Great Shane of Subway Domer video fame decided to sit down and simulate the 2012 Football Season on NCAA Football 2013. He took notes as he watched the Notre Dame games unfold. Dear god, he’s going to die at a young age…
Next up: Oklahoma
Week 9 – Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma (Norman, OK)
Coming off an unnecessarily dramatic victory over BYU, the Irish hit the fire pit of their scheduled gauntlet for 2012: a road trip to Oklahoma. The Sooners are currently #3 in the standings and have won each of their games by an average margin of 26 points, whereas the Irish are sitting at a “meh” #17 and have won their games by an average margin of FUCK THAT WAS CLOSE. ESPN somehow claims that Notre Dame feels they have an advantage in the upcoming visit, which tells me they must have fired Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard because NO FUCKING WAY would they say such nonsense in reality. Notre Dame Enters the game with the edge in one category: run defense (which is STILL #1 in the hood, G) but other than that the Sooners look primed to dish out a healthy ass whooping and improve their Television Exposure ratings. Hooray. Let’s just get to it shall we?
Oklahoma wins the toss and elects to defer to the second half. Once the game kicks off Notre Dame takes the ball from the 25 following a touchback. Heeeere we go!
Notre Dame comes out on the first play and hands off on a draw to Cierre Wood who starts out strong and picks up 10 for a first down right at the 35. Continuing the drive, Golson rolls out of the pocket and tries an option pitch to Robby Toma but it gets shut down in the backfield for a loss of 2. On 2nd down Golson finds TJ Jones for 5 to bring up 3rd and 7. On 3rd Golson gets the ball to Tyler Eifert but he can’t get the 1st down as he’s stopped 2 yards short, forcing the Irish to punt. The punt goes into the end zone for a touchback and the Sooners will start from their own 20.
Oklahoma comes out with a screen and they get 9 yards on 1st down. They connect over near the sideline for the 1st down on 2nd and they’ll get a fresh set from the Oklahoma 32. On 1st again they try another screen but the Irish defense is there and shuts it down for a loss of 2. Dan Fox catches sight of the upcoming play on 2nd and cuts down a receiver who catches a pass underneath and minimizes the gain to about 5 bringing up 3rd and 7. On 3rd the Irish D can’t get enough pressure and they connect for the 1st down to the Oklahoma 48. Oklahoma hits their tight end on 1st and he gains about 10 for another Sooner 1st down near the Irish 42. On 1st down again the Sooners continue their march down the field hitting a wide open man on a cross over the middle who turns it up field and takes it all the way down to the Irish 14 and now their knocking at the door. On 1st again they try to run it but gain nothing as the D-Line stuffs it. 2nd down has the Sooners try to run again and this time they gain about 4 to bring up 3rd and 6. The Irish defense sniffs the chance to force a field goal and on 3rd down that’s exactly what they do shutting down another delayed handoff in the back field for a loss of about 3 bringing up 4th and 9. The Sooners put the field goal up and its good as they take a 3-0 lead in the 1st quarter.
Notre Dame takes the kickoff down in the end zone and they will get started at their own 25.
Notre Dame comes out and Golson connects with Eifert on 1st down for 5 yards and on 2nd he tries Goodman who catches it but can’t drag a foot and it’s out of bounds incomplete. On 3rd down they crowd goes absolutely ape-shit and tries to rattle this Irish team into a 3-and-out. Golson takes it at face value and says “fuck you Sooner fans” and throws a PERFECT screen pass to Goodman who turns it up field between two defenders and gets the ball down to the Notre Dame 40 for the 1st down. Cierre Wood runs it up the gut for a pickup of about 3 on 1st down and on 2nd he tries a sweep and gets taken down for a loss of about 2 to bring up 3rd and 9. Before the ball is snapped the 1st quarter comes to an end and the score is 3-0 heading into the 2nd.
On 3rd and 9 now coming back from the TV Timeout to switch ends of the field Golson drops back and gets excellent protection in the pocket from his offensive line and with that time he locates Davonte Neal on the far sideline all the way down at the Oklahoma 33 for a 25 yard gain and another 1st down. Golson then decides to scramble on 1st down and after a 10 yard gain dive forward and as a result fumbles the ball in mid air and the Oklahoma defense scoops it up for the turnover. That was the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever seen a QB do anywhere other than the sideline. Unreal.
