Stacking Up The Notre Dame Defense vs. Oklahoma State
The 5th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-1) have had strong defenses for years, but when they take on the 9th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys (11-2) it will be one of the few times n recent seasons that the Irish defense isn’t considered the best group on the field.
I’m willing to bet this hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Notre Dame players, who will be tasked with shutting down a Cowboy offense that has been inconsistent this season, but also one that has proven to be dangerous at times.
Notre Dame holds an on paper advantage in this matchup, but now they need to go carry it out and execute. Let’s take a look at how the Notre Dame defense stacks up against the Oklahoma State offense.
Notre Dame Rush Defense vs Oklahoma State Rush Offense
Advantage: Notre Dame
On paper this looks like a relatively good matchup, and it will certainly be impactful in this game. Its run game is what Oklahoma State has relied upon on offense this season, and it will need to run the ball to have success.
Dive deeper into the numbers and you'll see a bit of a different story. Notre Dame's rush defense numbers are better than their ranking, and they are brought down by the season opening performance against Florida State (264 yards) and a late season game against North Carolina (224 yards).
Outside of that the Irish rush defense was quite good. Notre Dame held five of its opponents below 100 yards and four more under 130 yards. Just three opponents averaged at least 4.0 yards per carry and seven were held below 3.5 yards per attempt. All this despite not being all that great at producing run game negatives.
Oklahoma State has rushed for 140 yards or less seven times this season, including in its Big 12 title game loss to Baylor (66 yards) and in its regular season loss to Iowa State (107 yards).
Notre Dame Pass Defense vs Oklahoma State Pass Offense
Advantage: Notre Dame
This is a bit of a mismatch on paper. Oklahoma State ranks in the bottom half of the national rankings in every category except sacks allowed. Notre Dame ranks in the Top 30 in six of the categories listed in this breakdown, including four in the Top 15.
That sack numbers will impact the game. Notre Dame ranked 5th nationally in sacks per game while Oklahoma State ranked 13th in sacks allowed per game. If Oklahoma State can protect quarterback Spencer Sanders he has the big arm and ability to make big plays down the field.
If Notre Dame can get pressure on Sanders it will have a chance to force mistakes in the pass game in the form of incompletions and interceptions.
Notre Dame Scoring Defense vs Oklahoma State Scoring Offense
Advantage: Notre Dame
There is a much greater statistical gap between the Notre Dame defense and the Oklahoma State offense than there is on the other side of the ball. Notre Dame ranks 9th in scoring defense and gave up just 23 points in the entire month of November.
The Irish also rank in the Top 30 in yards per game, yards allowed per play, red zone touchdown rate, third-down defense and turnovers gained. Oklahoma State ranks in the Top 30 in just one category, third-down offense.
Limiting big plays and turnovers will be keys to Notre Dame in this battle.
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