January 1 | Oklahoma State | Fiesta Bowl

[clashmore_mike]

vs

Oklahoma State Cowboys vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish
State Farm Stadium
Glendale, AZ
January 1, 2022
1:00 PM

 

[Riddickulous]

Let's go

 

[Dale]

Spencer Sanders LOLOLOLOL

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

First ever meeting, correct?

 

[IrishLax]

An absolute must win game. Oklahoma State will be hungry but so will Notre Dame if Freeman is the real deal.

 

[irishtrooper]

Might as well start out the Freeman era winning a NY6 bowl. If ND shows up to play, shouldn’t be competitive. This will bust one narrative at least. I’d like ND to win big, maybe show people that the playoff crew was lucky ND didn’t get in… Plus a little recruiting boost perhaps.

 

[Free Manera]

Nice! Glad it’s not MSU or Pitt. This should be a fun one.

 

[ACamp1900]

Man, it never fails that ND gets the toughest opponent possible,… was hoping for Pitt. oh well. It’s def winnable. Let’s get going Freeman.

 

[Riddickulous]

An absolute must win game. Oklahoma State will be hungry but so will Notre Dame if Freeman is the real deal.

Abandoned by their coach and left out of the playoff. Players will be pissed and looking to make a statement.

 

[ACamp1900]

Might as well start out the Freeman era winning a NY6 bowl. If ND shows up to play, shouldn’t be competitive. This will bust one narrative at least. I’d like ND to win big, maybe show people that the playoff crew was lucky ND didn’t get in… Plus a little recruiting boost perhaps.

Hope you’re right,…

 

[irishtrooper]

Hope you’re right,…

I’m just not a Big 12 believer. I think Gundy can coach, but ND should be fine here imo

 

[zelezo vlk]

Okie State has a pretty good defense statistically, particularly against the run IIRC. Could be an interesting game.

 

[Free Manera]

Man, it never fails that ND gets the toughest opponent possible,… was hoping for Pitt. oh well. It’s def winnable. Let’s get going Freeman.

I think Pitt is actually the worst matchup for ND of the 3.

 

[ACamp1900]

I’m just not a Big 12 believer. I think Gundy can coach, but ND should be fine here imo

I think it’s a bit of a problematic matchup but we shall see

 

[Riddickulous]

Okie State has a pretty good defense statistically, particularly against the run IIRC. Could be an interesting game.

3rd in total defense, 5th in run defense.

 

[dad4aa]

Do tickets really start at $650?

 

[GoldenAura]

I hope another school hires away Oklahoma State's DC Jim Knowles. He's very good for them. Then again let's see Freeman against them full strength.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Defense creates havoc and Tommy escapes BK’s shadow by opening up the offense. MFMF era gets off to a great start with a NY6 bowl win.

 

[IrishLax]

Okie State has a pretty good defense statistically, particularly against the run IIRC. Could be an interesting game.

My rule of thumb when playing a Big 12 team is to throw out the statistics. Yes, they are “physical” and very good defense… in a conference that doesn’t play defense. Then again, ND’s OL is not very physical, so are we basically a Big 12 finesse team this year? Do we match up with them well like we did with Iowa State years ago?

What I will say is if they show up with the offense we saw against Baylor they’re not scoring 20+ on ND. No chance.

 

[Dizzyphil]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/Fiesta_Bowl/status/1467578765911879680[/TWEET]

 

[zelezo vlk]

My rule of thumb when playing a Big 12 team is to throw out the statistics. Yes, they are “physical” and very good defense… in a conference that doesn’t play defense. Then again, ND’s OL is not very physical, so are we basically a Big 12 finesse team this year? Do we match up with them well like we did with Iowa State years ago?

What I will say is if they show up with the offense we saw against Baylor they’re not scoring 20+ on ND. No chance.

I don't expect them to shut anybody down, just that I do not think that Kyren et al. will run roughshod over the Cowboys like the Camping World Bowl vs Iowa State back in 2019.

 

[Riddickulous]

My rule of thumb when playing a Big 12 team is to throw out the statistics. Yes, they are “physical” and very good defense… in a conference that doesn’t play defense. Then again, ND’s OL is not very physical, so are we basically a Big 12 finesse team this year? Do we match up with them well like we did with Iowa State years ago?

