First a cranky shoulder, then a case of turf toe, followed by a concussion all shortened the Notre Dame No. 1 quarterback?s work weeks.
Not this time. Not so far.
Golson took and passed an exertion test Monday, designed to check if the concussion he suffered late in ND?s 20-13 overtime win over Stanford on Oct. 13 was really behind him. Irish coach Brian Kelly confirmed Tuesday there was no recurrence of symptoms.
?We didn?t want to wait until Saturday, where he?s out there, and we have some setbacks,? Kelly said of the additional testing. ?He?s good and 100 percent, and he?ll start for us against Oklahoma on Saturday.?
That would be 10-point favorite, No. 8 Oklahoma (5-1) in Norman, Okla., in a nationally televised (ABC) showdown with the fifth-ranked Irish (7-0).
They?ll clash in a city where it?s illegal to take a bite of someone?s hamburger (seriously), but ticket scalping outside the stadium is legal, and in a stadium (Memorial) where Sooners coach Bob Stoops has lost only to Oklahoma State in 2001, TCU in 2005, Texas Tech in 2011 and Kansas State on Sept. 22 in the 83 home games since taking the job in 1999, but in which the Irish are 4-0 all-time. Three of those ND road wins came against Top 10-ranked teams.
After missing all of Saturday?s 17-14 Irish victory over BYU Saturday as a medical precaution, Golson steps back into action against the nation?s No. 6 pass defense (measured by pass-efficiency).
The good news is it shouldn?t be a shock to his system.
Surprisingly, it may be for his opposite number, Oklahoma senior quarterback Landry Jones, who faces the eighth-rated pass defense Saturday night in ND.
Jones, his skill set one of the reasons Oklahoma started the 2011 season as the nation?s No. 1 team (finishing 16th), currently sits in the No. 37 position nationally in pass efficiency after shredding Kansas? 88th-ranked pass defense.
Prior to this week, Jones has never been higher than 49th this season and was as low as 53rd as recently as last week. And that?s with facing only one top 35 pass defense this season ? Texas Tech (13th) ? in a menu that includes UTEP, FCS member Florida A&M. Kansas State, Kansas and a Texas team that?s 98th in pass defense and 107th in total D.
Golson, the No. 77-rated passer, has faced four top 35 pass defenses (Purdue 27th, Michigan State 10th, Michigan 15th, and Stanford 33rd) with varying degrees of success, and backup Tommy Rees one (BYU 29th) last weekend when Golson was sidelined.
?You would think so,? Kelly responded Tuesday when asked if he thought Oklahoma had the advantage at the quarterback position. ?You would think an experienced quarterback ? somebody that has been there, done that, has won a lot of games ? would have the edge over a young, inexperienced quarterback.
?But you don?t know until Saturday hits. And that?s the great thing about these games. We have a lot of confidence that Everett is a great competitor and that he?s going to do what he can do to help us win football games.?
The key for ND in dealing with Jones is bringing pressure. And the Irish are the top FBS sacking team Oklahoma has seen this season.
?I can tell you if he?s in a rhythm like most good quarterbacks, he?s going to be difficult to beat,? Kelly said. ?It doesn?t mean we?re going to blitz every guy when we get off the bus, but there?s certainly going to be a way we?re going to have to disrupt his timing a little bit.
?And, hopefully, we can do it by putting him in some predictable passing situations.?
Mood monitoring
Kelly believes winning breeds happiness, but also that happiness helps breed winning.
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