Sep 28 | Oklahoma

[VadersbrOU]

Looking at the first two drives of their game vs. Tulsa, their DBs don't look very big. Our WRs will hopefully be able to create space on the outside.

Colvin didn't play against Tulsa

 

[Buster Bluth]

FEI projects an Irish loss this Satuday:

That's a pretty damn low score. I'm sorta expecting like 75 points.

 

[PANDFAN]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>2015 Indiana OL Evan Mallory (<a href="https://twitter.com/evanmallory96">@evanmallory96</a>) will visit <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NotreDame&src=hash">#NotreDame</a> this weekend. (Premium) <a href="http://t.co/GDCtKyTVeZ">http://t.co/GDCtKyTVeZ</a></p>— Irish Sports Daily (@ISDUpdate) <a href="https://twitter.com/ISDUpdate/statuses/382853554249015297">September 25, 2013</a></blockquote>
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[PANDFAN]

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma believes its defensive front and linebackers have improved after a season full of disappointing production from both groups a year ago.

The Sooners get the chance to prove it on Saturday when they travel to South Bend, Ind., for a rematch with Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish won the battle in the trenches during their 30-13 win over OU in 2012.

"If you go to the University of Oklahoma, you have a sense of pride," defensive lineman Chuka Ndulue said. "Last year, what happened in the fourth quarter, they flat out beat us. It's in the back of our minds, because we're prideful players."

[+] EnlargeChuka Ndulue
Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports
Chuka Ndulue said last year's loss to Notre Dame has stayed with him for a couple of reasons.
After a horrible end to the 2012 season, OU's defense is off to a terrific start this season. The Sooners rank among the top 20 nationally in yards allowed (291.3), rushing yards allowed (100.67), yards per pass attempt (5.06) and third-down conversion percentage (27.3 percent). The defensive line and linebackers have looked faster, more athletic and more aggressive this season, helping OU's defense get off to a quick start.

Yet they haven't been tested like the Irish's offense can test them.

This year's Sooners defense was built with stopping Big 12 spread offenses in mind while remaining versatile enough to adapt to power running attacks if needed. Mike Stoops' vision for his defense will be put to the test by Notre Dame, which can spread defenses with multiple receivers and line up with bigger personnel to employ a power running attack.

So don't be surprised if OU debuts a four-man front for the first time in 2013. The Sooners have relied on a three-man front for the first three games, getting more speed and versatility on the field with linebacker/pass rush specialist Eric Striker. It makes sense for Stoops to bring Ndulue or another Sooners' defensive lineman to get bigger in those situations when Notre Dame decides to try to lean on its power running attack.

"We can get in and out of a three- or four-man front, that's not a problem for us," said Stoops, who spent the offseason talking about his desire for the Sooners' defense to become more versatile in 2013.

No matter what personnel or scheme changes the Sooners utilize, they will need better play from their defensive line and linebackers in the rematch. Better play could start with a different mindset. Asked what he learned from playing the Irish in 2012, Ndulue's answer was revealing.

"Dominate the man in front of you," Ndulue said. "You have to have the mindset that you're going to embarrass them, just be a dawg, be a D-lineman."

OU hopes to have a pack full of dawgs along its defensive front on Saturday, and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips could be in the spotlight. The redshirt sophomore is emerging as a quality defensive lineman and finally fulfilling the promise he showed during his first two years on campus, when teammate Gabe Ikard called him "the next Gerald McCoy". He has been a force in the middle of OU's defense to start the season.

"He's maturing, he knows he can be a very productive and good player," Stoops said. "Taking that next step has become more important to him. He's become a more prideful player who works harder and is becoming more consistent. You can see the light starting to go on, so we certainly hope he continues to work like he has, because he's perfect for what you're trying to do in there."

OU's linebackers entered the season with redemption on their minds after having a minimal impact on the Sooners' defense in 2012. This season, linebackers Corey Nelson (20) and Frank Shannon (19) rank 1-2 in tackles. They'll need to show their versatility and toughness against the Irish, as they'll find themselves in coverage situations on one play, then facing an offensive lineman in the running game on the next.

"I feel like they've showed that [versatility] the first three games," cornerback Aaron Colvin said. "Of course, this will be on a bigger stage, but I feel like they've done a great job all year, and I don't expect anything different this week."

 

[NDdomer2]

Thanks for the info. Looking forward to a great time.

Are open containers cool? We planned on leaving the tailgate around noon to walk to the stadium and walk around a bit. Just need to make sure we can drink, ha. I'm a nervous wreck for OU games, especially bIg ones. Drinking calms me.

I leave tomorrow to begin my journey from Denver to Dallas and then up to South Bend. Can't wait. But I feel a little bad for leaving my 8 months pregnant wife and 2nd old, haha.

open containers are cool 95% of the time. I can't remember where I was on campus (due to drinking of course) but i went to cross a road and there were ND staff members checking ids before you crossed road. I had an open container and they said i had to drink it or dump it before I crossed the road.

