Completed Event: Football versus Illinois State on August 30, 2025 , Win , 35, to, 3
Final
Football
35
vs Illinois State
3
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Archived Blog
October 31, 2012 | Football
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10:23 p.m. | Seals It
Notre Dame nails a killer of a field goal and goes up 23-13. Oklahoma's offense fails to convert on fourth down and the Irish will earn the win in Norman. One of the greatest atmospheres we have witnessed here at Owen Field. Thank you Sooner fans for the incredible level of support.
10:11 p.m. | INT
The call is an interception but the play is being reviewed. The call stands and now the OU defense is really on the spot.
10:08 p.m. | 75 Yards
The Oklahoma offense returns to the field with 5:05 left on the clock and all three timeouts to work with. Sooners will need to drive 75 yards to even this game up.
9:59 p.m. | 50-Yard Pass
After OU evened the score sending the noise level through the stratosphere, Notre Dame
hits a 50-yard pass play to swing the momentum back. Irish punch it in and up 20-13 after the PAT.
9:53 p.m. | Touchdown!
Blake Bell crosses the goal line on a one-yard touchdown run and OU ties the game, 13-13, after the PAT.
Oklahoma scores the first rushing TD on Notre Dame this season and the first in 41 quarters dating back to last season against the Irish.
9:51 p.m. | Go Sooners
So close... Jalen Saunders nearly broke free and took that one to the house. Oklahoma is on the Irish 13. Let's put it in!
9:49 p.m. | Huge Stop
Huge stop for the defense. The offense needs to believe this is the drive that they put it in the end zone. The place would go absolutely bonkers. Let's go Sooners! Just announced the attendance at 86,031 which is the largest crowd ever to see a football game in state history. It also marks the 84th consecutive sellout here at Owen Field. Thank you Sooner fans!
9:42 p.m. | Need a Stop
The Sooners trail Notre Dame by a touchdown here with precious minutes slipping off the clock in the fourth quarter. The defense has to get a stop and can't let the Irish go on another long drive.
9:37 p.m. | Need a Drive
You can feel this crowd just yearning to explode on any big play. The Sooners need a drive to end in a touchdown here in the final quarter. Will this be the drive? The Irish are successfully keeping the Sooner offense off the field with long, clock-chewing drives.
9:34 p.m. | Held to Three
OU didn't allow the Irish to gain any more yards to start the fourth quarter, holding ND to three points -- a 44-yard field goal.
9:29 p.m. | End of the Third
At the end of the third quarter, we have the same score that we did at halftime, 10-6. Notre Dame
has first-and-10 at the OU 27-yard line to start the final period.
9:25 p.m. | Worth a Thousand Words
Here's another incredible pre-game photo of the stadium overhead, courtesy of Ace Aerial Photography in Oklahoma City:
9:22 p.m. | Saunders Note
This is wide receiver Jalen Saunders' sixth career 100-yard game. His 10 receptions are a career-high (previously eight).
9:17 p.m. | That's the Way
After OU's drive stalled at the ND 36-yard line, Tress Way pins the Fighting Irish at its own 3-yard line with great coverage by Justin Brown. This place is waiting to explode.
9:11 p.m. | He Missed!
Notre Dame used its opening possession of the second-half to move inside the OU 20-yard line, but finishes with nothing as Fighting Irish kicker Kyle
Brindza misses a 35-yard field goal to the left. Big momentum swing for the Sooners as OU will operate from its own 20-yard line:
9:05 p.m. | Stadium Shot
Check out this breathtaking image of Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium during the National Anthem prior to tonight's game:
9:01 p.m. | Aerial Attack
Through halftime, OU's 194 passing yards were already the third-most ND has given up this season. Miami (Fla.) had the highest total with 201.
8:58 p.m. | Second Half Underway
The second half between OU and Notre Dame is officially in session, with the Sooners starting on the defensive side of the ball.
8:55 p.m. | Trending
OU head coach Bob Stoops and quarterback Blake Bell are currently trending nationally on Twitter:
8:47 p.m. | Dodd Tweet
Dennis Dodd of CBS with an interesting tweet: "OU has snapped it 43 times and held it 17:29. This is the kind of dominance that shows up physically in the fourth quarter. We'll see."
8:36 p.m. | Halftime
Notre Dame takes a kneel to end the first half of play here in Norman. The Sooners are trailing heading into the locker room, but the team was fired up on the sidelines before the kneel. Senior punter and team captain Tress Way was pacing up and down the home sideline to pump up his team.
8:33 p.m. | Field Goal Two
After a Blake Bell rushing touchdown was called back due to a holding penalty, the Sooners finish the drive with a 30-yard field goal from Michael Hunnicutt to make it 10-6:
8:27 p.m. | Flag on the Field
It took until 3:02 remaining in the second quarter, but Notre Dame finally commits its first penalty of the game with an offsides on the defensive line. Oklahoma is in the red zone.
8:21 p.m. | Here Comes the Offense
With Notre Dame's
13-play, 64-yard drive that ended in a field goal, the Oklahoma offense received its longest break of the night. The drive lasted 5:46 and the Sooner offense will come back with a little bit of rest.
8:15 p.m. | ND's Drive
Notre Dame is facing second-and-10 at OU's 25-yard line
with a break in the action. This has been ND's best drive by far on the evening, with four of its six first downs coming on the possession.
