Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FIGHTING WORDS WES MORGAN where there are crosses on the side of highways the size of oil derricks. Notre Dame's 30-13 victory over the eighth-ranked Sooners — inside a charismatic Memorial Stadium — was where many were reunited with their faith in the Irish. "This was a group that was very August, is much, much better entering November than it was in September. The defense is as good as advertised — probably better in fact — with a secondary that refuses to give anyone a reason to say, "I told you so." "It's a real big step for our team to confident because they've done the work necessary to be successful on Saturdays," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. "It's not just, 'I hope we play well today.' They knew they were going to play well." Las Vegas odds makers, whom at one point had the Sooners as 13-point favorites, didn't think so. College foot- ball experts at all the big networks certainly weren't inspired by Notre Dame's body of work to pick an upset. A lot of folks were guilty, so it seems, of missing the signs along the way. "I think it's not only been a process of just this year," Kelly explained. "These wins happen over a period of time; they don't just happen in a one-year cycle. This has been a group that has had to take some lumps and learn along the way. It has great leadership. "When you talk about why it's hap- that was supposed to limit how far Notre Dame could realistically go be- fore a single game had been played. The road is now littered with casual- ties, including four top-25 teams (two top-10 squads) that have fallen victim to the determined Irish. "We knew what we could do," Te'o said. "Today is no surprise." To some, yes it is, but maybe it shouldn't be. "It's nice to know we're heading in know we can go on the road and play with anybody," Kelly said. So much for a menacing schedule pening, Manti Te'o, for example — a great leader on our team — has had to experience some tough times. I think it's just a cumulative effect of this foot- ball team that is now positioning itself to win these kinds of games because of what they've had to go through over the last couple years." Golson, as it turns out, is more than capable of handling immense pressure as a sophomore first-year starter. The offense, like Kelly had hoped in late that direction," Te'o said about, dare it be spoken aloud, a potential spot in the national championship game. "We have a chance. That's all it means. We have four more games that we really have to pay attention to, and we're going to start one game at a time like we've always done." It has been 10 years — a decade of doubt — since the final four games of the season meant this much, when Notre Dame also won eight games to start the year. In a night game in Nor- man, though, even the most skeptical saw the light. ✦ Assitant Editor Wes Morgan has been with Blue & Gold Illustrated since February 2011. He can be reached at wmorgan@blueandgold.com