Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/90407
ON PAPER REVISITED first quarter helped jolt the frenzied crowd. Both consistently ran downhill with little to no dancing, and the cutbacks or jukes came were while heading north-south. Sophomore quarterback Everett Golson (career- terback Tommy Rees, but he would not have been able to execute this full arsenal the way Golson did at OU. The unblemished record is a credit to Kelly and the staff for maximizing the full abilities of both. Advantage: Notre Dame not necessarily by what he did (13-of-25 passing for 177 yards), but what he didn't do in a turn- over-less game by Notre Dame. On more than a half-dozen occasions he prudently threw the ball away. He also avoided lost yardage plays with his maneuverability. The staff often used him in a moving pocket that NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. OKLAHOMA PASS DEFENSE Golson played the best game of his young career highlighted his ability to put pressure on the defense as a dual threat. The home-run ball finally connected with the 50-yard pass to freshman Chris Brown that set up the go-ahead touchdown with 5:05 left. Advantage: Even homa at its 13. Punter Ben Turk's first boot pinned the Sooners inside their 20. Although sophomore kicker Kyle Brindza missed from 35 yards in the first half, he converted from 34, 44 and 46 — the latter a beauty that he hooked just inside the right upright to provide a 23-13 cushion. The Irish didn't do any- thing to lose the game in this area and more than held their own. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS On the opening kickoff, the Irish stopped Okla- high 64 yards rushing) executed the zone read fairly well, but he was even more productive on rollouts, draws off of empty backfield sets and improvisations off of scrambles. The Irish would never be 8-0 without junior quar- BY LOU SOMOGYI half but 4 of 5 in the second. The three most crucial conversions were Golson's six-yard completion to senior wideout Robby Toma on third-and-five to set up the field goal to make it 10-3, Rees' 11-yard completion to senior tight end Tyler Eifert on third- and-seven to set up the field goal to increase the lead to 13-6, and Golson sneaking past the end zone on third-and-goal from the 1 to go ahead 20-13. Notre Dame finished 7 of 15 (46.7 percent). Okla- THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS Notre Dame was 3 of 10 (30 percent) in the first homa was 2 of 11 through the first three and a half quarters before finishing 4 of 14 (28.6 percent). Advantage: Notre Dame ished with zero turnovers, an amazing feat. Okla- homa had only one, but it proved costly when the interception by Te'o set up the Irish at the OU 45 and led to a field goal that provided the crucial two-score cushion (23-13) with 4:27 left. Advantage: Notre Dame TURNOVERS For the third straight road game, Notre Dame fin- to weather a potential early onslaught. In the first quarter, Oklahoma ran 27 plays (Jones was 9-of-12 passing for 110 yards after two series) to Notre Dame's nine — yet the Irish still were ahead 7-3. Notre Dame then settled in and established control with a complete game in all three phases — offense, defensive, special teams. It also played about as clean a game as possible with no turnovers and one penalty for five yards. Football has changed dramatically over the past ANALYSIS In games such as this on the road, it's important 100 years, but at its core it is still about blocking and tackling. Notre Dame played exceptional, fun- damental football on both sides of the line, and was mentally and physically the stronger team through- out, most notably with 17 unanswered points after Oklahoma tied the game at 13 with 9:10 left.