I turned around walked around the building and crossed the road just down the way a bit.

I don't know if they were just trying to do a quality control or if there is a section of campus they don't want drunks wandering around but if you run into that there is always another way to get where your going

 

[rikkitikki08]

I will continue my streak of saying this is the week that the ND offense really figures things out....I assume ill be right eventually

 

[PANDFAN]

lol

lol

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>GREEN OUT! <a href="https://twitter.com/LepLegion">@LepLegion</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KellyCares">@KellyCares</a> <a href="http://t.co/6KLHnxbIZf">http://t.co/6KLHnxbIZf</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23GoIrish&src=hash">#GoIrish</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BeatSooners&src=hash">#BeatSooners</a></p>— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/NDFootball/statuses/382857409515245568">September 25, 2013</a></blockquote>
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[koonja]

My thoughts on Oklahoma first half vs. Tulsa:

- Very quick, athletic WRs.

- Bell looked good, but he's not the running threat Gardner was IMO. Since he's not a glorified-Tim-Tebow battering ram like he was a year ago, and I don't think they line him up as a 'wild cat' QB, at least they didn't in that game (OK fans correct me?).

- I'm extremely jealous of OK fans over #7 on defense. That guy can do it all, and plays a hybrid LB/safety role IMO. He's all over the field and seems to sit in the middle. Rees will have to know where he is every play.

- Their DBs look small for the most part. I'm think our WRs will have a lot of success blocking on the edges, and with our speed at RB, that could be huge, huge advantage. This is a mismatch in our favor.

- Their running game didn't impress me. Again, it's only a half, but I don't see them having a good running game on us. Tulsa gave up ~ 170 yards on the ground to OK, which isn't bad considering how bad Tulsa is on defense. Tulsa gave up ~ 160 to Colorado St., and ~ 230 to Bowling Green.

- I think Blake Bell will have to win the game for them, and by all accounts he's more than capable. He doesn't need to be a hero, but just dump the ball to their WRs. Their WRs are exceptional at run after catch IMO, and our inability to tackle and make plays in the open field will be the difference. If we miss tackles in space, we're toast.

- I wonder if Diaco will start Shummate/Farley/Collinsworth and take out Calabrese, playing a 3-3-5 with Shummate playing near the line of scrimmage. They could terrorize the middle of our defense with their WRs and having Shummate in playing the star role would at least put a band aid on it.

My two cents.

 

[gkIrish]

FEI projects an Irish loss this Satuday:

How accurate has FEI been this year?

 

[Irishman77]

My thoughts on Oklahoma first half vs. Tulsa:

- Very quick, athletic WRs.

- Bell looked good, but he's not the running threat Gardner was IMO. Since he's not a glorified-Tim-Tebow battering ram like he was a year ago, and I don't think they line him up as a 'wild cat' QB, at least they didn't in that game (OK fans correct me?).

- I'm extremely jealous of OK fans over #7 on defense. That guy can do it all, and plays a hybrid LB/safety role IMO. He's all over the field and seems to sit in the middle. Rees will have to know where he is every play.

- Their DBs look small for the most part. I'm think our WRs will have a lot of success blocking on the edges, and with our speed at RB, that could be huge, huge advantage. This is a mismatch in our favor.

- Their running game didn't impress me. Again, it's only a half, but I don't see them having a good running game on us. Tulsa gave up ~ 170 yards on the ground to OK, which isn't bad considering how bad Tulsa is on defense. Tulsa gave up ~ 160 to Colorado St., and ~ 230 to Bowling Green.

- I think Blake Bell will have to win the game for them, and by all accounts he's more than capable. He doesn't need to be a hero, but just dump the ball to their WRs. Their WRs are exceptional at run after catch IMO, and our inability to tackle and make plays in the open field will be the difference. If we miss tackles in space, we're toast.

- I wonder if Diaco will start Shummate/Farley/Collinsworth and take out Calabrese, playing a 3-3-5 with Shummate playing near the line of scrimmage. They're could terrorize the middle of our defense with their WRs and having Shummate in playing the star role would at least put a band aid on it.

My two cents.

I agree on the 3-3-5. Every time our opponent needs to make a play the run a drag across the middle and expose our slow LB's. Shumate would be a huge upgrade.

 

[stlnd01]

open containers are cool 95% of the time. I can't remember where I was on campus (due to drinking of course) but i went to cross a road and there were ND staff members checking ids before you crossed road. I had an open container and they said i had to drink it or dump it before I crossed the road.

I turned around walked around the building and crossed the road just down the way a bit.

