Sooner Showdown

It seems like every week that the Irish remain unbeaten the stakes get higher and the pressure to win mounts. Nobody expected Notre Dame to beat Michigan State on the road but they did. Nobody expected them to beat Michigan under the lights at Notre Dame Stadium but they did. Even when they hosted Stanford, there were some who doubted the Irish but they won. Now they travel to Norman, Oklahoma to take on the #8 Oklahoma Sooners. The Irish are ranked #5 but are 11-point underdogs. Everybody exclaimed that Notre Dame was “back” after beating Stanford, but the true test comes Saturday night. If the Irish can leave the Sooner State with a victory, they will have a great chance to finish undefeated.

Keys to Victory

Everett Golson: This is the game of the sophomore’s short career. Golson has shown signs of brilliance a few times this season, now it’s time to be brilliant for an entire 60 minutes. Oklahoma has a good defense, but nowhere near as talented as Stanford or even BYU. Golson will have to spread the ball around to all of the receivers and not be afraid to take deep shots down the field. The biggest positive factor for Irish fans is that Golson seems to play his best games on the road. In away games, Golson has thrown one interception and two touchdowns. At home, Golson has thrown two interceptions and two touchdowns. In fact, Golson said he was more nervous for the home opener against Purdue then he was for the season opener against Navy in Ireland.

Don’t Get Beat Deep: Notre Dame’s cornerback unit have played well above preseason expectations but they have not faced a unit like Oklahoma’s all season. Sooner quarterback Landry Jones is one of the best in the country and has really improved since losing to Kansas State a few weeks ago. Jones knows that the weak spot in Notre Dame’s defense is the secondary. He will challenge them all game and the cornerbacks and safeties will have to step up.

Run, run, run: Notre Dame’s trio of running backs ran for a combined 270 yards last week against BYU. I doubt they reach that number this weekend, but if they can consistently gain three to five yards a carry, they can take a lot of pressure off Golson and the pass game. Theo Riddick had a monster game against BYU and has become a fantastic runner. He can run up the middle or around the edge and breaks tackles like it’s nothing. He has to continue performing at a high level.

Another small key is for the Fighting Irish to score first. They have scored first in every game so far. They could really build momentum and quiet the Sooner fans by scoring first.

Prediction: Notre Dame-20. Oklahoma-17.

I could really see this game going either way. Both teams are so good and Oklahoma may pick apart Notre Dame’s secondary. Unfortunately, if Notre Dame loses there will be no positive reactions from outsiders. Many think the Irish are overrated and will lose this game by a lot. So if they do, all those haters will consider themselves right. Even if the Irish lose by a field goal, that will still be enough for everybody to point out how overrated they are.

National Preview and Picks

Finally got back to a winning record on picks last week as I went 7-3. That puts me at a season record of 55-25 (Stewart Mandel is 50-30 although we don’t pick the same games). This Saturday is definitely the day you want to stay inside all day and watch football.  There are four matchups of Top 15 teams that will have huge impacts on the national championship picture.

Games are in order of scheduled kickoff time. Predicted winners in bold.

Iowa Hawkeyes (4-3) at Northwestern Wildcats (6-2)

North Carolina State Wolfpack (5-2) at North Carolina Tarheels (5-3)

UCLA Bruins (5-2) at Arizona State Sun Devils (5-2)

#2 Florida Gators (7-0) at #10 Georgia Bulldogs (6-1)

#14 Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-1) at #3 Kansas State Wildcats (7-0)

#9 USC Trojans (6-1) at Arizona Wildcats (4-3)

Ohio State Buckeyes (8-0) at Penn State Nittany Lions (5-2)

#5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-0) at #Oklahoma Sooners (5-1)

#22 Michigan Wolverines (5-2) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-2)

#11 Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-0) at #1 Alabama Crimson Tide (7-0)

Either the Hawkeyes or the Wildcats could use a win and jump to third in the Big Ten Legends Division. They are chasing the Wolverines and Cornhuskers. Arizona State and UCLA are in similar positions as they are second and third in their division behind USC. Georgia was destroyed by South Carolina and Florida destroyed South Carolina. That should equate to a blowout victory for the Gators, right? Texas Tech is a dangerous team whose only loss is to Oklahoma. The Ohio State-Penn State game would be epic if the teams weren’t banned for postseason play. Mississippi State is easily the most overrated team in America as they have not beaten one ranked opponent all season. Alabama will blow them out.