What I will say is if they show up with the offense we saw against Baylor they’re not scoring 20+ on ND. No chance.

They're 65th in total offense, 51st in scoring. Only scored 30+ in 5 games. Very winnable game here.

 

[Dizzyphil]

Would really like to see KH in this game for Freeman.......

 

[irishtrooper]

I get the nervousness, but Ok St is kinda meh outside conference. I mean look at their schedule…… Granted they’ve put up good numbers on defense, but the Big 12 was WAY down this year, particularly offensively. I’m just not impressed. We shall see, but I am not overly concerned. I expect ND to win by 10-14 and control the game throughout. I think it may be boring and I don’t expect Ok St to score much. I was more concerned with Pitt to be honest as they have an explosive offense. Tommy will open it up and get creative. I see ND working to get their speed guys touches in space as a continuation of recent games and get a few big plays. 27-13 type game imo

 

[Rockin’Irish]

Looking forward to this game…….let’s finish 12-1 and in the final top 4 in our rebuilding year!!!

 

[Dale]

My rule of thumb when playing a Big 12 team is to throw out the statistics. Yes, they are “physical” and very good defense… in a conference that doesn’t play defense. Then again, ND’s OL is not very physical, so are we basically a Big 12 finesse team this year? Do we match up with them well like we did with Iowa State years ago?

What I will say is if they show up with the offense we saw against Baylor they’re not scoring 20+ on ND. No chance.

I think that perception is a few years outdated tbh. Baylor, Ok St, Kansas St, and Iowa St are all defense first. Baylor and Ok St know how to play D, and by no surprise they were the ones in the Championship. Throw out the #s sure but I think most eyes would tell you that’s a legit D. Are they Top 5? Maybe not. But Ok St is at bare minimum a good D.

 

[IrishLax]

I think that perception is a few years outdated tbh. Baylor, Ok St, Kansas St, and Iowa St are all defense first. Baylor and Ok St know how to play D, and by no surprise they were the ones in the Championship. Throw out the #s sure but I think most eyes would tell you that’s a legit D. Are they Top 5? Maybe not. But Ok St is at bare minimum a good D.

They may be defense first but they have virtually no NFL talent on defense. That’s what’s sort of crazy to me… Georgia probably has more NFL talent on defense then the entire Big 12. So that can be exploited by any offense with top shelf NFL talent — unfortunately, ND has flaws at QB, OL, and WR. So I’m not sure if we’re in position to do that.

 

[arndtjc]

Face value at $165 woooooofffffff

 

[pumpdog20]

I think that perception is a few years outdated tbh. Baylor, Ok St, Kansas St, and Iowa St are all defense first. Baylor and Ok St know how to play D, and by no surprise they were the ones in the Championship. Throw out the #s sure but I think most eyes would tell you that’s a legit D. Are they Top 5? Maybe not. But Ok St is at bare minimum a good D.

Yep, Big 12 is turning the corner as far as a transition to physical play. Ok St defense beats ND statistically in rushing yards, passing yards, scoring defense, sacks. All while playing opponents who's averages beat the averages of the teams ND played. I expect another Cincinnati type game, and could be a similar outcome. Yes, the ND offense was getting better, but you still saw Coan take bad sacks against a rush, and Oklahoma State's pass rush is going to be the best one we've gone against.

 

[IrishLax]

Yep, Big 12 is turning the corner as far as a transition to physical play. Ok St defense beats ND statistically in rushing yards, passing yards, scoring defense, sacks. All while playing opponents who's averages beat the averages of the teams ND played. I expect another Cincinnati type game, and could be a similar outcome. Yes, the ND offense was getting better, but you still saw Coan take bad sacks against a rush, and Oklahoma State's pass rush is going to be the best one we've gone against.

Who on Oklahoma State is an NFL player? I don't know their team well enough, but my understanding is that they are good because of cohesion/experience not athleticism/talent. I can name at least 4 on Cincinnati that will get drafted -- think there is a gap there, but maybe not.