Inside the Huddle, October 26, 2012

G A M E D AY TA B L O I D F O R S O O N E R F O O T B A L L | F R E E

INSIDE THE HUDDLE THIS WEEK

8

Oklahoma vs.

5

Notre Dame

PREVIEW

A charging Notre Dame team brings a heralded defense to Norman to test the Sooners P2 DEPTH CHARTS

See who’s on the field this weekend for Oklahoma and Notre Dame P10 OPPONENTS

There is a lot of talk about Notre Dame’s defense, but it’s not that great P13

Traditions face off in Norman OU-Notre Dame rivalry based on shared legacy, not head-to-head games P8

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INSIDE THE HUDDLE

• Friday, October 26, 2012

GAME PREVIEW » NOTRE DAME

National powerhouses to clash a Student Media publication in association with

160 Copeland Hall 860 Van Vleet Oval Norman, OK 73019-2052 phone: 405-325-3666 email: dailysports@ou.edu

James Corley Inside the Huddle editor twitter: @jamesfcorley

Kedric Kitchens Sports editor twitter: @KedricKitchens

Dillon Phillips Assistant sports editor twitter: @DillonPhillips_

Tobi Neidy Sports reporter twitter: @TobiAnn

Jono Greco Sports columnist twitter: @JonoGreco13

Chris Tyndall Sports reporter twitter: @Tyndall_Chris

Kearsten Howland Advertising manager

Irish will look to keep pressure on OU’s Jones, Sooner offense Saturday TOBI NEIDY Sports Reporter

The nation’s fifth-ranked scoring offense will take on the sixth-best total defense when No.8 Oklahoma clashes with No. 5 Notre Dame at 7 p.m. Saturday in Norman.

The much anticipated matchup between two of college football’s most traditionally-rich programs will be the first time the two teams have met since 1999 and the first on Owen field since 1966.

Although the illustrious history between the two teams — including the historic 47-game winning-streak snap and the lopsided 8-1 overall series record both held by Notre Dame — spices up the conversations leading up to the game. Most importantly, the two teams are fighting for position in the BCS standings this season.

“Sure, there will be (energy in this game), but in the end, we don’t get to participate in all that because we get to go to meetings, we get to go to practice and then get ready to play,” coach Bob Stoops said. “It’s great for college football, the community and the fans but the following week will be exciting for us too because we still have to keep winning.”

Although OU is the only team that comes into Saturday’s game with a loss, being able to host Notre Dame who has hasn’t let a team score more than 17 points on the defense in a single game is a test that Stoops said his team is ready to undertake.

“You look at them and tell the character of a team by seeing that they’ve won so many close, good football games,” Stoops said. “It’s a team that’s undefeated, so it’ll be a big challenge but our guys will be excited and hopefully go through the week here like we do each and every week in how we prepare.”

The Fighting Irish will start sophomore quarterback Everett Golson

MICHAEL CONROY/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o (5) celebrates after an interception against the BYU during the first half of the Fighting Irish’s 17-14 win Saturday in South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame is 7-0 for the first time since 2002.

— who sat out against BYU while recovering from a concussion— against the Sooners. Golson has completed 58.5 percent of his passes this season and comes into the game averaging over 161 passing yards per game with four touchdowns.

Offensively, Notre Dame is averaging 25.9 points per game. It gets most of its offensive production from senior running back Theo Riddick and senior All-American tight end Tyler Eifert, who leads the receivers with 319 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Last week in the win against BYU, Riddick had a breakout game with a career-high 143 yards on the ground, accounting for over half of Notre Dame’s total net rushing yards in the game.

“ They have two backs, and they’ve got a pretty good tight end so we’re going to have to do a good job of trying to control the line of scrimmage,” senior defensive end David King said. “That’s been a key for us these past three weeks, and it’s going to play a huge factor in deciding who wins or loses this game Saturday.”

But the Irish is actually most effective at scoring on defense.

Notre Dame is anchored on defense by senior linebacker Manti Te’o, an All-American standout who was named to the Butkus, Nagurski and Lombardi preseason watch lists. Te’o leads the team with 69 tackles and also continues to be the headhunter for the Irish, compiling

four interceptions and two fumble recoveries after seven games this season.

The D as a whole is becoming notorious for limiting opponents to mediocre rushing performances, giving up just 3.4 yards per play and not allowing a single rushing touchdown so far this season.

This could mean trouble for the Sooners who depend heavily on sophomore quarterback Blake Bell and the ‘Belldozer’ package to extend offensive drives on third-andshort yardage scenarios.

