Notre Dame football: Irish need to force Spencer Sanders into mistakes
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team takes on Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl, and they need to force Spencer Sanders into mistakes if they want to win.
It seems like forever since the Notre Dame football team took the field, a regular-season finale against Stanford back on November 27. Since then, the Irish have seen their program go through plenty of changes, most importantly, at head coach, where Marcus Freeman replaced the departed Brian Kelly.
Though Kelly stated it would take a $250 million offer from a fairy to leave South Bend, he left for a lot less, clearing the way for Freeman to be elevated from his defensive coordinator spot. Freeman’s defense has been outstanding as of late, not allowing a touchdown through three games before allowing two in a blowout victory over the Cardinal.
With a spot in the Fiesta Bowl locked up, the Irish turn their attention to the actual playing field, where they will take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Oklahoma State had an impressive 2021 campaign, playing well enough to be in the College Football Playoff conversation, before looking terrible in a loss in the Big 12 title game against Baylor.
In that game, quarterback Spencer Sanders threw for four interceptions, a key in the team’s loss, and his play as of late could play right into the hands of this Irish defense. He has not looked good in the team’s win over Oklahoma, and loss to Baylor, so the Irish could be getting the Cowboys at the right time.
Notre Dame football must be aggressive on defense
The key in this matchup will be getting pressure on Sanders, forcing him to make mistakes down the field, and taking the ball back from Oklahoma State. While Freeman has a new role as head coach, you can be sure that he is focusing on a dynamic game plan for the defense, one that will put his team in a position to rattle Sanders early on.
Overall, this is a solid matchup for the Irish, and if they can get to Sanders early and often, he is going to struggle to make plays. He has been an interception machine as of late, tossing six across his last two games, something this Notre Dame defense needs to feast on in the bowl game.