Fiesta Bowl on paper: Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma State

A look at the matchups between Notre Dame football and Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 1.

Cowboys redshirt senior running back Jaylen Warren was off to a fabulous start this season with four 100-yard rushing performances in his first six games, until ankle and shoulder injuries limited him to only 284 rushing yards in November.

Warren still managed 1,134 total rushing yards with 11 touchdowns and was named the Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year after transferring from Utah State.

Redshirt senior offensive lineman Josh Sills became a 2021 first-team All-Big 12 selection after leading a Cowboys rushing unit that averaged 181.8 yards a game, which ranked fourth in the conference and 45th nationally.

Cowboys redshirt junior quarterback Spencer Sanders is second on the team with 543 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

If Warren is healthy for the Fiesta Bowl, he’ll get the carries. If he’s not, redshirt senior tailback Dezmon Jackson (139 yards, two touchdowns) — who announced he is entering the transfer portal but will finish out the season with the Cowboys — and sophomore tailback Dominic Richardson (236 yards, two touchdowns) will share the workload.

Junior linebacker JD Bertrand easily leads the Irish with 92 total tackles on a defense that ranked 30th nationally in run stoppage (127.1 yards per game) and tied for 33rd with 6.5 tackles for loss per outing before the bowl games.

Additionally, led by junior defensive end Isaiah Foskey’s 11.5 tackles for loss, 21 different Irish players have recorded at least one stop behind the line of scrimmage so far this season.

Foskey’s work helped Notre Dame hold its opponents to just 14 touchdowns on 38 red-zone trips (36.8 percent), which was the fourth-best mark in the country.

Advantage: Notre Dame

Sign up for Blue & Gold’s FREE alerts and newsletter

Sanders, Oklahoma State’s starting quarterback — who was named the 2021 first-team All-Big 12 signal-caller — finished the regular season ranked fourth in the league with 205.7 passing yards per game. But with 16 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions, Sanders checks in at only ninth out of 10 conference quarterbacks in passing efficiency.

In the Big 12 title game, Sanders threw four interceptions during the 21-16 loss to Baylor Dec. 4.

With 70 catches for 942 yards and seven touchdowns, Oklahoma State senior Tay Martin — a second-team All-Big 12 selection — headlines a group of seven Cowboys pass catchers with double-digit receptions. Sophomore slot receiver Brennan Presley has contributed 40 catches for 482 yards with five scores.

Up front, the Cowboys allowed only 16 sacks in 13 games for a 1.15 per-game average that ranked 10th-best nationally in pass protection.

Playing without junior All-American safety Kyle Hamilton (knee injury, now declared for the NFL Draft) obviously depletes the Irish pass defense. However, this unit has not only survived but also thrived in Hamilton’s absence during the final five-plus games this season, allowing only two touchdown passes while recording five interceptions.

Notre Dame ranked 15th nationally in passing efficiency defense (116.16 rating) through the regular season and allowed only two touchdown passes in its final seven games after giving up seven touchdown tosses through its first five.

Advantage: Notre Dame

The top storyline here is Irish junior running back Kyren Williams opting out of the Fiesta Bowl to concentrate on preparations for the 2022 NFL Draft.

Williams led the Irish ground game this season with 1,002 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. In his absence, sophomore Chris Tyree (204 yards, one touchdown) and freshman Logan Diggs (201 yards, three touchdowns) will be asked to fill the production void at running back.

Freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner is second on the team with 336 rushing yards and has three rushing touchdowns.

Notre Dame averages a pedestrian 152.2 rushing yards per game, which ranked 73rd nationally, heading into the bowl season. That said, while working behind an improving offensive line, the Irish hit their stride in this category during the second half of the season.

Through its first six games, Notre Dame averaged 97.3 rushing yards before posting a 207.7 clip over its final six contests.

For Oklahoma State, when you think of Big 12 football, seldom does defense become a talking point, but that’s the case for this year’s Cowboys.

Senior linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez led the conference with 112 total tackles to become a first-team all-conference selection.