The Sooners take over at their own 18 yard line, and on 1st down they try a screen and pick up about 5 yards. On 2nd down they target the tight end and they manage to gain about 16 yards down to the 39 for a 1st down. On 1st Manti Te’o misses a tackle and they running back pick up 17 down to the Irish 44. Landry Jones continues to get all kinds of protection having all day to throw as he hits a wide out for a gain of 9 to the Irish 35 on 1st. On 2nd they line up with 5 wide and try to hit a receiver on a dig but he steps out of bounds instead and they’re faced with a 3rd and 1. On 3rd down they find their tight end again and they easily pick up the first down to the Notre Dame 26. They run up the middle for a gain of 6 on 1st down and on 2nd down they try to pass it and it gets knocked down by Bennett Jackson to bring up 3rd and 6 On 3rd down they try a draw play but Danny Spond is there to put it down short of the 1st down marker to bring up 4th and 3 at the Irish 18. The Sooners elect to kick the field goal and they get the 3 points to go up 6-0 halfway through the 2nd quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, George Atkinson III takes the ball up to the Notre Dame 26n where they’ll get started.
On 1st down the Irish catch a small break as an Oklahoma defender gets called for encroachment for a free 5 yards. On 1st and 5 now Cierre Wood runs it right and gets about 4 yards to bring up 2nd and 1. On 2nd Golson hits Goodman over the middle for 7 yards and a 1st down. On 1st again they try a sweep left and the Sooners are all over it for a loss of about 2 to bring up 2nd and 12. Golson elects to scramble on 2nd down and this time SLIDES down after a pickup of about 10 bringing up 3rd and 2 from the Notre Dame 48. Almost a-la Michigan 2011, on 3rd and short they run straight into a defender here and are stuffed for a loss of 1 and are forced to punt on 4th and 3. On 4th down they line up to punt but instead Ben Turk stands to pass and after what seems like a fucking eternity, can’t find ANYONE and gets taken down as he’s finally deciding to pass causing the ball to fall incomplete as the Irish turn it over on downs. Soooo fucked…
The Sooners take over at the ND 48 and now we’re just doing it to ourselves. Landry Jones drops a perfect pass over the defenders head to the tight end all the way down to the Notre Dame 29 for another fresh set of downs. On 1st down now they connect over the middle for a gain of about 12 to the ND 17 yard line where the Sooners will use a timeout. Coming from the timeout, they hit a receiver on the right side of the field for a gain of 5 before Bennett Jackson takes him down. On 2nd they try a delayed hand off which picks up about 4 1/3 yards to bring up 3rd and inches. On 3rd they run it again this time down to the Irish 3 for a 1st and goal. On 1st down Landry Jones wastes no time and finds his receiver in the back corner of the end zone for a Sooner touchdown. After the PAT, the Sooners go up 13-0 on the Irish. George Atkinson III takes the kickoff down to the 27 and the Irish have :38 left in the half to throw something together.
Golson throws on 1st and its batted down incomplete. On 2nd down Golson tries the same shit and this time the defender isn’t feeling nice about it so he picks it off this time and promptly returns it to the end zone for a pick-6 and another Sooner touchdown. SOOOOO fucked. The Sooners kick the PAT and are NOW up 20-0 with :28 left to go in the half. 10 shameful seconds. Davonte Neal takes the kickoff up to the 28 yards line.
Golson throws late over the middle on 1st down and it’s batted down by another defender incomplete. On 2nd they try something a little different and hand off to Cierre Wood who manages to find an EPIC hole in the defense and runs that fucker all the way down to the Oklahoma 39 for a 1st and Notre Dame takes a timeout. Coming back from the time out Golson targets Goodman for a short gain of about 2 to bring up 2nd down. On 2nd down Golson drops back to pass and turns on the old high school highlight film in his head as he launches one to the left corner of the end zone for riDONKulous touchdown pass. Notre Dame makes something out of nothing before the half and following the PAT the score is 20-7 Oklahoma.
Robby Toma makes the touchdown grab over two Sooner defenders to put the Irish on the board.
With about 4 seconds left the Sooners get it back at their own 25 and run it nowhere to kill the clock and head into half time.
The Sooners get the ball to start the second half and on the kickoff they run the ball out to their own 32 yard line to get started. On 1st down they find their WR over the middle for a pickup of 9. On 2nd down they run it and get to the 46 yard line for a 1st down. On 1st again, they try to run left by Kapron Lewis-Moore doesn’t give a shit and shuts it down for a loss of 1 to bring up 2nd and 11. They go or a delayed hand off on 2nd and only gain about 2 forcing a 3rd and 9. On 3rd down the Sooners get clever and call a screen which catches the Irish defense off guard as the back and his blockers all manage to charge down the field and the running back takes it all the way for a score getting tackled in the end zone by Zeke Motta. The Sooners put up the PAT and go up 27-7 on the Irish now.