I don't know if they were just trying to do a quality control or if there is a section of campus they don't want drunks wandering around but if you run into that there is always another way to get where your going

They generally don't allow open containers in the center of campus (S. Quad/God Quad/N. Quad), so usually have ushers at the entrance to South Quad and somewhere between the Library and LaFortune who make you drink it or dump it. Otherwise open containers are fine, at least in my experience.

 

[CraigKrenzel]

How accurate has FEI been this year?

You can find the results directly under that week's projections, listed as "2013 Game Projection Results by Week."

You'll see that for the 65-75% confidence range, they were batting .200 last week. (For the year they're 50/50 on those games.)

 

[BGIF]

You can find the results directly under that week's projections, listed as "2013 Game Projection Results by Week."

You'll see that for the 65-75% confidence range, they were batting .200 last week. (For the year they're 50/50 on those games.)

And that .500 is their lowest performance level.

 

[IrishLax]

Oklahoma is going to get beat down. They barely beat a bad WVU team and they play in the BIG12.

Blake Bell > Trevor Knight. That is my worry. I think they will dink and dunk us to death (or have him use his legs on 3rd and short)... and then when they get in the red zone he can punch it in himself. I don't really see how this defense sells out to stop Bell without leaving the LBs on the field, and if that is done I don't see how the defense stops the WRs from getting wide open for small chunks every play.

 

[NDdomer2]

Blake Bell > Trevor Knight. That is my worry. I think they will dink and dunk us to death (or have him use his legs on 3rd and short)... and then when they get in the red zone he can punch it in himself. I don't really see how this defense sells out to stop Bell without leaving the LBs on the field, and if that is done I don't see how the defense stops the WRs from getting wide open for small chunks every play.

that is pretty much what they did last year.

 

[NDdomer2]

They generally don't allow open containers in the center of campus (S. Quad/God Quad/N. Quad), so usually have ushers at the entrance to South Quad and somewhere between the Library and LaFortune who make you drink it or dump it. Otherwise open containers are fine, at least in my experience.

I think I was by the library so I am going to agree with you.

 

[gkIrish]

You can find the results directly under that week's projections, listed as "2013 Game Projection Results by Week."

You'll see that for the 65-75% confidence range, they were batting .200 last week. (For the year they're 50/50 on those games.)

Not very good. Although the 50-55% range is a remarkable 64%.

 

[PANDFAN]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Notes on who is visiting <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NotreDame&src=hash">#NotreDame</a> for Oklahoma game including 2016 OL Thiyo Lukusa: <a href="http://t.co/eXp6f5BCR2">http://t.co/eXp6f5BCR2</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/247Sports">@247Sports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ND&src=hash">#ND</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Irish&src=hash">#Irish</a></p>— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong247) <a href="https://twitter.com/SWiltfong247/statuses/382880176196972544">September 25, 2013</a></blockquote>
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[Cackalacky]

So, Bleacher Report seems to think our match up against Oklahoma is not really easy to predict.

Oklahoma likes to run to pass and could struggle with our front 7. Oklahoma's pass game is not as good at attacking Dbs. So our front 7 could pose a threat too them. Additionally our entire d is better than any they have faced so far.

Oklahoma's strengths don't exactly align with Notre Dame's weakness, either. The Sooners want to run the ball to set up Bell's throws by making Notre Dame respect its play action.

But the Irish have been stout against the run this year, ceding just 3.69 yards per carry. That number shrinks to 2.80 in the past two games against Michigan State and Purdue.

The place to attack Notre Dame is in its secondary, not its front seven; but the place Oklahoma attacks is the front seven, not the secondary. And even if the Irish's defensive backfield has regressed, it's still leaps and bounds better than Tulsa's.

Bell will not find such easy goings in South Bend.

 

[irishfan]

I felt terribly about this game at the beginning of the week, but I've felt better as the week has progressed.

1) I'm assuming OK wont be able to the run the ball. They couldn't last year at all against us, and our Run D has been good all year long.

2) For some reason I'm confident our run game gets it going this week. Should be some holes in OK's 3-3-5 and its not like Big 12 teams are known for their D.

3) Bell's first road start.

I just think if we can pound the ball, eat some clock, and win the occasional 1-on-1 matchup with Jones and Daniels, then we will be able to move the ball well. I think the D will give up yards, but get OK off the field for the most part. I'm thinking a 24-16 game for some reason, but watch them blow us out by 20 and have me look like an idiot.

 

[Cackalacky]

I felt terribly about this game at the beginning of the week, but I've felt better as the week has progressed.

1) I'm assuming OK wont be able to the run the ball. They couldn't last year at all against us, and our Run D has been good all year long.

2) For some reason I'm confident our run game gets it going this week. Should be some holes in OK's 3-3-5 and its not like Big 12 teams are known for their D.

3) Bell's first road start.

