With venerable Memorial Stadium rocking and Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones picking apart the vaunted Notre Dame defense, the Irish appeared poised to fulfill all those predictions that had the eighth-ranked Sooners blowing the fifth-ranked Irish out of Norman, and the national championship picture.
One Cierre Wood run changed that.
Wood broke through the middle for a 62-yard touchdown run and Notre Dame took a 7-3 lead into the second quarter.
Wood's run came after the Irish defense had two bend-but-don't-break series. On the first one, Jones completed four passes in the first 60 seconds, running the no-huddle to perfection and befuddling the Irish defense. But a bad snap while Jones was calling an audible went for a 19-yard loss, and the Sooners had to punt. On the next series, the Sooners again raced down the field, but the Irish defense stiffened in the red zone, and a Louis Nix III tipped pass on third down forced Oklahoma to settle for a 29-yard field goal.
Two plays later, Wood busted loose and gave the Irish the lead, briefly quieting the raucous crowd of 82,000-plus.
One Cierre Wood run changed that.
Wood broke through the middle for a 62-yard touchdown run and Notre Dame took a 7-3 lead into the second quarter.
Wood's run came after the Irish defense had two bend-but-don't-break series. On the first one, Jones completed four passes in the first 60 seconds, running the no-huddle to perfection and befuddling the Irish defense. But a bad snap while Jones was calling an audible went for a 19-yard loss, and the Sooners had to punt. On the next series, the Sooners again raced down the field, but the Irish defense stiffened in the red zone, and a Louis Nix III tipped pass on third down forced Oklahoma to settle for a 29-yard field goal.
Two plays later, Wood busted loose and gave the Irish the lead, briefly quieting the raucous crowd of 82,000-plus.
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