On the ensuing kickoff, Atkinson III takes it down to the Irish 29 to being their drive. On 1st down, Golson’s pass is tipped and TJ Jones runs all the way back to prevent an INT but takes the catch for no gain to bring up 2nd and 10. On 2nd down, Golson can’t find anyone open and takes it himself for a gain of about 12 to the 41 and a 1st down. Golson locates Cierre Wood on a crossing pattern for another pickup of 10 down to the Sooner 49 and another 1st down. On 1st Golson tries to scramble but gets tripped up and stumbles down for a loss of 3 to bring up 2nd and 13. Golson targets Cierre Wood on 2nd and he gains about 4 yards to bring up 3rd and 9. With Golson looking visibly tired, the Irish take their time to snap the ball on 3rd down as Golson audibles into another play. The audible must have been something fucking serious because on 3rd down they snap the ball and Golson waits a little bit in the pocket and then launches a fucking BOMB down field to a WIDE OPEN TJ Jones who catches and walks that fucker into the en d zone for another Irish touchdown! Notre Dame puts up the PAT to make the score 27-14 Oklahoma.
Oklahoms comes out at their own 25 following a touchback on the kickoff and on 1st down they try a screen which falls incomplete as Landry Jones is tattooed by Stephon Tuitt. On 2nd down they hit their WR over the middle who turns it up and gains about 14 to the Oklahoma 39 and a 1st down . On 1st down they run up the middle and pick up about 6 and on 2nd they try the same play again but this time Manti Te’o says “fuck this noise” and slams the back down in the back field for a loss of about 4 to bring up 3rd and 8. From their own 42, Oklahoma comes out on 3rd and 8 and Landry Jones can’t locate anyone open so he hits his crossing tight end who ends up trying to turn up field but steps out of bounds after only gaining about 3 yards to bring up 4th and 5. Oklahoma is FINALLY forced to punt. Theo Riddick takes the punt and gets to the Notre Dame 18 where the Irish will go to work.
Golson tries to hit Goodman on 1st down but leads him a little too far and it falls incomplete. On 2nd down the defense jumps offside for a much needed 5 free yards to bring up 2nd and 5. On 2nd down, Golson has a decent amount of time to throw and so he launches deep to Toma but can’t find his man open and instead it gets picked off by the corner down at the Oklahoma 35. The defense now is forced to make another stand.
The Sooners come out on 1st and try to run but get slammed by Dan Fox for a loss of 1 to bring up 2nd and 11. On 2nd they try to run again and this time Danny Spond shuts it down bringing up 3rd and 10. On 3rd down, Landry Jones once again gets excellent protection and is given a buttload of time to throw, which he does and finds a man open for a gain of about 13 to the Sooner 47 and a new set of downs. They run it again on 1st down and pick up 4 to the Irish 49 and just like that the 3rd quarter is over. Oklahoma leads 27-14.
On 2nd down coming from the TV Timeout, they try a short screen play and it loses 3 yards which forces a 3rd and 9. On 3rd down Landry gets protection again but the coverage is too much as Louis Nix III finally breaks free and smacks Landry down for a sack/fumble but the offensive lineman picks it up and they lose 7 yards to bring up 4th and 16 on the botched play. Oklahoma punts the ball on 4th and Theo Riddick doesn’t get a chance to return it as it goes into the end zone. Notre Dame starts off at their own 20.
On 1st down Golson quickly hits Wood on a pass for a gain of about 6. On 2nd they try a play action fake but the defensive lineman comes in charging hard and sacks Golson for a loss of 3. On 3rd down Golson tries to connect with Robby Toma but the pass is clearly too short and he gets taken down about 5 yards shy of the marker forcing a 4th and 5. Brian Kelly decides it’s do or die time and lines the men up to go for it on 4th and 5 from their own 19. On 4th they call a screen and Cierre Wood does nothing at all to follow his blockers and instead runs straight into a Sooner defender and is wrecked short of the line turning the ball over on down and effectively killing any hopes of getting back into this one.
Oklahoma takes over at the Notre Dame 24 and on 1st down they run it for a gain of about 2. On 2nd they run again but this time the find space and get all the way down to the ND 3. On 1st down now, Landry Jones lines them up in a 5-wide set and drops back to pass, but when he finally decides to he connects with Zeke Motta in the end zone instead for an Irish interception that kills the risk of any more points being put up. All of a sudden there is still a small, tiny, microbial chance here…
The offense comes out to their own 20 and on 1st down Golson finds Cierre Wood over the middle for a 1st down t the ND 32. On 1st again Golson tosses it again to Cierre Wood this time on a screen and he follows his blockers taking the ball down to the ND 45 for another 1st down. On 1st down now they line up with 5 wide and Golson checks into another play. Once the ball is snapped, Golson drops back, looks, and drops a nice touch pass over the top of the middle of the field and finds Tyler Eifert who turns it up field and hauls ass all the way for the Notre Dame touchdown!!! HOLY CRAP, WHAT?!?! Is this really happening right now? Notre Dame puts up the PAT and its now 27-20 with 1:50 left in the game.
