The Oklahoma Sooners Need To Give Notre Dame Some Credit

After a loss it’s normal for fans, coaches and critics to pick apart what your team did wrong. It’s natural to make excuses, nobody likes to lose, let alone lose in the National spotlight. You can absolutely point out some of the things the Oklahoma Sooners did last night in the game against Notre Dame. But there comes a time when credit needs to given. Stop giving the excuses and maybe, just maybe, give the Irish the credit for that win.

The atmosphere Saturday night was electric. Irish fans showed up in droves, the stadium was packed, it was cold: the perfect setting to a great game in the making. Which is was, for the most part. On the Sooners opening drive, a huge momentum-killer happened with that botched snap that sailed way over Landry Jones’ head and after that, the game just had a different feel.

Notre Dame controlled the field on both sides of the ball. Most surprising how controlled and confident Irish redshirt QB Everett Golson looked. It’s as if sitting out against BYU last week due to a concussion didn’t even faze him. He didn’t have a helmet-sticker type game, but playing mistake free and coming into an environment like Norman, Oklahoma was last night, he proved his critics wrong that Tommy Rees should be the starter instead of him.

The defense, oh the defense. LB Manti Te’o is phenomenal. He was all over the place, every play, every stop there seemed to be a little bit of Te’o in on it. The Irish completely shut down the Sooners run game to more than non-existent, it was a negative yardage most of the game. They had Jones’ number the whole night. They dictated what the Sooners could and could not do and last night, it was what they couldn’t. The pressure was constant and relentless; they did exactly what one needs to do to win a football game.

To win a game like that, you need to play flawless football. The Sooners mistakes are on them, but they need to give credit when credit is due and Saturday night, the Irish win because they played virtually flawless football.  Just remember Sooner fans, both losses this season has been handed to the Sooners by two teams that are undefeated and making a huge title shot run. It may be time to give credit.