| Notre Dame LB Manti Te'o (right) sealed a 30-13 win over Oklahoma with this critical fourth-quarter interception. The Irish held Oklahoma to just 15 rushing yards in their first victory over a top-10 team since 1996. (US Presswire) |
Oklahoma C Gabe Ikard gushed about Manti Te'o’s field presence after thoroughly studying film on the Butkus Award nominee last week.
On cut-up after cut-up, the ubiquitous Notre Dame linebacker made sure his presence was felt. With the Irish up by a touchdown late in the fourth quarter Saturday, Ikard stood feet away as Te’o may have delivered a potential Heisman moment.
Any chance the Sooners had of tying the game ended when Te’o made a sprawling interception with 4:31 left. The Sooners didn’t score again, and the Irish remained undefeated with a 30-13 victory.
“I’m just glad we’re 8-0,” Te’o told ESPN after the game. “If the Heisman comes along the way, I’ll be happy.”
Oklahoma QB Landry Jones connected with Sooners WR Jalen Saunders near the left seam, but Irish LB Dan Fox delivered a hit from behind that jarred the ball loose, causing it to hang in the air for an instant. After reading Jones’ eyes, Te’o dove, placed his hands under the ball and intercepted his fifth pass of the season.
“I couldn’t have done it without Dan Fox,” Te’o told ESPN. “Dan made a beautiful play on the ball, and I just happened to be right there.”
Te'o led a stifling defense that allowed just three rushing yards in the first half and 15 overall. Te’o had 11 tackles, a sack and two tackles for losses. The No. 8 Sooners entered the game averaging 52.0 points in their previous three games.
An Irish defense that ranks in the top 10 nationally in six defensive categories held the Sooners’ explosive offense in check. After defeating a top-10 team for the first time since 1996, the Irish return home next week to face Pittsburgh. The Panthers nearly gained 600 yards of offense in Saturday’s 47-17 win over Temple.
“(We can) enjoy it for 24 hours and then get to work on Pittsburgh,” Kelly told ESPN.
Coming of age night for Golson: For an Irish offense that had finished with more than 200 passing yards once in its previous five games, there were many concerns about QB Everett Golson’s ability to move the offense heading into the game.
Golson silenced his critics by passing for 177 yards and remaining calm throughout the highly anticipated matchup. The redshirt freshman gave the Irish the lead for good with a 1-yard run with 5:05 left.
Golson was particular effective on play-action bootlegs and designed runs. He also had 64 yards on 11 carries and set up the game-winning touchdown with a 50-yard completion to freshman WR Chris Brown.
“He (Golson) was just managing the offense and making the plays when he needed to make them,” Kelly told ESPN.
Other notable moments from the win: Senior RB Cierre Wood scored Notre Dame’s first touchdown on a 62-yard run up the middle in the first quarter. It was the Irish's longest rushing touchdown of the season.
Wood received some help from RG Mike Golic Jr., who pulled to his left to form a combination block with TE Troy Niklas on Oklahoma DE Chuka Ndulue. The Irish finished with 215 rushing yards on 39 carries.
The Irish allowed a rushing touchdown for the first time in more than 41 quarters when Oklahoma QB Blake Bell scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame entered the game as the only team in FBS that hadn’t allowed a rushing touchdown.
Notre Dame also entered this week ranked second in FBS in points allowed per game (9.43). The Irish haven’t allowed more than 17 points in a game this season and are 8-0 for the first time since 2002.
(For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on Notre Dame football, follow bloggers Evan Hilbert and Matt Rybaltowski @CBSBigEast.