Bell leads Oklahoma to win at Notre Dame

Scores

Final

(22) Notre Dame 21

(3-2)

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Coverage: NBC

3:30 PM ET, September 28, 2013

Notre Dame Stadium, NOTRE DAME, IN

		1	2	3	4	T
#14	OKLA	14	7	6	8	35
#22	ND	7	0	7	7	21

Top Performers

Passing: B. Bell (OKLA) - 232 YDS, 2 TD

Rushing: G. Atkinson III (ND) - 14 CAR, 148 YDS, 1 TD

Receiving: S. Shepard (OKLA) - 5 REC, 83 YDS, 1 TD

Blake Bell leads No. 14 Oklahoma to win at No. 22 Notre Dame

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Associated Press

Oklahoma Tops Notre Dame

Jason Sehorn breaks down No. 14 Oklahoma's victory over No. 22 Notre Dame.Tags: Blake Bell, Notre Dame, Oklahoma

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Oklahoma finally found a way to beat Notre Dame again.

The 14th-ranked Sooners took advantage of three interceptions, two in the first 3 minutes as they jumped to a 14-0 lead, and Blake Bell passed for two touchdowns to lead the Sooners to a 35-21 victory over the 22nd-ranked Fighting Irish on Saturday.

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Oklahoma came into the season with question marks at QB and on defense. After a win against Notre Dame, the Sooners are officially back in the contender discussion, writes Adam Rittenberg. Story

With OSU's loss, the Sooners elevated themselves to conference-favorite status on Saturday, securing the most impressive win by a Big 12 team to date, writes Brandon Chatmon. Blog

Notre Dame had been flirting with a result like this in its previous three games. Just like with Michigan three weeks ago, the Irish ran into a team happy to take advantage of a rough opening, writes Matt Fortuna. Blog

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The win ended a seven-game losing streak to Notre Dame and was just the second in 11 meetings for the Sooners against the Irish, including ending an NCAA-record 47-game winning streak in 1957.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, an Irish Catholic who grew up in Ohio and downplayed the history aspect all week, conceded the victory was especially gratifying.

"Now that it's happened this way, I'm pleased and I sure am glad for those older Oklahomans that have been through all those games Notre Dame had beaten us. We get some level of satisfaction winning this one," he said. "Who knows when we'll play again? So they can live it up and say, 'We got you' last until we go again."

The Sooners (4-0) took control with the two interceptions.

Rees didn't see Oklahoma linebacker Eric Striker blitzing and was hit from behind, popping the ball loose, and linebacker Corey Nelson caught it and returned it 24 yards for a TD.

On Notre Dame's next play from scrimmage, Rees' pass ricocheted off the arm of receiver TJ Jones and linebacker Frank Shannon bobbled it before returning it 17 yards to the Notre Dame 32. The Sooners scored another TD four plays later on an 11-yard run by Damien Williams.

Coach Brian Kelly was surprised by the slow start by Notre Dame (3-2).

"You never expect to not pick up the simplest of stunts and have your quarterback get the ball stripped. You never expect not to run the right route when you're supposed to," he said. "The turnovers for us were too much to overcome."

After Notre Dame played a nearly perfect game in beating the Sooners last season, with no turnovers and just one penalty for 5 yards, Oklahoma was the one that made the fewest mistakes Saturday. The Sooners, who managed just 15 yards rushing against the Irish last season, finished with 212 yards rushing.

The game was a stark contrast to last season, when the Irish dominated the lines of scrimmage and amassed 215 yards on the ground. The Sooners frequently went wide on both runs and passes to try to offset Notre Dame's size inside. The Irish managed to rush for a season-high 220 yards, with George Atkinson running for 148 yards on 14 carries.

Bell, making his second career start, wasn't as impressive as he was when he passed for 413 yards and four touchdowns in a 51-20 win over Tulsa, but he was good enough to lead the Sooners over the Irish. He was 22 of 30 passing for 232 yards and two touchdowns.

"He was really sharp. He put the ball where it needed to be, finding the right guys, going through his reads," Stoops said. "And give credit to the line to give them the opportunity to find those guys, so I thought he played great."

