Oklahoma Sooners

Fifth-ranked Notre Dame sent a message to the rest of college football with a 30-13 win over No. 8 Oklahoma at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. Here's a closer look at what happened and what it means for both teams.

How the game was won: In the trenches. Notre Dame shut down OU’s run game while rushing for 215 yards of its own. The Fighting Irish offensive and defensive lines manhandled the Sooners as Notre Dame improved to 8-0.

The game was over when: Irish kicker Kyle Brindza hit a 46-yard field goal to give Notre Dame a 23-13 lead with 3:22 remaining. The Irish tacked on a late touchdown to win by 17 points.

Turning point: After OU tied the game at 13 midway through the fourth quarter, the Irish stormed back on their next possession, sparked by a 50-yard reception from Chris Brown. It was a remarkable response to the Sooners. Everett Golson’s 1-yard touchdown run capped the drive and secured the win.

Stat of the game: 0.6. That’s the yards-per-carry average for Oklahoma. The Irish run defense was highly regarded when they arrived in Norman. And they didn’t disappoint, holding OU to 15 yards on 24 carries.

Player of the game: Manti Te’o. The Notre Dame linebacker was all over the field for the Irish. He sealed the victory with his fourth-quarter interception and finished the game with 11 tackles, one sack and one interception. He played like a Heisman candidate, leaving his mark on the game with his aggression and hustle.

Unsung hero of the game: Golson. The redshirt freshman quarterback showed exceptional maturity and savvy. He made plays when they were there, tossed the ball out of bounds when they weren't. He finished 13-of-25 for 177 yards with zero turnovers and added 11 rushes for 64 yards and one touchdown. He didn't play like a first-year player.

What Notre Dame learned: Brian Kelly’s rebuilding job appears to be nearing completion. Programs are built on wins like this. With a road win against the Sooners, Kelly’s team made its case earn a spot in the BCS title game. And, at the very least, Irish fans must be thrilled with the progress of Kelly’s program during his third season in South Bend.

What Oklahoma learned: Winning home games against top-25 opponents isn’t as easy as it seemed under Bob Stoops. After heading into the season undefeated against top-25 teams at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium under Stoops, the Sooners suffered their second loss to a Top-25 opponent this year. No. 3 Kansas State knocked off the Sooners on Sept. 22.

What it means: The Irish are for real. Notre Dame is making a strong case to rise to No. 2 in the BCS standings. With wins over Stanford, Michigan, Michigan State and OU, the Irish have a solid résumé and can make a case for a spot in the BCS title game.

Jason in Oklahoma City writes: Excluding the 2000 team that won the title, I would think that the 2004 team and the 2008 team were probably the best teams in the stoops era. So if you had Sam Bradford, Jermaine Gresham, DeMarco Murray, Chris Brown, Gerald McCoy, Duke Robinson, Phil Loadholt and Nic Harris go up against Jason White, Adrian Peterson, Mark Clayton, Jammal Brown, Brandon Jones, Dan Cody, Donte Nicholson and Antonio Perkins, who do you think would come out on top? I think it would be a good game, but I think the 2004 team had a little more talent. What’s your opinion?

Jake Trotter: We saw what happened with the ’04 Sooners when they were matched up against an offensive juggernaut in the Orange Bowl against USC. Sure, there were some turnovers that helped ignite the rout. But OU was overmatched.

Not once were the ’08 Sooners ever overmatched. They lost in a shootout to Texas, then couldn’t get going offensively in the BCS title game vs. Florida, and even then, still had a chance in the fourth quarter. Against Texas, OU lost its defensive captain in linebacker Ryan Reynolds and never recovered. Against Florida, OU, which had the No. 1 red zone offense in college football, was stuffed twice inside the Gator 10.

The ’08 Sooners would have trouble containing Peterson, and most certainly would give up some Jason White passes downfield. But I think the Bradford hurry-up, with all those weapons like Gresham, Murray and slot specialist Ryan Broyles would be too much firepower for the ’04 Sooners to handle.