Feeling So Good About Being So Wrong – ND 30, OU 13
I was wrong and I don’t care.
An hour before gametime Saturday, I wrote the combo of Golson to Eifert would be the key to a Notre Dame victory. Well, I don’t think three receptions for 22 yards would validate my claim. One of those receptions wasn’t even from Golson.
Notre Dame’s defense was the key to its 30-13 win over Oklahoma in Norman last Saturday night. Playing a bend-but-don’t-break defense, Notre Dame allowed 364 passing yards on Saturday night. Not exactly stellar numbers by any means. However, this same defense tightened up in the red zone, forcing Landry Jones out of the pocket and into some dangerous throws. Notre Dame found a way to keep Landry Jones off the scoresheet.
What’s more impressive is the Oklahoma rushing stat line: 15 rushing attempts and 24 yards. That’s it. To OU’s credit, they did score the first rushing touchdown on ND’s defense this season. Like most predicted, it was Blake Bell(the Belldozer).
As Brian Kelly discussed in the postgame, this was the plan all along – allow yards, but not points. It’s pretty obvious that the yards were coming from the air. Notre Dame forced Landry Jones to beat them. He just couldn’t.
Back to the offense for a minute. I was wrong about the Golson to Eifert combo. But I wasn’t wrong about Golson himself. I said Notre Dame needed to score points and they delivered. The 30 points scored was the most points ND scored against a ranked team the entire season. Golson’s final line isn’t strong, but he made the plays when the mattered most. His biggest play was his 50 yard bomb to freshman receiver Chris Brown. It was a solid throw by Golson and an impressive catch by Brown, the first in his collegiate career. This big play killed any OU momentum from their previous score.
From that point on, you know the rest. Golson caps off the final play of the drive, scoring the game winning TD on a QB dive. Theo Riddick puts the icing on the cake with a 15 yard run to put ND up 30-13.
One last thing, let’s not forget the biggest play of the game: The fourth quarter interception by Manti Te’o. He dove, caught it, flipped over, lost the ball on his thigh, picked it up with his hands, and laid on the ground safely with the pick. Another Saturday, another stellar performance for Te’o. The final numbers say he had 11 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack, and 1 INT. He’s not that far from KSU’s Collin Klein for the Heisman trophy. Should be an interesting subplot in another magical Notre Dame season.
#5 Notre Dame at #8 Oklahoma – Quick Thoughts
It’s the biggest game for Notre Dame since the #5 ranked Irish faced #1 USC in 2005. Yes, I’m invoking the “Bush Push” game one more time. I’m sorry, Irish fans.
The “Bush Push” game has been referenced quite a bit over the past few weeks. However, this game honestly doesn’t remind me that clash of the titans. This game reminds me more of a game in the 2002 season, when the #6 ranked Irish faced the #11 ranked Free Shoes University(Florida State, for those who missed the Steve Spurrier reference). Notre Dame was the higher ranked team, but being untested and on the road, the #11 Seminoles were the favorites.
Sound familiar, anyone?
Could the underdogs pull off another “upset” again? Just maybe.
Notre Dame’s defense will have to remain national championship caliber, it’s trademark during this 2012 campaign. Even ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit referenced this as the key to today – Landry Jones and the Sooners wide receivers versus ND’s defense. I am a firm believer in the defense wins championships philosophy. However, I don’t necessarily agree with Herbstreit. It’s an important matchup, but not the most important.
Here’s the key to tonight’s game: Everett Golson to Tyler Eifert.
Not to go all John Madden on you, but if the Irish expect to win tonight, they’ll have to score a few touchdowns. It would be nice if Manti Te’o and company could do all the scoring for them. Something tells me the offense will have to contribute.
Golson must find Tyler Eifert tonight. In Golson’s previous three starts, he’s found Eifert, a future first-round draft pick, a total of three times. Three. That’s it. That will have to change if the Irish expect to remain undefeated.
I know defenses are doubling down on Eifert. TJ Jones will be featured in a lot of one-on-one matchups once again. Golson will have to continue to find Jones in order to keep defenses honest. But…Golson cannot abandon Eifert like he has in recent weeks. Eifert must have an impact if the Irish expect to win. Golson must remain confident in his ability to throw strikes and find his man Eifert.
Tyler Eifert is ready for the big stage. Let’s hope Everett Golson can send Eifert on his way. If he can, expect the Irish to remain unbeaten after tonight.
Matt's Box Seat Observations 