Redshirt senior linebacker Devin Harper is second on the Cowboys with 86 stops, mostly against the run, and added 6.0 sacks for the Cowboys’ pass defense.

Advantage: Oklahoma State

With its running game trending upward during a seven-game winning streak to finish the regular season, Notre Dame hasn’t needed much from its passing offense.

Graduate student quarterback Jack Coan became more of a game manager during the season’s second half and completed 124 of 168 throws (73.8 percent) with 11 touchdowns and only three interceptions during the winning streak.

With 64 catches, sophomore Michael Mayer already holds the single-season record for receptions by a Notre Dame tight end, and his 768 receiving yards is second on the team.

Senior wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. has remained a healthy and consistent target all season. He leads the Irish with 783 receiving yards and six touchdown grabs, and is tied for second on the team with 42 catches.

As if the rushing defense for the Cowboys wasn’t stingy enough, Oklahoma State led the nation in sacks (55) and tackles for loss (113) through its 13 games.

The impressive pressure from its defensive front hasn’t necessarily translated into turnovers as Oklahoma State was tied for 87th nationally with eight interceptions before the bowl season.

Senior safety Kolby Harvell-Peel, a first-team All-Big 12 player, leads the Cowboys with three picks. Redshirt junior safety Jason Taylor II has added two interceptions.

Defensive end Collin Oliver — the Big 12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year — leads the unit with 11.5 sacks. Oliver is supported by redshirt senior defensive end Brock Martin (a first-team all-conference player) with seven sacks.

Oklahoma State’s defense has been terrific at getting off the field, holding opponents to only a 26.1-percent third-down conversion rate, the second-best mark in the country. The Cowboys also headed into the bowl season ranked No. 8 in scoring defense at 16.8 points per game.

Advantage: Even

Heading into the bowl season, Oklahoma State ranked second in the country in kickoff returns at 30.6 yards per attempt, a mark that includes two returns for touchdowns — a 100-yarder by Presley and a 98-yarder by redshirt senior running back JD Brown.

The Cowboys also rank second nationally in punt coverage, allowing a remarkable seven total yards on 16 returns.

Through the regular season, Notre Dame ranked No. 48 in punt return defense, No. 38 in punt returns, No. 62 in kickoff return defense and No. 30 in kickoff returns.

Tyree brought a kickoff back 96 yards for a touchdown against Wisconsin Sept. 25, making him one of only 11 players in the country to score on a kickoff return.

As a side note, former Irish special teams coach Brian Polian left the program to join Brian Kelly’s staff at LSU. Senior defensive analyst Nick Lezynski has been tapped with leading the Irish special teams in the bowl game.

Advantage: Oklahoma State

Working his 17th season at Oklahoma State, head coach Mike Gundy — the 2021 Big 12 Coach of the Year — has been here before. The former Cowboys quarterback turned program head coach hasn’t suffered a losing record since his rookie season at Stillwater, Okla., in 2005, and he’s been to 16 straight bowl games, of which he’s won 10.

For Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman will be making his head coaching debut under unique circumstances and in a big-time setting with plenty of surrounding hype.

Other important coaching news includes Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who after the regular season decided to leave the program to take the same position at Ohio State.

Knowles — whose defense ranks among the top 10 nationally in both total yardage and points allowed — is reportedly stepping aside and won’t coach the bowl game.

Advantage: Oklahoma State

Two teams that were on the cusp of making the College Football Playoff, No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 9 Oklahoma State will meet for the first time in an intriguing game where the Irish are listed as about a 2.5-point favorite.

With not much to play for after narrowly missing a place in the national semifinals, motivation for this game could be a concern for both teams.

But given what appears to be a smooth transition from the Kelly to Freeman head coaching eras, the Notre Dame players seem plenty focused on helping their rookie skipper win his first career game as a head coach, while at the same time, they look to snap an 11-game, 28-year drought since the program won its last elite bowl game.

Advantage: Even

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION IN ROCKNE’S ROUNDTABLE!

----

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.

• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.

• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_, @MasonPlummer_ and @AndrewMentock.

• Like us on Facebook.