First ND vs. OSU meeting
In their first meeting ever, Oklahoma State will challenge Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl at noon January 1 in Glendale, Arizona, on ESPN.
The Cowboys were literally six inches away from a Big 12 Championship and a possible trip the College Football Playoff.
Notre Dame was one loss away from the playoff.
OSU running back Jaylen Warren could the key player for the Cowboys. Warren missed the Baylor game with shoulder and ankle injuries and OSU got just 70 yards rushing – their second lowest total of the season.
The key matchup will be Notre Dame’s offense versus OSU’s smothering defense. The Cowboy defense held Baylor, the top rushing team in the Big 12, to just 62 yards.
Notre Dame quarterback threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns in three weeks ago against against Stanford.
OSU quarterback Spencer Sanders is not real familiar with the Fighting Irish.
“To be honest, I have no idea,” Sanders said. “All I know is the Fighting Irish. We’ve never played them, so it’s never really been a thing around here. I don’t really know too much about them.
“They’ve got a good football team over there right now. I think it’s going to be a great matchup.”
The Fighting Irish just hired Marcus Freeman as their head coach after Brian Kelly left to take the head coaching job at LSU.And OSU lost Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles who was hired to be defensive coordinator at Ohio State.
“It’s different for sure,” said OSU cornerback Jarrick Bernard-Converse. “That’s expected, but it’s still the same structure, the same game. Everything is still in place, it’s just him not being here. We’re just going to keep going and keep the same routine.”
Stoops steps in vs. Oregon
Oklahoma legend Coach Bob Stoops will lead the Sooners against Oregon in the Alamo Bowl following the shocking exit of former Coach Lincoln Riley to USC.
OU plays Oregon at 8:15 p.m. on December 29 in the Alamodome in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. The game is on ESPN
Former Oregon Coach Mario Cristobal just quit to take the head coaching job at Miami. Oregon Defensive Coordinator Joe Moorhead will lead the Ducks against OU.
OU quickly hired former OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables but he didn’t have time to prepare his new team. Venables and Stoops are good friends.
Stoops will use a patchwork of assistant coaches left over from Riley’s staff and fill in with some graduate assistants. Riley took some staff members and players to USC.
“We have it planned out. It’ll be a group effort,” Stoops said. “But basically, on defense, Brian Odom will call the plays, and on offense, Cale Gundy will call the plays. Because someone has to.”
Oklahoma and Oregon have played seven times and OU holds a 6-1 lead in the series. Oregon won the last meeting on a controversial call in 2006.
The two teams have met only once in the postseason when Oklahoma won in the 2005 Holiday Bowl.
Since 2010, the Alamo Bowl has matched some top teams from the Big 12 and Pac-12. This is Oklahoma’s first appearance in the Alamo Bowl and Oregon’s third.
The last time Oregon played in the Alamo Bowl was in 2016.
After starting 9-0, Oklahoma finished at 10-2 and 7-2 in Big 12 play, which placed them third in the conference behind the two teams that beat them, Oklahoma State and Baylor.