Bell currently leads the team with eight touchdowns, including a game-high four touchdowns against SEE IRISH PAGE 3

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

Friday, October 26, 2012 •

3

IRISH: Jones says Sooner offense continuing to fire would be ‘huge’ for OU Continued from page 2

Tobi Neidy, tneidy@gmail.com

Offense 387.9

199.7

194.0

2

968

Interceptions for senior defensive back Javon Harris againstt Kansas last weekend

Total passing yards for Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Everett Golson; averages 161.3 passing yards per game

4

Total interceptions for Harris this season (leads team)

4

Passing touchdowns thrown by Golson this season (didn’t start one game, missed last week)

1

Defensive score for Harris (interception return against Tech), the only Sooner defensive touchdown this year

EVERETT GOLSON Sophomore quarterback

Completion percentage for Golson this year

RUSHING YARDS ALLOWED

9.4

JAVON HARRIS Senior defensive back

PASSING YARDS ALLOWED

POINTS ALLOWED

Total tackles for Harris this season (20 unassisted)

3 58.5

Interceptions thrown

by Golson this season

TOTAL OFFENSE ALLOWED

34

280.7

15.3

193.9

RUSHING YARDS PER GAME

25.9

288.5

PASSING YARDS PER GAME

488.2

TOTAL OFFENSE PER GAME

POINTS PER GAME

44.7

Defense

Texas earlier this month.

“On film, you can tell when they know it’s a pass. They’re coming off a lot harder and using some pass rush moves,” junior center Gabe Ikard said. “We definitely need to establish the run like we have been.”

After dropping the first conference game to Kansas State on Sept.

22, Oklahoma rebounded to become one of the most complete teams in all three aspects of the game. Nationally, OU is ranked 17th in total offense, 15th in total defense and sixth in average punt return yardage.

The emergence of several offensive playmakers including junior running back Damien Williams, junior full back Trey Millard and senior wide receiver Justin Brown have helped contribute to the OU offensive scheme that is now the fifthbest scoring offense in the nation.

The Sooners went from scoring 112 combined points in the first three games to lighting up the scoreboard with three consecutive, 40-plus point performances.

“If you look at Oklahoma in the last few weeks (and them) putting up so many points, you’re not going to win those games,” coach Brian Kelly said in his Tuesday press conference. “So it’s going to start on the defensive side of the ball for us to keep the points down and then obviously find a way to get some scores. (OU is) balancing their running game in there and certainly their offense has evolved since the first week against UTEP to where they are today.”

If the Irish can’t contain senior quarterback Landry Jones and Co., the key to the Sooner offense will need to continue to make sound plays without turning the ball over.

And Jones said in a game like this, it will be important for the Sooner offense to come out firing like it has been over the past three games.

“That will be huge for us,” Jones said. “I think for the offense to get off early and build confidence early in this game will make it go smoother.”

302.5

164.3

174.0

138.2

106.7

4

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

• Friday, October 26, 2012

COLUMN » PROGRAM STRUGGLES

Game will determine if Irish are ‘back’ SPORTS COLUMNIST

Chris Tyndall ctynsports@cox.net

E

very college football program has had a dry spell in their storied histories; even the so-called “Blue Bloods” of college football have suffered a few years of misery.

Alabama had the DuboseFranchione-Shula era of 19972006, Michigan with the Rich Rodriguez years and USC in the late 1990’s.

Even OU suffered throughout the 1990’s with Gary Gibbs, Howard Schellenberger and John Blake dragging the historic program to the bottom of the conference.

But each of these programs had a savior in Nick Saban, Brady Hoke, Pete Carroll and Bob Stoops, each bringing their team back to national prominence with Saban, Carroll and Stoops winning national championships during their tenures.

Notre Dame, the so-called “Greatest College Football Team,” has recently gone through the struggles that many

thought would never happen.

They haven’t won a national championship since Lou Holtz’s third season in 1988 or finished in the top 10 of the AP Poll since 1993.

Since Holtz left in 1996 there have been four coaches and they’ve won only two of their 11 bowl games appearances with neither of their wins being in their three BSC Bowl appearances.

Bob Davie had two losing seasons in the five years he coached, never winning more than nine games and losing all three-bowl games he coached in.

In 1999 Notre Dame was put on suspension for the only time in school history for a booster providing gifts to players, and a player selling tickets to pay off a loan.

These infractions cost Notre Dame one scholarship and they were put on probation for two years.

After Davie was fired in 2001, Tyronne Willingham coached the Irish for two seasons before being fired before the 2004 Insight Bowl.

Willingham had a 21-15 record, which started out with a promising 10-3 season before losing 12 of the last 23 games.

Charlie Weis was brought in during 2005 hoping that his experience as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator would turn the team around.

MICHAEL CONROY/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly checks the replay screen during the first half the Fighting Irish’s 17-14 win against Brigham Young on Saturday in South Bend, Ind. The last time the fifth-ranked Irish were ranked in the top 10 was 1993.

Weis took the Irish to backto-back BSC Bowls, losing those games by 14 and 27 points respectively.

After these two seasons the Irish fell apart under Weis with only one winning season and a 3-9 2007 season, which was the most loses in school history despite having top recruiting classes.

Notre Dame hopes that new coach Brian Kelly will be their

Stoops with Kelly being hired in 2009, 10 years after Stoops’ hiring.

Both coaches succeeded in the first years by winning more games than their predecessor did in the previous year and winning their first bowl game.

Stoops won his first national championship in his second season and Kelly has his Irish squad positioned to contend for one brining a 7-0 record into this

weekend’s showdown.

All programs struggle, but eventually rise from the ashes and the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish hope that their rise to the top will continue with a significant win over No. 8 Oklahoma.

Chris Tyndall in a University College freshman. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyndall_Chris.

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

Friday, October 26, 2012 •

5

News from around the wide world of sports COLLEGE FOOTBALL » PENN STATE

GOLF » PGA TOUR

NBA » THUNDER

Former Penn State assisant Jerry Golfer Padraig Harrington wins first Sandusky transfers from jail to prison tour tournament in two years

Thunder fall to Bulls in final road matchup of NBA preseason play

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Jerry Sandusky became a state prison inmate Tuesday with his transfer out of the Centre County jail, his home since he was convicted in June of child molestation.

The 68-year-old former Penn State assistant coach arrived early in the morning at the State Correctional Institute at Camp JERRY Hill, just outside Harrisburg, a state prison SANDUSKY system spokeswoman said.

Sandusky was sentenced this month to 30 to 60 years for sexual abuse of 10 boys over a 15-year period. He has repeatedly asserted his innocence and last week filed post-sentencing motions, seeking to have convictions thrown out or a new trial.

The Associated Press

CHICAGO — Carlos Boozer had 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 94-89 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.

The Thunder played without three-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who were rested by coach Scott Brooks.

Serge Ibaka picked up the slack for the Thunder with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting. James Harden, who won the NBA’s Sixth Man Award last season, got a rare start and scored 13 points but was just 2 of 17 from the floor.

Ibaka did not play in the fourth quarter.

Luol Deng scored 21 points and Joakim Noah finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who led by as many as 14 early in the third quarter.

The Associated Press

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — Padraig Harrington is a winner for the first time in two years, even if the PGA Grand Slam of Golf was only an exhibition.

Four days after Harrington agreed to fill in for British Open champion Ernie Els, he ran off three straight birdies early on the back nine and closed with a 4-under 67 Wednesday for a one-shot win over U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson at Port Royal.

Harrington, a three-time major champion, lost in playoffs at the PGA Grand Slam in 2007 and 2008. He wound up winning on his third try as an alternate in the 36-hole event for the season’s major champions.

His last official win was the Johor Open on the Asian Tour in late 2010.

The Associated Press

Visit OUDaily.com for more news and information about all things Sooner sports.

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INSIDE THE HUDDLE

• Friday, October 26, 2012

ANALYSIS » LINES

Winner will be determined by battle up front OU line must stop Irish defense to open chances for Jones, Sooner offense TOBI NEIDY Sports Reporter

Oklahoma may have a revolving door of weapons that produces one of the most-balanced attacks for the nation‘s sixth-ranked scoring offense, but Notre Dame’s fifthranked defense has proven it can stonewall offensive drives.

On Saturday, something will have to give between these two historic football juggernauts in order to decide a winner in the much-anticipated matchup, but ultimately the battle to see who will continue their quest for the BCS championship will depend on who can win the battle in the trenches.

“On film, you can tell when they know it’s a pass — they’re coming off a lot harder and using some pass-rush moves,“ junior center Gabe Ikard said. “We definitely need to establish the run like we have been and set up some plays ... down the field.

“It’s a difficult challenge, but it’s one we’ve got to face.”

Just how difficult? The Irish haven’t given up a single rushing touchdown this season.

“That’s just unbelievable, but give them all the credit,“ Ikard said about the statistic. “They’re really tough inside with (Louis) Nix and (Kapron) Lewis-Moore.”

EVIN MORRISON/THE DAILY

The Sooner offensive line readies for the snap during OU’s 52-7 win against the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday in Norman. The matchup of OU’s offensive line against No. 5 Notre Dame’s highly-touted defensive line could be a key piece in determining the winner of Saturday’s OU-Notre Dame game.

The Sooner offensive line may be outmatched immediately on paper, but since coming off of the second bye week, OU has learned how to effectively protect Jones

after giving up eight sacks in the first three games this season.

In t h e l a s t t h re e o u t i n g s, quarterback Landry Jones has only kissed grass twice, allowing

the senior to make better throwing decisions while also allowing the receivers to break man coverage.

But Notre Dame’s front line packs a tough punch.

“They are really talented up front, so our protecting needs to be good,“ Jones said. “The offensive line is SEE LINES PAGE 7

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

Friday, October 26, 2012 •

7

LINES: Notre Dame front seven anchors 2nd-ranked scoring defense Continued from page 6 going to have to play really well in order for us to compete and play well in this game because they are going to make you beat them. They are not going to beat themselves.”

The defense’s consistency also is one of the best in the nation; Notre Dame fields the nation’s secondranked scoring defense (9.4 ppg).

“It starts in our front seven and really forcing teams to be off schedule,” coach Brian Kelly said.

“We’ve been very good against the run, which now puts [other teams] in predicaments and predictability that allows us to obviously get into a personnel grouping that match well with us in terms of nickel and coverage scenarios.”

The most points this Irish defense surrendered in a single game this year was 17 by Purdue during the second week of Notre

Dame’s schedule. But Saturday won’t be the first time this season OU will have to use smart playcalling and multiple go-to guys to outplay a quality defense.

When the Sooners faced Texas Tech, the nation’s former topranked defense, on Oct. 6, OU’s touchdown on the opening drive was the first time the Red Raiders had allowed points in the first quarter all season prior to that point. Tech also had allowed just one rushing touchdown prior to the meeting before sophomore quarterback Blake Bell buckled down for two scores.

Although Notre Dame has been slightly better than Tech at defending the run — only allowing its opponents a low average of 106 rushing yards per game — establishing the ground game to open up passing lanes is something the Sooners said they will look to do again this weekend.

“ It ’s a l w a y s i m p o r t a n t t o establish the line and the run early on in a game like this,” junior right guard Bronson Irwin said. “If you can establish yourself early and show you’re a force to be reckoned with, plays will begin to open up down field.”

And in a hyped game, taking pressure off Jones will allow him to lose that disrupting sense of urgency to make the forced plays that usually result in turnovers.

“In big games like this, you do want to make big plays and you want to score quickly, but the way we have been playing lately isn’t because we have been forcing things and isn’t because we are trying to make things happen,” Jones said. “So if they’re giving us a shot … down the field, we are going to take it.”

Tobi Neidy, tneidy@gmail.com

NAM Y. HUH/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o (5) battles a Miami (Fla.) offensive lineman during the first half of the Fighting Irish’s 41-3 win against the Hurricanes on Oct. 6 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

8

• Friday, October 26, 2012

Friday, October 26, 2012 •

DILLON PHILLIPS • ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

W

hen Notre Dame travels to Norman on Saturday, it will be only the 10th time the Sooners and Irish have met on the gridiron.

Notre Dame leads the series eight games to one — OU’s lone win in the series came during its 1956 title run, as the Sooners stomped the Irish in South Bend, Ind., 40-0 — but the rivalry between the two college football titans transcends their nine meetings.

Similar to the NBA’s longstanding Lakers-Celtics rivalry, the Sooners’ and Fighting Irish’s strife is one rooted in history — trophies and titles decide the victor, not head-to-head meetings. And as of 2012, Notre Dame has a slight lead.

Notre Dame ranks third for the most national titles in college football history with 11; Oklahoma is fifth with seven.

Notre Dame is fourth in all-time wins with 853; Oklahoma is seventh with 825.

Notre Dame has seven Heisman Trophy winners; Oklahoma has five.

Notre Dame ended Oklahoma’s storied 47-game winning streak in 1957.

And Notre Dame won the last meeting between the teams, 34-30, in South Bend in Bob Stoops’ first season at OU in

1887

Notre Dame plays its first college football game against Michigan; loses, 8-0

1918

Legendary Irish coach Knute Rockne starts his tenure at Notre Dame

1924

The Irish win their first of 11 national championships

1895

Oklahoma plays its first college football game against Oklahoma City’s town team; loses, 34-0

1931

1966

Rockne dies in a plane crash in Kansas; finished career 105-12-5 with three national titles

1929-30

The Irish win their second and third national championships

1940s

The Irish win four more national titles (’43, ’46, ’47, ’49) under coach Frank Leahy

1950

Oklahoma wins its first national title

1999, a game that the Sooners led 30-14 in the second half.

Simply put, there are few teams in college football that possess a more prestigious history than Oklahoma, and Notre Dame is one of them.

But during the last decade, Oklahoma has gained significantly on the Irish.

The Sooners won a national championship, seven Big 12 titles and appeared in eight BCS games.

In that same 10-year span, the Irish have played in three BCS games — losing all three by an average margin of 24 points— and have posted double-digit win totals only twice.

But now, 13 years since their last meeting, the No. 9 Sooners and the No. 5 Irish are slated for a showdown. And regardless of how history will remember this game, its impact on this season’s national title race gives it the utmost importance.

With both teams in the hunt, this game is a must-win for either side.

For Notre Dame, a win would validate the resurgence of a once-storied program.

For the Sooners, it would be another step toward a national title and a reaffirmation of their reputation for defending Owen Field.

How lucky we are to get to watch it unfold.