8:05 p.m. | Protection
Manti Te'o's sack to end OU's most recent possession is just the third that the Sooners have allowed in the past 16 quarters.
8:01 p.m. | Comparing the Numbers
Outside of Notre Dame's 62-yard touchdown rush in the first quarter, Oklahoma has outgained the Irish, 126-42 in total offense.
7:58 p.m. | Stat of the Quarter
With the offense set to take the field for its first possession of the second stanza, check out the SoonerVision pump-up video for when the OU offense takes the field:
7:56 p.m. | Stat of the Quarter
In just his third game as a Sooner, Jalen Saunders hauled in eight receptions in the first quarter, accounting for 61.5 percent of Landry Jones' completions. That's the most receptions ever by an OU wideout in a single quarter.
7:48 p.m. | Defense Video
Here's the pump-up video SoonerVision produced when the OU defense takes the field:
7:45 p.m. | Saunders Ties Record
Jalen Saunders has tied the OU record for most receptions in a quarter with four other players at seven catches.
The Sooner defense has forced two three-and-outs and the one big TD run to the Notre Dame offense.
7:37 p.m. | Irish Fight Back
Cierre Woods rips off a 62-yarder and Notre Dame scores the game's first touchdown. Notre Dame up, 7-3. Game on.
That's the first TD allowed by the starting defense since the Texas Tech game out in Lubbock.
7:32 p.m. | OU Strikes First
Michael Hunnicutt connected on a 28-yard field goal and the Sooners put the first points on the board, 3-0. Very encouraging that the Sooners appear to be able to move the ball through the air on this defense. OU's defense will get their second crack next.
7:27 p.m. | Early Positives
Two great positives VERY early in this game: OU's offensive line appears to be providing a good pocket for Landry and the Sooner defense contained the Irish run game. Let's keep it up.
7:24 p.m. | Defense Holds
Notre Dame fails to convert on its first three downs and will punt. Crowd was deafening on that series. Is it coming across on TV? We won't have our voice past the half if this keeps up.
Nice to see the run game pick up nothing for the Irish on the first two plays.
7:20 p.m. | Kickoff Video
Check out the first of a series of pump-up videos produced by SoonerVision for tonight's matchup:
7:17 p.m. | Sooners Come Out Swinging
OU comes out swinging immediately, slinging the ball and pressing Notre Dame with the hurry-up. First run play is to Trey Millard for a first down. An errant snap sent the offense backwards and OU will kick and play defense. Here comes the crowd.
7:13 p.m. | OU Wants the Ball
The Sooners will have the ball to begin this game. And there's the kickoff. Oklahoma vs. Notre Dame live from Owen Field!
7:10 p.m. | Sooners Take the Field
The intro video has played, the Sooners and Irish have dashed onto Owen Field and this huge crowd is frothing at the mouth. The Pride of Oklahoma just broke into Boomer Sooner and we're minutes from this collision of college legends.
7:02 p.m. | Anticipation
We're now under 10 minutes to kickoff. Possibly the most anticipated 10 minutes in many years here at Owen Field. We're awaiting the starting lineups, the intro video and both teams' entrances to the field.
Lineups are on the board now...
6:57 p.m. | Pre-Game Pride
The Pride is on the field, the state's song, the alma mater and the welcome to Notre Dame have been played. We're rolling towards the National Anthem.
An American flag -- one of the nation's largest -- stretching the length of the entire field is about to be unfurled. It hasn't been used since OU's first game after 9/11 back in 2001.
6:54 p.m. | Stunning Scene
If you can't see us yet, just wait until ABC brings this scene
to its national telecast. The sections are striped and the 85,000 white rally towels are in full force. Absolutely stunning.
6:47 p.m. | Fight Songs
The Notre Dame band just broke out the Irish fight song -- hopefully the first of very few opportunities for celebration tonight. We're looking for a spirited competition between the Pride and the ND band. Both fight songs are instantly recognizable by any self-respecting fan of college football. Can't wait.
6:40 p.m. | Perfect Weather
We'd like to take a second to note the absolutely perfect weather that we're enjoying for tonight's festivities? A cold front with gusty winds swept through the state on Thursday but Saturday has been dry, cool and calm. The flags on top of the stadium are gently waving in the breeze (from the north) but nothing uncomfortable. Perfect football weather with temps in the 50s expected to drop into the 40s later in the second half.
6:36 p.m. | Full Throat
The crowd just broke into a spontaneous "Boomer! Sooner!" back and forth across the field as both the Fighting Irish and Sooners continue warming up. Notre Dame appears to have traveled their full band and Irish fans in blue and green occupy two vertical stripes bookending the south end zone stands.
6:31 p.m. | Sooner Fans
We're roughly 30 minutes to going live to the nation from Owen Field (7 p.m.) but the scene inside the old stadium is incredible. The sections alternate between crimson and white -- we're extremely impressed with how well the fans have coordinated this -- and the white rally towels will add a vibrance on TV. The fans in the stands are ready for this one. Are you? Boomer!
6:27 p.m. | Legends Collide
It goes without saying, but tonight's game brings together two of the richest programs in college football history. What you may not realize, however, is how identical their traditions truly are. Here's another great feature from this morning's Sooner Sports Game Day show tracing the similarities between Oklahoma and Notre Dame:
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