Later today, the Oklahoma Sooners (3-0, 14th ranked)
travel to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame (3-1, 22nd
ranked). Other than the Irish’s traditional rivals, a regular season game can’t
get much bigger than this one. The Sooners come to town seeking revenge from last
year’s defeat in Norman, where the Irish scored 17 points in the final 6-plus
minutes to win 30-13.
For a late September tilt, this game is very important for
both teams. The Irish are still hoping to make a BCS bowl appearance this year,
and they can only afford to lose one more game. With Stanford still looming at
the end of the schedule, Notre Dame doesn’t have much wiggle room. Oklahoma is
off to a quick start, but they haven’t been tested yet. Today’s matchup should
give the Sooners a better idea of where they stand as a football team, and a
win could set up a potential National Title run.
Offensively, Notre Dame needs to be able to run the ball in
order to win. I wouldn’t set a yardage mark, but if the Irish can rush for 120
to 150 yards, then they should be able to get a victory. I don’t think Notre
Dame will be able to win if Tommy Rees has to throw the ball 40-plus times.
Oklahoma has too much talent on defense to rely on a one-dimensional offense.
If Notre Dame can’t run the ball, then the Sooners’ defensive line will be able
to pin their ears back and get to Rees. Since Rees has virtually no mobility,
pressure means two things, sacks and interceptions. In addition to running the
ball, Notre Dame will also have to make a few big plays in the passing game. We
all know that T.J. Jones and DaVaris Daniels are serious threats, but the
emergence of Corey Robinson and Will Fuller last week could help stretch out
the defense and provide more one-on-one matchups for Rees to exploit. No matter
how they do it, I think it is fairly obvious that the Irish need to put plenty
of points up on the scoreboard.
Defensively, Notre Dame will have their eyes keyed on one
person, Blake Bell. The junior quarterback will be making his first road start,
and the Irish defense figures to be his toughest test yet. Last year, Notre
Dame got a glimpse of Bell during short yardage situations. In fact, Bell
scored a touchdown in last season’s contest when he broke through Bennett
Jackson’s arm tackle. Obviously, at 6-foot-6, 252 pounds, Bell is a heavy load
to tackle and he could be a problem in short yardage situations. Although Bell
is a great short yardage runner, I wouldn’t exactly classify him as a
dual-threat quarterback. I don’t expect him to scramble for 20-plus yards down
field or approach 100 yards rushing like Devin Gardner did three weeks ago. Also,
Brian Kelly made it a point earlier that the Irish need to be worried about
Bell’s arm more than his legs. Bell threw for 413 yards and four touchdowns
last week versus Tulsa, so the potential is definitely there. The difference,
however, is that Notre Dame’s defense should be much more formidable than Tulsa’s.
While Notre Dame has struggled against the pass early this season, they still
have much more talent on defense than any team Oklahoma has seen this season.
For Notre Dame to win, they will have to keep pressure on Bell and force him to
throw the ball earlier than planned. Given that it is Bell’s first road start,
he could be susceptible to making mistakes. Hopefully, the Irish can force a
couple of turnovers and give their offense a short field to work with.
I have gone back and forth with a prediction in my head all
week, so naturally I expect a very close game. From what I’ve seen early this
season, I don’t know if Notre Dame has the running game and pass defense to get
a victory. On the other hand, I don’t know what to expect from Blake Bell under
his first true test. Both teams have their question marks, so your guess is as
good as mine. I’ll side with the experienced quarterback at home.
Prediction: Notre
Dame 27, Oklahoma 23
-Eric Tichelbaut
Follow me on Twitter
@etichel07
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