OU SUCKS!! whooops that's the Longhorn talking! I don't really know too much about OU, they are undefeated and they have settled on Blake Bell (the Belldozer) as their QB. He had an excellent game vs Tulsa in a big win for OU. He's a big kid with a big arm and on short yardage situations he will run the ball right at you and that was how he was used up to this point in his career. He scored a TD vs the Irish and was the Sooner Redzone QB most of last year and very effective. OU traditionally has a strong offense with good WR's and RB's and I doubt this year is any different. I expect that they will go after the Irish DB's and LB's just like everybody else has this year. This will be a big test for the defense to see if they have in fact improved. I know nothing about their defense, but again traditionally strong so I expect the same. They are currently ranked 15th and undefeated. Certainly this game sets up as a mile post for the team, are they ready to put together a complete game, can they continue to protect the ball. The 4 critical games that everybody pointed to this year were Mich, OU, USC, and Stanford. Michigan game was winnable but we didn't. I figured that going 3-1 vs those 4 would be awesome, 2-2 would be not bad, 1-3 disappointing, and 0-4 awful for the program. Hopefully Kelly will have the team ready and get the win, no matter if it's an ugly win or a great win. Just win.
Let's not anoint Oklahoma as a great team before looking at the record. They won 16-7 over W.Va., who lost last weekend to Maryland 37-0. Tulsa, who OK beat 51-20, lost to Bowling Green 34-7 and beat CO State 30-27. Clearly, OK is a good team and will be a tough team for us to beat. My point is that they are not to be as feared as some would suggest just because they are the vaunted Sooners.
I don't disagree with you Sid, but Stoops is one of the top coaches and he always has a good team, usually a great team. His teams are also usually well stocked with top players. It's not like we don't get great players, and Kelly out coached Stoops last year at Norman. But still it will be a great win and OU will most likely be favored.
Not related to football, but life. Specifically the life of Yankee pitcher and Notre Dame grad David Phelps. David Phelps
LepLegion has declared the OU game a "Green Out" game....all ND fans are encouraged to wear green. The Leprechaun Legion, the official voice of the Notre Dame student section, is excited to announce a partnership with the Kelly Cares Foundation to sponsor a stadium-wide “WEAR GREEN Game” against the Oklahoma Sooners this Saturday, September 28th. All fans are encouraged to grab “The Shirt 2013” or their favorite green ND shirt to show support for the team and a great cause. Furthermore, the Office of Sustainability is holding a “Go Green” competition between the residence halls on campus this week. The Kelly Cares Foundation will be making a donation to the winning hall and its sponsored charity. The Legion is thrilled to announce these exciting events. Remember, WEAR GREEN against Oklahoma. Go Irish, Beat Sooners! Kristen Parkinson & Mitch Patin Leprechaun Legion Football Leaders
Oklahoma has a 3 pronged rushing attack and their defense has looked suffocating at times. As Sid pointed out, they've really not played anyone. The Belldozer actually lost his job heading into the season, but the other kid (Trevor Knight) was the one who started the season for them. Bell basically won the job with his performance against Tulsa. For ND, I'd load the box to stop the run and dare Bell to beat us passing. I'd mix some zone blitz package in there from time to time. I would assume the Irish want to hold onto the ball against OU like they did last year. This could be a short game. My fear is, our offense this year is a lot like theirs last year. This was the game that defined the changing of the QB guard last year. It was the OU game that clearly showed people that Golsen wasn't perfect, but he was a starter for a reason. Rees needs to make his mark here by being a game manager with his arm and feet. I don't believe their defense is better than Michigan State's. OU is a team with as many questions as we have. Either way, this game will springboard one team while kneecapping the other.
On the depth chart this week, Dan Fox and Jarrett Grace are listed as "or" as starters at one ILB spot. Carlo has shared that designation with Fox the last two years. Now he apparently has locked up the other ILB position. This bears out my contention that Fox is too soft to play that spot all the time. Tackles 8-10 yeards downfield are not effective for that position. You gotta get dirty.
Somebody on another board said that Fox has a knee problem and is limited. But I don't think Kelly has aknowledged that in any way, guy claims inside knowlege. In his press conf he said we will see more of Fox back at Will and Grace at Mike.
I guess I am corrected then. It appears Kelly's strategy is for the OK Rbs to tire themselves running 8-10 yards per carry.
I had no comments about last weeks game because I was stuck at a nephew's wedding in the woods trying to watch the game on my phone. Of course the battery died with 1 min. 40 sec. to go and I exhausted all my data for the month. This Saturday I'm predicting medium rare to medium steak sandwiches on toasted buns. Beer, pop and water will be available. Some kids and some grandkids will be there. It will be a great day even if we don't win.
Gip's got it right. For those of us with our priorities out of whack.. Yes, T, they went to the 3-3-5. The thing about that defense is that it's really tough against the spread. HOWEVER, you can run the ball right at the 3-3-5 and make them commit that nickel to stopping the run, at which point in time you can throw. Like so many things, it really depends on what happens at the LOS. If our OL whips their DL, we win barring turnovers or Rees playing catch with the popcorn vendor.
ND <t>Well for those in the media and even our own "supporters" who seem to have all but given this game to Oklahoma and conceded them a win you may want to consider the following:<br/> <br/> Are they giving the nod to OU in this game based on their 34-0 win over ULM or a 16-7 win or West Virginia? No it was probably their performance in the huge win over Tulsa 51-20. Yes, that's probably the one. A big win for them at home against Tulsa. Now I have to admit the Irish have yet to put together 4 qtrs of solid football this year and just haven't looked anything close to what we saw last season with the exception of a qtr or two in the last couple of games. Having said that, I was about to join the ranks of those who just couldn't find a reason to be optimistic for the Irish until.....tonight. Seems that same Tulsa team that was beaten so soundly a couple weeks ago by the Sooners LOST at home to a previously 0-2 Iowa St team 38-21 with losses to Northern Iowa and Iowa. <br/> <br/> All I'm saying is that OU's wins over ULM, West Virginia and Tulsa just don't seem so impressive to me tonight. I'm just sayin here....</t>
Oh I'm with you and have been there Tim. I think the Irish can do this. My only concern is, will the Irish show up and play to their potential? I really hope they have heard the media reports that OU is going to thump then and right last year's wrong. That game upset a lot of people last year, whether they believe it or not.. but if you listen, you can hear those people loudly this week. OU is no walkover, but we have no reason to fear them either. This should be a good game. Personally, I'd like to see the Irish hand them a head thumping in slow, methodical fashion. Anyone can having a fast-paced, scoring blitz of an upset win. I want to bludgeon these SOBs with a brutal, physical and dominating win that sends them packing.
I don't think we are much different than last year except on defense. Offensively, this is about the time that Golson came out of his shell last year. Until then Rees was coming in to save him all the time. We caught a ton of breaks at key moments last year. The abandonment of the running game is the biggest shock to me so far.