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 out 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.
The victory ended a seven-game losing streak to Notre Dame and was only 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 touchdown.
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 touchdown 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.
After Notre Dame played a nearly perfect game in beating the Sooners last season, withno turnovers and just one penalty for 5 yards, Oklahoma was the one that made the fewest mistakes Saturday. The Sooners 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 runs and passes to try to offset Notre Dame’s size inside. The Irish rushed for a season-high 220 yards, with George Atkinson running for 148 yards on 14 carries.
In other games involving Big 12 Conference teams, Clint Trickett threw a touchdown pass in his first start at West Virginia (3-2, 1-1), Ishmael Banks returned an interception for a touchdown and the Mountaineers shocked No. 11 Oklahoma State (3-1, 0-1) 30-21 in Morgantown, W.Va. … Trevone Boykin completed 15 of 26 passes for 228 yards and 2 touchdowns and TCU’s defense forced five turnovers to lead the Horned Frogs (2-2) to a 48-17 victory against rival SMU (1-3) in Fort Worth.
CONFERENCE USA Army tops La. Tech
DALLAS - Terry Baggett rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns as Army beat Louisiana Tech 35-16 in game delayed twice by lightning and rain Saturday.
Baggett finished Army’s 85-yard opening drive with a 9-yard score after the start of the game was pushed back an hour when a storm hit the Cotton Bowl about 30 minutes before kickoff. He scored again five plays after a 45-minute delay late in the first quarter.
Army (2-3) had 414 yards rushing and won again, 46 years after its last trip to the historic Fair Park stadium, this time on the opening weekend of the Texas State Fair. The Black Knights beat SMU in October 1967.
Ryan Higgins threw for 320 yards and a touchdown to Andrew Guillot, who had 123 yards receiving for Louisiana Tech (1-4).
In other games involving Conference USA teams, Garrett Grayson and Kapri Bibbs accounted for six touchdowns as Colorado State (2-3) held off UTEP (1-3) and Jameill Showers 59-42 in Fort Collins, Colo. … Houston’s B.J. Singleton blocked a field goal that was returned for a touchdown late in the third quarter and later intercepted a pass that helped the Cougars (4-0) stay undefeated in a 59-28 victory over Texas-San Antonio (2-3) in San Antonio. ... Rice (2-2, 1-0) cashed in on a fumble and an interception to beat Florida Atlantic (2-3, 1-2) 18-14 in Houston.
Sports, Pages 33 on 09/29/2013