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Rees relieved Golson to lead Notre Dame to wins against Purdue and Michigan before playing start to finish against BYU.
"The challenge for us, really, is about how we raise our game in these big games," said Kelly, whose team has outscored opponents by 30 points per game away from home this season. "We know Oklahoma is a fine football team. The challenge is always about how we bring our game up. And we have. We've played well on the road, and we're going to have to play our best game of the year on the road. That, to me, is the biggest challenge for us."
Oklahoma's first-team defense has given up just one touchdown in three games, since yielding 213 yards rushing in a 24-19 loss to Kansas State. The Sooners, trying to get back in the mix to win their eighth national title, see in Notre Dame a chance to show they can do better against a power run game.
"They're who you would expect Notre Dame to be: hard-nosed, hard-working, smashmouth-type, traditional-type football-playing kind of guys," defensive end R.J. Washington said. "They're not trying to do anything flashy. They're just trying to go out there and beat you whatever way they can. I feel like teams with history like that still play like that. Notre Dame has that kind of history. We have that kind of history."
Even if they may not be deeply familiar with all that history, the players understand that this game could be meaningful for years to come. Quarterback Landry Jones agreed that it could go a long way toward determining his legacy with the Sooners, his words coming less than 24 hours after Oklahoma showed a replay of its 1956 game against the Irish.
"Every game is important. So we approach every game that way," Te'o said. "And I think we've come a long way, and I think at this point in time in the season, every game is a signature game."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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