Notre Dame vs Oklahoma State: Fiesta Bowl Prediction, Game Preview
Notre Dame vs Oklahoma State: PlayStation Fiesta Bowl How To Watch
Date: Saturday, January 1
Game Time: 1:00 ET
Venue: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
How To Watch: ESPN,
Live stream on ESPN+
Record: Notre Dame (11-1), Oklahoma State (11-2)
Notre Dame vs Oklahoma State PlayStation Fiesta Bowl Preview
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May your loved ones feel as excited about you as Notre Dame is about new head coach Marcus Freeman. It’s not like Brian Kelly was bad or a problem – quite the contrary with his success – but Freeman represents a new energy and shift in overall tone.
Again, Kelly did a fantastic job of making the program a perennial College Football Playoff contender. The thought is that Freeman – a younger fireball of motivation and recruiting skill – is about to take things to a whole new level.
No, whatever happens in this isn’t going to matter all that much, but it really is the first day of the rest of Notre Dame’s football life.
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Oklahoma State was about four inches away from probably being in the College Football Playoff. That’s how far RB Dezmon Jackson was from getting into the end zone to beat Baylor in the Big 12 Championship, and then it would’ve been a fun fight and debate between the Cowboys and Cincinnati for the fourth spot.
But Jackson came up short and Oklahoma State didn’t win the Big 12 Championship. Facing Notre Dame and going to Phoenix isn’t a bad consolation prize.
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The loss of Kelly to LSU is the big story for the Irish, but there’s continuity with the hiring of Freeman, helped by the rest of the coaching staff retuning enough parts to be okay.
Not having superstar S Kyle Hamilton hurts. He’s opting out along with dangerous RB Kyren Williams.
Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is off to Ohio State for the same position after the bowl game, and that’s about it. The Cowboys should be close to their regular season selves, but they’ll be without Jackson who entered the transfer portal.
Why Oklahoma State Will Win The PlayStation Fiesta Bowl
All year long the Oklahoma State defense was right up there with Georgia and Wisconsin as the statistical best of the best in college football, and that includes the Big 12 Championship loss to Baylor.
The problems were on the other side of the ball in that. The defense allowed just 242 yards of total Baylor offense making Oklahoma the only team to come up with more than 375 yards on this group.
The Cowboys attack and then attack some more, leading the nation in in sacks and tackles for loss for a D that allowed just 278 yards per game.
Notre Dame’s offensive line got better and stronger as the year went on – the ground game hit its stride after a rocky first half of the season – but it’s now about to have a few issues. Oklahoma State’s defense comes in waves, it takes a whole slew of smart calculated chances, and it’s brilliant at getting off the field.
Only Houston was better at third down defense.
Why Notre Dame Will Win The PlayStation Fiesta Bowl
Notre Dame has a defense, too.
It’s certainly not as strong without S Kyle Hamilton around, but it should be able to bottle up a spotty Oklahoma State ground game.
Top RB Jaylen Warren back – the Cowboys are in the College Football Playoff if he was healthy enough to go in the Big 12 Championship – but the attack should have a hard time consistently moving the chains.
The Irish didn’t exactly face a who’s who of offenses over the final month – Virginia didn’t have QB Brennan Armstrong in the 28-3 Notre Dame win – but it was able to survive a big all-around day from the North Carolina attack and was almost as strong as Oklahoma State’s D on third downs and at generating pressure.
Cowboy QB Spencer Sanders might not have a case of the giveaways like he did against Baylor, but the Irish defense should be able to force its own breaks. It came up with multiple takeaways eight times on the year and should come up with at least one pick in this.
Notre Dame vs Oklahoma State: PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, What’s Going To Happen
Don’t get
too caught up in the Marcus Freemania.
He’s going to need a little time to tweak up the program a little bit, and Mike Gundy and this Oklahoma State team is good enough to put a damper on the festivities.
However, the Irish lines will hold up just fine, there will be a few funky wrinkles thrown into the offensive equation around QB Jack Coan, and yeah, go ahead and assume the excitement factor will be a thing.
Normally, a team like Notre Dame would be down after just missing out on the College Football Playoff, but that’s not the case.
This is going to be a tough, sharp team that will be able to hang defensive punch for defensive punch. It’s also going to need takeaways to win this.
Oklahoma State turned it over seven times in the two games against Baylor, twice against Oklahoma, four times against everyone else.
Don’t expect a slew of giveaways, and don’t expect a letdown problem, either – to the opposite, the team seems ready to try making amends for the Baylor loss.
Getting RB Jaylen Warren back matters. He’ll be the steadying factor for the attack.
The Irish will come out strong – and not just for Freeman – but Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State are too good in bowl games. Gundy has won four of his last five and is 11-5 since 2005.
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame vs Oklahoma State Prediction, Lines
Oklahoma State 24, Notre Dame 23
Line: Notre Dame -2, o/u: 45.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1
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