College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Oklahoma 35, Notre Dame 21
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, September 28, 2013
Where: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
Temperature: 79°
Head Official: Randy Christal
Attendance: 80795

No. 12 Oklahoma 35, No. 22 Notre Dame 21:
Blake Bell threw for 232 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Sooners took advantage of turnovers to take down the Fighting Irish.

Damien Williams ran for a score and Corey Nelson took an interception back 24 yards for a touchdown as Oklahoma (4-0) got some revenge for a home loss to Notre Dame (3-2) last season. Sterling Shepard led the receiving corps with five catches for 83 yards and a score for the Sooners.

Tommy Rees was intercepted three times in the first half and went 9-for-24 for 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Fighting Irish, who had a 10-game home winning streak come to an end.

Rees’ second pass of the afternoon was picked off and returned to the end zone by Nelson, and his next throw was intercepted by Frank Shannon and turned into Williams’ touchdown and a 14-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest. Julian Wilson intercepted Rees deep in Oklahoma territory in the second quarter, and Bell found Lacoltan Bester for a 26-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive to make it 21-7 at the break.

George Atkinson III broke for an 80-yard touchdown run — the longest rush of his career — in the third quarter to cut it to 21-14, and Rees hit Troy Niklas with a 30-yard touchdown pass after a pair of Sooners field goals to make it 27-21 with 14:10 left. Bell’s 54-yard touchdown pass to Shepard less than two minutes later put it away.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Bell left the game late in the third quarter with cramping but returned to throw the touchdown pass and two-point conversion to Shepard in the fourth. … Atkinson finished with a game-high 148 yards on 14 carries and T.J. Jones added a receiving TD for the Irish. … Oklahoma rushed for 212 yards on 42 carries among five rushers.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Oklahoma   Notre Dame
Brennan Clay Player George Atkinson III
14 Attempts 14
77 Yards 148
5.5 Avg Yards 10.6
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Receiving
Oklahoma   Notre Dame
Sterling Shepard Player Troy Niklas
5 Receptions 2
83 Yards 43
16.6 Avg Yards 21.5
1 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Oklahoma 450 212 238 3 2 3 1.0 0
Notre Dame 324 220 104 3 0 0 0.0 0