it built a 23-13 lead late in the game. The diving interception by Manti Te'o on Oklahoma's side of the field when the Irish were leading 20-13 also proved pivotal. Advantage: Even Freshman cornerback KeiVarae Russell, who made nine tackles, and the Irish defense did a good job game in which he kept Oklahoma guessing with a combination of power running and play-action passing. Seniors Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood each rushed for 74 yards, with Riddick supplying mainly the power while Wood's game-breaking 62-yard scoring run right through the middle in the NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. OKLAHOMA RUN DEFENSE Head coach Brian Kelly called an exceptional limiting Oklahoma receivers' yards after the catch. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA