THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING NOTRE DAME 30, NOTRE DAME AND OKLAHOMA 13 SAINT Mary’s VOLUME 46, ISSUE 43 | MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM Statement win SUZANNA PRATT | The Observer Irish freshman wide receiver Chris Brown hauls in a pass that resulted in a 50-yard gain in the fourth quarter of Notre Dame’s 30-13 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday. The catch, the first of Brown’s career at Notre Dame, came with the score tied at 13-13 and led to a rushing touchdown by Irish sophomore quarterback Everett Golson. By ANDREW OWENS physical and mental toughness.” coverage and I think the play ac- good to see it go through.” a 10-6 halftime deficit. Assistant Managing Editor Before the game-winning, sev- tion set it up,” he said. “[Brown] Notre Dame controlled the tem- Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops en-play, 52-yard drive, Oklahoma ended up winning with a great po by outrushing Oklahoma to the was visibly livid after the call and NORMAN, Okla. — With the backup quarterback Blake Bell move and I just kind of stepped up count of 215 yards to the Sooners’ voiced his frustration to the refer- game and national champion- knotted the score with a 1-yard in the pocket and gave it a little bit 15. The Irish took a 7-3 lead in the ees through the remainder of the ship implications on the line, touchdown run — the first rush- of air and let him run under.” first quarter when senior run- half. Irish coach Brian Kelly placed his ing score Notre Dame had allowed After the Irish regained the ning back Cierre Wood burst “We had it in the end zone, and trust on the arm of Everett Golson. since last November. lead, they sealed the victory on a through the middle for a 62-yard it’s a judgment call, they call hold- The sophomore heaved a strike Though miffed after surrender- deflected pass into the hands of touchdown. ing,” Stoops said. “Those are frus- through the chilly Oklahoma air ing the touchdown, the defense senior linebacker Manti Te’o, his Moments before, on the game’s trating situations, but that’s the to freshman receiver Chris Brown, still wasn’t concerned about the fifth interception of the season. first drive, the momentum was in way it is. We didn’t get the calls.” who pulled it in for a 50-yard gain. game’s outcome, graduate stu- Officials reviewed the play and Oklahoma’s favor as the Sooners With three games remaining Five plays later, Golson dove into dent defensive end Kapron Lewis- upheld the call, but Te’o didn’t marched down the field for 42 before the season finale at USC the end zone to put Notre Dame Moore said. need to wait for their confirmation. yards on five plays before the drive and an undefeated season and ahead for good in its 30-13 signa- “We’re always confident in our “[The coaches] came up to me was stalled by a snap that sailed possible berth in the national title ture victory in Norman, Okla., on offense,” he said. “Whatever hap- and said, ‘Did you catch it?’ and I past quarterback Landry Jones game on the line, Kelly said the fo- Saturday. pens, happens.” said, ‘Yeah, I caught it,” he said. “It out of the shotgun formation. The cus must shift to Pittsburgh, and For Kelly, the gutsy play-action But Golson showed a prime- bobbled around a little bit, but I Sooners recovered it, but lost 19 only Pittsburgh. call, drawn up for a true freshman, time audience he’s not the same had possession of it.” yards on the play and punted two “We’ll lose,” Kelly said bluntly was a no-brainer. quarterback that had struggled at Four rushes later, kicker Kyle plays later. about his team if it looks ahead. “I wanted to win the game,” times and been pulled in previous Brindza converted a 46-yard field “We changed the play and there “If we start listening to national he said matter-of-factly after the weeks. goal to give Notre Dame a 23-13 was miscommunication between championship and BCS, we’ll lose game. “I don’t think six or seven weeks lead. The sophomore had missed myself and Landry,” Oklahoma a football game. Notre Dame indeed won, and ago I could’ve done something like a 35-yard attempt on the first drive center Gabe Ikard said. “I snapped “They’re a pretty smart group proved its validity as a national that,” he said. “I didn’t have the of the second half after the Irish it when I normally snap it, and and know if they start with what championship contender in the same feel for the guys then.” had driven 60 yards on 13 plays in nothing good came from that. we’ve done and the process of process. Golson, who finished 13-of-25 a possession that lasted 6:54. That was a huge drive kill for our preparing for Pittsburgh, they’ll “Our kids were confident,” Kelly passing for 177 yards and added 66 Brindza, who finished the game team.” be fine. That’s what I told them in said. “They came in well prepared. rushing yards, said he doesn’t let 3-for-4 on attempts, said the re- The game’s most controver- the locker room — I said to enjoy I told them that I was very confi- the game situation influence his demption was sweet. sial sequence occurred late in the a great victory against Oklahoma. dent in their ability to go out on the play. He saw Oklahoma in man-to- “I tried to keep my head down,” second quarter with the Sooners Now let’s find a way to beat road and play very good football. man coverage, and knew it was up he said. “I was going to let the trailing 10-3. Bell rumbled into the Pittsburgh.” “I thought that they exhibited to him and the freshman speed- crowd tell me if it was good or not. I end zone, but the play was called that confidence in the first half and ster to execute. peeked up. It was just a weight lift- back due to a holding penalty. The Contact Andrew Owens at in the second half the focus was on “We saw that they were in man ed off of my shoulders. It felt really Sooners settled for a field goal and [email protected] 2 THE OBSERVER | MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM INSIDER REPORT CARD QUARTERBACKS A- This was a coming-of-age game for sophomore Everett Golson. His numbers will not jump off the stat sheet, but Golson protected the ball and made big plays. Tommy Rees converted a key third-down on his only throw. RUNNING BACKS B+ The duo of seniors Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood didn’t produce the eye-popping numbers of some pre- vious weeks, but Wood started the scoring with a huge 62-yard run. Riddick ran hard to finish the game. RECEIVERS B+ It was receiving by committee yet again for the Irish, but T.J. Jones and Tyler Eifert stepped up yet again as Golson’s top targets. Freshman Chris Brown turned in the play of the game in the fourth quarter, hauling in a 50-yard deep ball for his first career catch. OFFENSIVE LINE B+ The group got off to its usual slow start, but down the ASHLEY DACY | The Observer stretch physically dominated the line of scrimmage. Senior linebacker Manti Te’o sacks Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones. Te’o continued his productive Golson took only one sack and Wood ran through the senior season Saturday with 11 tackles, one sack and one interception. line nearly untouched on his touchdown run. DEFENSIVE LINE It’s not hype anymore: B The pressure on Landry Jones was not consistent but did just enough to stop him at the right times. Louis Te’o deserves the Heisman Nix dominated Oklahoma center Gabe Ikard to col- lapse the pocket and even hustled to make tackles And on the biggest stage of watching the frontrunner down the field. Andrew Gastelum his legendary career Saturday crash out on weekly basis. Associate Sports Editor night, Te’o’s legend grew. While one loss can ruin the LINEBACKERS When the Notre Dame of- Heisman hopes of Klein — as NORMAN, Okla. — You know fense could not sustain a drive it did to Barkley, Manuel and A- Manti Te’o continued to add to his Heisman resume something special when you of more than two minutes in Smith — a loss for Te’o will not with 11 tackles, a sack and an interception. His intercep- see it. the first quarter, Te’o recorded muffle the Heisman noise. He tion was crucial in preserving a fourth-quarter lead, but What we saw in primetime at eight tackles and gave the of- simply means too much to the could not have happened without the coverage of Dan Memorial Stadium, that was it. fense a chance to find itself sport. Fox. Fox and Danny Spond played well in coverage. A special victory at a special without having to play catch And as we’ve seen with time, led by a special player. up. With one of those first- Robert Griffin III, Mark Ingram DEFENSIVE BACKS For Manti Te’o, this is a spe- quarter tackles, Te’o recorded and Tebow, it’s not just about cial year. So it should be specu- his 400th career tackle, just the stat sheet.