Bell, threw a 26-yard TD pass to Lacoltan Bester to cap an 88-yard drive after an interception by cornerback Julian Wilson late in the second quarter, said the victory was especially satisfying considering last season's loss.

"We felt like we left some stuff on the field last year. Obviously we didn't come up with a win last year so we really wanted this one bad, especially coming on the road," Bell said

Rees struggled for a second straight game. After three straight games of passing for more than 300 yards, he was 9 of 24 for a season-low 104 yards.

"Obviously, I'm disappointed with how I played, individually. I've got to be better. You can't turn the ball over and expect to win games against good teams like Oklahoma," Rees said.

Kelly said there was plenty of blame to go around.

"This is about 11 players. We don't execute on the offensive line in the first fumble, we don't run the right route. It's natural for everybody to go after the quarterback, but there's 11 players out there," Kelly said.

Kelly didn't want to talk about what the loss means big picture for the Irish, who entered the season with hopes of making it back to the BCS title game.

"That's for you guys to talk about. I've got a football team we're trying to work with and develop. You guys can have your own comments and decide what happens and put us in any bowl you want," he said.

Top 25 Overview

It was over when... Blake Bell found Sterling Shepard for a 54-yard touchdown and again for the two-point conversion that proved to be the knockout blow.

Gameball goes to... Oklahoma has counted on Bell ever since he took the starting gig last week. He delivered against Notre Dame, throwing for 232 yards and two TDs.

Stat of the game... 2. Oklahoma has beaten Notre Dame only twice in their 11-game series history, but both times have come on the road in South Bend, Ind.

Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison

	OKLA	ND
1st Downs	25	12
Total Yards	450	324
Passing	238	104
Rushing	212	220
Penalties	4-31	8-77
3rd Down Conversions	5-14	4-12
4th Down Conversions	0-1	0-0
Turnovers	0	3
Possession	35:44	24:16

Passing Leaders


Oklahoma	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
Bell	22/30	232	7.7	2	0

Notre Dame	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
Rees	9/24	104	4.3	2	3

Rushing Leaders


Oklahoma	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
Clay	14	77	5.5	0	15
Bell	12	59	4.9	0	12

Notre Dame	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
Atkinson III	14	148	10.6	1	80
Folston	2	43	21.5	0	36

Receiving Leaders


Oklahoma	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
Shepard	5	83	16.6	1	54
Saunders	7	46	6.6	0	11

Notre Dame	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
Niklas	2	43	21.5	1	30
Jones	4	42	10.5	1	14

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTER				OKLA	ND
	TD	14:11	Corey Nelson 24 Yd Interception Return (Michael Hunnicutt Kick)	7	0
	TD	12:15	Damien Williams 11 Yd Run (Michael Hunnicutt Kick)	14	0
	TD	04:03	TJ Jones 6 Yd Pass From Tommy Rees (Kyle Brindza Kick)	14	7
SECOND QUARTER				OKLA	ND
	TD	00:42	Lacoltan Bester 26 Yd Pass From Blake Bell (Michael Hunnicutt Kick)	21	7
THIRD QUARTER				OKLA	ND
	TD	12:31	George Atkinson III 80 Yd Run (Kyle Brindza Kick)	21	14
	FG	08:11	Michael Hunnicutt 27 Yd	24	14
	FG	02:43	Michael Hunnicutt 19 Yd	27	14
FOURTH QUARTER				OKLA	ND
	TD	14:10	Troy Niklas 30 Yd Pass From Tommy Rees (Kyle Brindza Kick)	27	21
	TD	12:24	Sterling Shepard 54 Yd Pass From Blake Bell (Blake Bell Pass To Sterling Shepard For Two-Point Conversion)	35	21

Research Notes

Tommy Rees is only Notre Dame QB in the last 10 seasons with 3 interceptions in any half of a game.
ESPN Stats & Information

ESPN College Football

(14) Oklahoma 35

(22) Notre Dame 21

Blake Bell leads No. 14 Oklahoma to win at No. 22 Notre Dame

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Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison

Passing Leaders

Rushing Leaders

Receiving Leaders

Scoring Summary

Research Notes