The Irish win their eighth national championship

1973

1957

Notre Dame ends OU’s 47-game win streak; the Irish also were the Sooners’ last loss just before the start of the streak

1955-56

OU wins its second and third national titles

1986

The Irish win their ninth national championship

1973

Legendary Sooner coach Barry Switzer starts his tenure at Oklahoma

Lou Holtz starts his coaching tenure at Notre Dame

1977

The Irish win their 10th national championship

1974-75

and fifth national titles

OU wins its fourth

1985

1988

The Irish win their most recent national championship

Oklahoma wins its sixth national title

1999

Bob Stoops starts his coaching tenure at OU

2000

Oklahoma wins its most recent national title

9

10

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

• Friday, October 26, 2012

The University of Oklahoma L I B R A R I E S Western History Collections presents 1904 World’s Fair Souvenirs Art of the American Arms Makers Traveling America with the Fred Harvey Company Bob Burke Collection: Great Stars of Western American Film, Television & Music Open to the public during regular hours.

Open until kick-off on game days.

Oklahoma depth chart OFFENSE LT

LG

C

RG

RT

TE

Monnet Hall, Room 452 For more info, call (405) 325-3641 WR

History of Science Collections presents

“A Living Library: The Growth of History of Science Collections from 1976-2012” Featuring the works of Copernicus, Kepler, Edison, Einstein and Darwin among others.

WR

WR

QB

Open to the public during regular hours; open 12-4 p.m. on Saturdays. No appointment necessary.

FB

Bizzell Memorial Library, 5th floor For more info, call (405) 325-2741.

RB

libraries.ou.edu

DEFENSE

69 Lane Johnson

Sr.

71 Tyrus Thompson

So.

74 Adam Shead

So.

50 Austin Woods

Jr.

64 Gabe Ikard

Jr.

56 Ty Darlington

Fr.

68 Bronson Irwin

Jr.

50 Austin Woods

Jr.

79 Daryl Williams

So.

72 Derek Farniok

RE

RT

98 Chuka Ndulue

So.

11 R.J. Washington

Sr.

53 Casey Walker

Sr.

80 Jordan Phillips

R-Fr.

97 Jamarkus McFarland

Sr.

90 David King

Sr.

90 David King

Sr.

84 Mike Onuoha

Fr.

7 Corey Nelson

Jr.

R-Fr.

25 Aaron Franklin or

So.

85 Geneo Grissom or

So.

5 Joseph Ibiloye

Sr.

88 Taylor McNamara or

Fr.

21 Tom Wort

Jr.

82 Brandon Green

Jr.

20 Frank Shannon or

18 Jalen Saunders

Jr.

44 Jaydan Bird

Sr.

3 Sterling Shepard or

Fr.

9 Gabe Lynn

Jr.

22 Roy Finch

Fr.

2 Julian Wilson

So.

19 Justin Brown

Sr.

23 Kass Everett

Jr.

13 Durron Neal

Fr.

14 Aaron Colvin

Jr.

4 Kenny Stills

Jr.

27 Gary Simon

Fr.

17 Trey Metoyer

Fr.

30 Javon Harris

Sr.

18 Lacolton Bester

Jr.

9 Gabe Lynn

Jr.

12 Landry Jones

Sr.

1 Tony Jefferson

Jr.

10 Blake Bell

So.

42 Jesse Paulsen

Sr.

15 Drew Allen

Jr.

6 Demontre Hurst

Sr.

33 Trey Millard

Jr.

15 Lamar Harris

Sr.

48 Aaron Ripkowski

So.

26 Zack Sanchez

Fr.

20 Damien Williams

Jr.

8 Dominique Whaley or

Sr.

24 Brennan Clay

Jr.

LT

RE

OLB

MLB

N

RCB

SS

FS

LCB

R-Fr.

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

Notre Dame depth chart OFFENSE LT

LG

C

RG

RT

TE

WR

WR

QB

RB

DEFENSE

70 Zack Martin

Sr.

89 Kapron Lewis-Moore

Gr.

78 Ronnie Stanley

Fr.

91 Sheldon Day

Fr.

66 Chris Watt

Sr.

9 Louis Nix III

Jr.

65 Conor Hanratty

So.

96 Kona Schwenke

Jr.

52 Braxston Cave

Gr.

7 Stephon Tuitt

So.

57 Mike Golic Jr.

Gr.

69 Tony Springmann

So.

77 Matt Hegarty

So.

55 Prince Shembo

Jr.

57 Mike Golic Jr.

Gr.

11 Ishaq Williams

So.

72 Nick Martin

So.

56 Anthony Rabasa

So.

74 Christian Lombard

Jr.

48 Dan Fox

Sr.

64 Tate Nichols

Jr.

44 Carlo Calabrese

Sr.

80 Tyler Eifert

Sr.

5 Manti Te’o

Sr.

18 Ben Koyack

So.

59 Jarrett Grace

So.

85 Troy Niklas

So.

8 Kendall Moore

Jr.

7 TJ Jones

Jr.

13 Danny Spond

Jr.

10 DaVaris Daniels

So.

30 Ben Councell

So.

9 Robby Toma

Sr.

6 KeiVarae Russell

Fr.

19 Davonte’ Neal

Fr.

43 Josh Atkinson

So.

5 Everett Golson

So.

17 Zeke Motta

Sr.