I agree with these. I would add we have to absolutely keep them out of 1st and goal. I don't think we can stop Bell inside the 10.

 

[T Town Tommy]

A few areas of interest for me is Notre Dame's ability to get off the field on third down and their ability to score tds in the red zone against Oklahoma. Win those two areas and shut down their run game early and the Irish win. Lose two of the three and the Irish have an uphill climb for the victory.

 

[Luckylucci]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Notes on who is visiting <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NotreDame&src=hash">#NotreDame</a> for Oklahoma game including 2016 OL Thiyo Lukusa: <a href="http://t.co/eXp6f5BCR2">http://t.co/eXp6f5BCR2</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/247Sports">@247Sports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ND&src=hash">#ND</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Irish&src=hash">#Irish</a></p>— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong247) <a href="https://twitter.com/SWiltfong247/statuses/382880176196972544">September 25, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Commits
DeShone Kizer
Justin Brent
Jerry Tillery

2014
Shaq Vann, RB, South Bend Adams

2015 Targets
Aliz’e Jones, nation’s No. 1 TE in 2015 (has Irish offer)
James Morgan, Top247 QB from Wisconsin (Irish lean if offered)
Hunter Littlejohn, four-star OL from Ohio
Evan Mallory, OL from Brownsburg (IN) High (had a nice camp at ND this summer)
2016 Target
Thiyo Lukusa, Traverse City (MI) West (has Michigan State offer, potentially a big-time recruit)

 

[rikkitikki08]

I will put 10 million vbucks on it that ND has over 150 yards rushing........its statement time

 

[rikkitikki08]

Commits
DeShone Kizer
Justin Brent
Jerry Tillery

2014
Shaq Vann, RB, South Bend Adams

2015 Targets
Aliz’e Jones, nation’s No. 1 TE in 2015 (has Irish offer)
James Morgan, Top247 QB from Wisconsin (Irish lean if offered)
Hunter Littlejohn, four-star OL from Ohio
Evan Mallory, OL from Brownsburg (IN) High (had a nice camp at ND this summer)
2016 Target
Thiyo Lukusa, Traverse City (MI) West (has Michigan State offer, potentially a big-time recruit)

I know Justin Brent lives 3 hours away but im pretty sure he plans on attending every home game this season lol

 

[koonja]

Commits
DeShone Kizer
Justin Brent
Jerry Tillery

2014
Shaq Vann, RB, South Bend Adams

2015 Targets
Aliz’e Jones, nation’s No. 1 TE in 2015 (has Irish offer)
James Morgan, Top247 QB from Wisconsin (Irish lean if offered)
Hunter Littlejohn, four-star OL from Ohio
Evan Mallory, OL from Brownsburg (IN) High (had a nice camp at ND this summer)
2016 Target
Thiyo Lukusa, Traverse City (MI) West (has Michigan State offer, potentially a big-time recruit)

That's a damn good list of 2015-ers.

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

I felt terribly about this game at the beginning of the week, but I've felt better as the week has progressed.

1) I'm assuming OK wont be able to the run the ball. They couldn't last year at all against us, and our Run D has been good all year long.

2) For some reason I'm confident our run game gets it going this week. Should be some holes in OK's 3-3-5 and its not like Big 12 teams are known for their D.

3) Bell's first road start.

I just think if we can pound the ball, eat some clock, and win the occasional 1-on-1 matchup with Jones and Daniels AND COREY EFFING ROBINSON, then we will be able to move the ball well. I think the D will give up yards, but get OK off the field for the most part. I'm thinking a 24-16 game for some reason, but watch them blow us out by 20 and have me look like an idiot.

FIFY.

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

This is one of the worst threads I have ever seen...IDK why I even bothered going in.

Coach Kelly

 

[Cackalacky]

This is one of the worst threads I have ever seen...IDK why I even bothered going in.

Coach Kelly

That is classy. I particularly liked the guy talking about anal lube with a picture of his little girl in his signature.

 

[Big Oil Okie]

Glad open containers aren't an issue. I don't mind the drink or dumb motivation. Just want to make sure I'm not breaking any laws.

The Belldozer formation (saw that somewhere earlier, didn't quote it) was simply the short yardage/goal line formation designed for Bell last year because Laundry seemed to fail at that. It was pretty simple, line everyone up, and hope he piles his way through with a couple of backs for blockers. I haven't seen it this year when he played, but wouldn't be surprised if it comes out in this game. Time of possession is key to control the clock and pace of the game. Although OU plays fast, I worry about not converting and giving up 3-and-outs. I'm not sure what to expect form the defense and the more our offense stays on the field just the more the D can rest and we can control the game.

Like I've said before, Stoops always has a trick up his sleeve for big games. Not to mention, a week to prepare and implement kinks. The offense has been pretty bland thus far there's a lot of playmakers to move around.