Notre Dame At Oklahoma - Things I'm Looking For

The most anticipated game of Oklahoma's 2012 college football season is upon us! Oklahoma has the home field, speed and experience advantages but Notre Dame is bringing an attack of size and power on both sides of the ball. Seemingly everyone is predicting a good game, along with a Sooner victory. Of course that's what every OU fan wants to see but, in order to get there, we are going to need to see a few other things as well.

I'm Looking For The Success Of The Belldozer - There's no question in my mind that this is the key match-up of the game. Bell hasn't been stopped all season and Notre Dame hasn't given up a rushing touchdown all season. Something is going to have to give and the game hangs in the balance on this battle.

I'm Looking For The Linebackers To Come Up Huge - Notre Dame is 100th in the nation in passing offense which means their attack is going to be run-heavy. Tom Wort, Cory Nelson and company are going to need to huge tonight in bottling up Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood.

I'm Looking For Quick And Play-Action Passes From Landry Jones - He certainly won't have all night to release the football so the Sooners will need to be creative. If the running game is going then play-action should set some things up down field but, for the most part, look for quick passes to try and get Oklahoma's speed guys the ball in space. We might also see OU move the pocket and let Landry setup and throw on the run.

I'm Looking For Oklahoma's Secondary To Come Up With Some INTs - Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson is a sophomore playing in the nation's biggest game, on the road. There should be opportunities for the secondary to get some picks.

I'm Looking For Special Teams To Be A Factor - An already struggling Irish special teams unit took a significant hit when George Atkinson III wasn't able to make the trip due to flu-like symptoms. Oklahoma will enter the game with a healthy, and complete, special teams group that has been one of the most explosive of Bob Stoops' tenure.

I'm Looking For The Crowd To Make A Difference - This will only be Notre Dame's second true away game of the season. Tonight's crowd has the potential to rise to the occasion and let the Irish know that they are a long way from South Bend. Crowd noise can cause communication problems, false starts and down right intimidation. Bring it, Sooner fans!