12 Andrew Hendrix or

Jr.

29 Nicky Baratti

Fr.

11 Tommy Rees

Jr.

41 Matthias Farley

So.

6 Theo Riddick or

Sr.

24 Chris Salvi

Sr.

4 George Atkinson III or

So.

2 Bennett Jackson

Jr.

20 Cierre Wood

Sr.

21 Jalen Brown

So.

DE

NG

DE

OLB

ILB

ILB

OLB

CB

S

S

CB

Friday, October 26, 2012 •

11

12

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

• Friday, October 26, 2012

The Daily’s NCAA football pick ’em challenge The Daily’s writers make their predictions for 10 college football games this week, selecting one matchup as their lock.

James Corley

Kedric Kitchens

Dillon Phillips

Tobi Neidy

Ross Stracke

Brent Stenstrom

SEASON RECORD (LOCKS)

20-10 (1-2)

15-15 (3-0)

18-12 (3-0)

17-13 (3-0)

19-11 (3-0)

19-11 (2-1)

No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

No. 11 Mississippi State at No. 1 Alabama

Alabama

Alabama

Alabama

Alabama

Alabama

Alabama

No. 2 Florida at No. 10 Georgia

Florida

Florida

Florida

Florida

Florida

Florida

No. 14 Texas Tech at No. 3 Kansas State

Kansas State

Texas Tech

Kansas State

Texas Tech

Kansas State

Kansas State

No. 9 USC at Arizona

USC

Arizona

USC

USC

USC

Arizona

Duke at No. 12 Florida State

Florida State

Duke

Florida State

Florida State

Florida State

Florida State

No. 22 Michigan at Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska

Michigan State at No. 25 Wisconsin

Michigan State

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Michigan State

Michigan State

Wisconsin

Indiana at Illinois

Illinois

Illinois

Indiana

Illinois

Indiana

Indiana

Navy at East Carolina

East Carolina

Navy

East Carolina

East Carolina

East Carolina

Navy

It’s time to get back

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INSIDE THE HUDDLE

Friday, October 26, 2012 •

13

ANALYSIS » OPPONENT

Highly-touted Notre Dame defense not all that Irish have yet to play team with offensive prowess of Sooners

AT A GLANCE Top Notre Dame opponents this season Miami: 69th in scoring offense, 51st in total offense

Stanford: 66th in scoring offense, 79thin total offense

Purdue: 48th in scoring offense, 80th in total offense

Michigan: 53rd in scoring offense, 61st in total offense

DILLON PHILLIPS Assistant Sports Editor

It’s been six seasons since Notre Dame last finished in the top 25, but it comes into this weekend’s game ranked in the top five for the first time since 2006.

The Irish appear to have righted the ship under third-year coach Brian Kelly: Notre Dame is 7-0, claims wins against three ranked teams and boasts one of the nation’s top defenses.

Fans and pundits alike have been clamoring that Notre Dame football is back, but upon further

examination, the Irish may not be as good as they would have us believe.

Enough has been said about Notre Dame’s average offense, which ranks No. 74 in total offense and No. 76 in scoring offense, but let’s take a look at its vaunted defense.

This season, Notre Dame has faced only one offense that ranks in the top 50 in total or scoring

offense.

The seven teams the Irish have played — Navy, Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan, Miami, Stanford and BYU — rank 98th, 48th, 107th, 53rd, 69th, 66th and 87th in scoring offense and 98th, 80th, 87th, 61st, 51st, 79th and 82nd in total offense, respectively.

Now, that may seem like a jumble of statistical jargon, so let me

simplify it.

The best offense Notre Dame has played in terms of yardage is Miami, which ranks 51st out of 124 teams. The best offense Notre Dame has played in terms of scoring is Purdue, which ranks No. 48. Purdue also scored the most points on Notre Dame of any team this season (17) and, interestingly enough, more closely resembles OU’s offense than any team the Irish have played.

That means Notre Dame’s second-ranked scoring and sixth-ranked total defense hasn’t played a team that ranks in the top 38 percent of FBS teams in total or scoring offense.

Conversely, OU ranks No. 5 in scoring offense and No. 17 in total offense already having faced

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two top-25 defenses and will be far-and-away the best offense Notre Dame has seen this year.

Perhaps more importantly, though, this weekend’s game will be played in Norman — where OU is 14-1 against ranked teams under coach Bob Stoops. It’s also only Notre Dame’s second true road game this season.

Look, I’m not some jaded OU fan who can still remember sitting in the stands when OU lost to Notre Dame, 7-0, in 1957 and snapped its 47-game winning streak. I’m just someone who let’s the numbers do the talking.

And the numbers say Notre Dame will get exposed Saturday.

Dillon Phillips, dphillips85@ou.edu

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Meet OU Law recruiters and receive an application fee waiver re at the Oct. 30 Graduate School Fair, 1:30 in the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom, and the Nov. 1 Admissions Information Session, A noon in the Associates Room.