Tyler Eifert’s late touchdown catch breathes new life into the Irish as they begin a fierce rally.
So as you can imagine Brian Kelly confers with his coaching team and decides we’re going to try the onside kick. This is essentially Notre Dame’s one chance to get this game into their own hands and try to win it in dramatic fashion. If they can pull this shit off who knows what they’re capable of.
Notre Dame lines up in the onside kick formation and Oklahoma matches it with their hands team. Kyle Brindza is on to try to put the perfect touch on this sucker to get it right where one of our guys can grab it past the 10 yard marker. The crowd is literally in a tizzy, flipping its shit for their team to grab this one and try to put it away. Notre Dame still has all its timeouts left so this isn’t the end of the world, but its pretty damn close. The kick is up…and…NOTRE DAME GETS IT!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!! HOLY CRAP!!! A Sooner touched it and couldn’t hang on giving way for ROBBY FUCKING TOMA to jump on that fucker and give the Irish possession!!!! WOOHOO!! Now it’s REALLY do or die…
Robby Toma comes to rescue again making the dream a possible reality by recovering the onside kick in the 4th quarter.
Notre Dame has the ball on the Notre Dame 41 where it’s time to really go to work. On 1st down Golson tries to connect with John Goodman but its gets knocked out of his hands incomplete. On 2nd down Golson moves out of the pocket and instead of breaking for it, he keeps his eyes down field and spots TJ Jones open in the zone so he strikes it to him and Jones takes it down to the Oklahoma 35 for a 1st down. This is seriously happening right now! On 1st down Cierre Wood receives a screen pass from Golson and turns it up to the Oklahoma 22 for another 1st down. On the next play Golson calls and audible and tries a delayed hand off but the Sooners were blitzing and it gets stuffed for a loss of 4. The clock ticks down to 1 minute and the Irish take their first timeout.
Coming out of the timeout Golson drops back to pass and targets Davonte Neal who catches it for a gain of about 10 to bring up 3rd and 4, at which point Brian Kelly seems to feel the need to take another timeout. I’m getting the sense it’s because he’s going for the end zone on this next play…
Out of the second time out they come out and line up with 4 wide receivers and Cierre Wood in the backfield, Golson in the gun. Golson snaps it, waits and locates Robby Toma open on the sideline who takes it up to the Oklahoma 8 yard line to bring up a 1st and goal with :50 left to play. Golson lines the men up quickly and spikes the ball to stop the clock and preserve that last timeout. On 2nd down he tries a screen to Wood who doesn’t manage to get much, getting to the 7. Golson snaps the ball quickly on 3rd down and tries to hit Davonte Neal inside the 5 but it falls incomplete bringing up the ultimate fucked situation: 4th and Goal, 30 seconds left and the chance to win or go home. One chance, one play.
Kelly decides he doesn’t need to take the last timeout and the guys line up for one last attempt at winning this one. On 4th and goal from the 7, Golson drops back and looks for an open man in the end zone. TJ Jones breaks free and Golson throws his way… but the ball sails on him and for fuck sake, its incomplete. That’s it…game over. Oklahoma regains possession and they run the clock out to win it 27-21. I cannot believe this…sooooooo close, yet soooooo fucked. Tough one to swallow.
All I can really say is that we should have won this game. Honestly, we absolutely should have one. TJ Jones was open on that last play but the pass was just too shitty. That’s the only real reason we lost. That and the fucking pick-6 cost us this game. Golson actually played pretty decent overall, except for the picks and the dumbest fumble ive ever witnessed when he DOVE forward for the first down…but we should have won this one. The one thing I will say is that we clearly shouldn’t be 5-3, but we are so we need to get our shit together moving forward, plus we still have to face USC at the end of the year. If we can play like this during this last stretch we could and should end up 8-4 maybe 9-3. Other than that this was a close one and we played that shit hard to the end. If you’re like me you just enjoy a good competitive matchup and that’s exactly what this was. There were some things that annoyed the fuck out of me, like all the screen plays OU got away with, but other than that it could have been a Michigan State-style blood bath and it wasn’t so…there’s that. For what it’s worth Golson finally went over 300 yards on the day, but Wood continued to blow dicks rushing for only 42 yards on 8 carries. Tyler Eifert was actually the overall star of the passing game today with a TD and 67 yards. The game hero was definitely Robby Toma, giving us a chance with that onside kick recovery and the TD catch. Here’s to looking forward to next week when we face Pitt at home. I’m getting drunk!
Golson: 24/33, 302 yds, 3 TDs, 2 INTs, 72% Completion, 1 sack
Eifert: 4 Recs, 67 yds, 1 TD
Wood: 8 Carries, 42 yds
Simulation Rundown