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14

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

• Friday, October 26, 2012

ATMOSPHERE » COLLEGE GAMEDAY

Sooners no strangers to national stage Stoops undefeated when GameDay visits Norman

BY THE NUMBERS OU and GameDay

TOBI NEIDY

19-7

Record for the Sooners under coach Bob Stoops when featured by ESPN’s College GameDay (19-8 all-time)

Sports Reporter

Saturday’s marquee matchup is the reason football players come to Oklahoma.

Although the annual pilgrimage to face the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas continues to be one of the poster games the Sooner program advertises to attract high school players, the Red River Rivalry isn’t the only time OU players can expect to feel the warmth of the national spotlight.

The Sooners also are known for their regular appearances in ESPN’s College GameDay, the national program that highlights one premier matchup each week of the college football season.

No. 8 Oklahoma will once again roll out the crimson carpet for the nation’s top contest Saturday when No. 5 Notre Dame rolls into town, and although GameDay hasn’t been to Norman since 2008, this will be the seventh time in the past four years the Sooners have played in the prime-time matchup.

“We come here to play in big games like this,” senior defensive tackle Casey Walker said. “If you don’t play against the best, you never know how good you actually are.”

Although the contest was originally scheduled between the two renowned programs when the Fighting Irish were still righting the program’s ship, the infamous history between the two collegiate football heavyweights was enough to earn national attention.

That attention tripled when Notre Dame downed BYU, 17-14, last weekend to post its first 7-0 season since 2002 and OU cruised to a 52-7 victory against Kansas to keep both teams in the top 10.

Oklahoma has played in at least one of the nation’s chosen premier

5-0

Record for OU under Stoops when College GameDay comes to Norman

7

Times in last four years OU has been featured

by College GameDay since it came to Norman for 2008’s OU-Texas Tech game

PHOTO PROVIDED

ESPN analyst Lee Corso (center) holds two young Florida State fans after picking the Sooners before last season’s OU-Florida State game in Tallahassee, Fla. The Sooners have won 19 of 27 appearances on ESPN’s College GameDay, which will visit OU on Saturday for No. 8 Oklahoma’s matchup against No. 5 Notre Dame.

AT A GLANCE College GameDay When: Throughout the day Saturday; begins at 8 a.m.

Where: South Oval

games for the past 12 consecutive seasons, dating back to coach Bob Stoops’ second year as OU coach in 2000. In those contests, the Sooners are 19-7, including a perfect 5-0 record in GameDay matchups played at home. The Sooners hold a 19-8 all-time record (.704) when

featured on the show.

And the Sooners said they’ll be ready for the show’s return.

“Big players make big plays in big time games like this,” senior safety Javon Harris said. “And there are a lot of seniors and upperclassmen on this team that will be looking to make plays this weekend.”

As a team, OU also will be looking for its fourth straight win in GameDay contests, the longest winning streak since the Sooners won seven from 2000-01. Overall, the Sooners are ranked third alltime with 28 GameDay appearances — including this weekend‘s contest — behind Florida (34) and Ohio

State (30).

The last time OU hosted the nation’s top game, the Sooners routed Texas Tech, 65-21, in 2008 to punch their ticket to the national championship. The game drew the largest football crowd (85,646) in the state’s history, and having that many people on hand to disrupt play calls was something senior quarterback Landry Jones said he won’t soon forget.

“There was just so much energy in the stands and so much energy in the crowd,” Jones said. “The part where they played the song ‘Jump Around’ and everyone was going nuts, you could feel the wave of

energy on the field.”

And the Sooner program won’t be the only team that knows what it’s like to play in that type of atmosphere this weekend.

In 1993, the Fighting Irish hosted the first-ever GameDay program on site in South Bend, Ind., where No. 2 Notre Dame clashed with No. 1 Florida State. Although the show’s long-time host Lee Corso picked FSU, the Irish won the game, 31-24.

Since that time, Notre Dame has appeared in featured games 21 times, enough for seventh place on the top-appearances list.

Irish coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday that playing in highlytouted games like this will help the Notre Dame program reclaim its notoriety as a national contender.

“Our kids are certainly excited about the challenge of playing Oklahoma,” Kelly said. “It’s a great program, a great tradition; Coach (Bob) Stoops is looking to do what we want to do here, and that’s build a program on consistency. Our players understand it takes great execution and it will take a great effort on Saturday, but one we’re extremely excited about as well.”

Tobi Neidy, tneidy@gmail.com

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

Friday, October 26, 2012 •

15

COLUMN » OFFENSE

Sooners will need to outpace Irish early to win SPORTS COLUMNIST

AT A GLANCE OU offense vs. Notre Dame defense Oklahoma offense (total points scored in the last three games)

Notre Dame defense (total points allowed this season)

1st half 98

1st half 40

2nd half 58

2nd half 26

Jono Greco jonogreco13@gmail.com

those three games — only Texas Tech cracks the top 50 in total defense (tied for seventh) — so it’s not surprising co-offensive coordinators Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell’s squad has imposed its will in the last three outings.

But that probably won’t be enforced with the same level of execution when No. 5 Notre Dame comes to Norman this weekend.

The Fighting Irish (7-0) have the sixth-ranked total defense in the nation, allowing an average of 280.7 total yards per game and 4.5 KINGSLEY BURNS/THE DAILY Junior Kenny Stills (4) celebrates after a touchdown during OU’s 52-7 win against yards per play.

The Sooners have not faced the Kansas Jayhawks in Norman. The Daily’s Jono Greco says the Sooners will a defense this talented yet this need to score quickly to create early space between them and Notre Dame. season — Texas Tech and No. 3 Kansas State (23rd-ranked total defense) are the best two they have icing on the cake. is proving his future NFL worth.

Senior quarterback Landry The receiving corps, headlined by squared off against — but Notre Jones for the most part has junior Kenny Stills, has found and Dame brings a different style of been picking apart defenses at exploited soft spots in the defense. defense to Norman.

While the Irish will try replicate will. All three running backs — To put it simply, the Sooners are what Kansas State did to stifle junior Damien Williams, senior finally clicking in the way Sooner OU’s offense Sept. 22, they will Dominique Whaley and junior Nation has wished it would since bring a more physical, hardBrennan Clay — have slashed Jones took over the team in 2009. through defensive lines, and the But, to be fair, OU exactly hasn’t hitting defense that’s led by senior linebacker Manti Te’o. versatile fullback Trey Millard played the toughest defenses in

Te’o leads his squad in tackles (69) and fumble recoveries (two) and is tied for the team lead with four interceptions, all of which has him in the Heisman discussion in some circles.

While Notre Dame will not blow out many legitimate teams, that is not its mantra. The Irish try to wear out their opponent’s offense and wait for a game-changing turnover to give their offense a perfect opportunity to score in a close game.

The Sooners can avoid all this by doing what they have been doing in their last three games: jump out to first-quarter leads and keep their foot on the throttle.

If OU can score at least 21 points by halftime, it should be a good day for the men in crimson and cream.

Score early and often; that needs to be the Sooners’ continued mantra.

Jono Greco is a journalism graduate student.

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remember sitting at my friend’s house watching the second half of the 2008 Bedlam game thinking how great it was to watch an offense that was clicking perfectly on all cylinders.

Oh, it was a joyous time; then that time just went away; that is until now, although not exactly up to the same caliber.

No. 8 OU has played three nearly flawless games by all three squads — offense, defense and special teams — with the offense making the most drastic and surprising improvement of the three.

In those three games — against No. 14 Texas Tech, No. 23 Texas and Kansas — OU (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) is outscoring its opponents by an average score of 52-16, outpassing them 302 passing yards per game to 203.3 passing ypg and outrushing them 185.7 rushing ypg to 116 total ypg.

All three of these games were decided easily midway through the second quarter, making most of the second half of those games just

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16

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

• Friday, October 26, 2012

News from around the Soonerscape FOOTBALL

MEN’S BASKETBALL

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

OU’s Jones a semifinalist for Davey O’Brien national quarterback award

Sooner hoops to hold intrasquad Sherri Coale to be mic’d up during scrimmage prior to Notre Dame game Sooner scrimmage tonight at LNC

Senior quarterback Landry Jones was named a semifinalist for the 2012 Davey O’Brien Award for the nation’s top quarterback.

Jones and 15 semifinalists were named Tuesday. The three finalists will be announced Monday, Nov. 19, and fans can vote for the finalists at VoteOBrien.org until LANDRY noon CT on Nov. 18.

JONES Jones has thrown for 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns this season with only three interceptions.

After the Sooners’ 63-21 win against Texas on Oct. 13., Jones passed former quarterback Steve Davis as the winningest quarterback in OU history.

Staff Reports

The OU men’s basketball team will hold its second intrasquad in as many weeks Saturday, when the Sooners tip off at 3 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center.

The scrimmage is free, open to the public and will consist of four ten-minute quarters with no break for halftime.

Doors will open at 2:30 p.m. and is expected to end around 4:15 p.m.

Last weekend, the White beat the Red at McCasland Field House, 67-56.

Senior forward Romero Osby led all scorers with 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting and added eight rebounds.

Junior guard Cameron Clark had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Sooner women’s basketball team will hold a free scrimmage tonight at the Friday Night Tailgate at Lloyd Noble Center.

Doors will open at 5 p.m., and members of the women’s basketball team will be greeting fans at the door.

Free t-shirts will be handed to the first 500 fans, and coach Sherri Coale will be mic’d up for the duration of the scrimmage.

The Sooners season tips off Thursday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. in an exhibition against Oklahoma Christian.

Oklahoma went 21-13 last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament before losing to St. Johns, 74-70.

Staff Reports

Staff Reports

Visit OUDaily.com for more news and information about all things Sooner sports.

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