Sun Bowl Game Thread | No. 16 Notre Dame vs. No. 19 Oregon State

No. 16 Notre Dame (9-3) vs. No. 19 Oregon State (8-4)

Sun Bowl | 2:00 PM ET | CBS  | Line: Notre Dame -6.0 | O/U: 41.5

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NOTES 

- Notre Dame and Oregon State will meet for the third time. 

- Oregon State leads the all-time series 2-0, with both wins coming in bowl games 

- The Irish are 102-57-6 all-time against teams from the PAC-12. 

- Notre Dame will be playing in a bowl for the 42nd time in program history. 

- The Irish will be playing in the Sun Bowl for the second time. Notre Dame beat Miami 33-17 in 2010. 

Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame LT Charles Jagusah
We don't often see a player go from redshirt to starting the bowl game, but that's going to become more normal in college football. Jagusah gets a chance to make a first impression as the potential next great left tackle for the Irish and he shouldn't have an easy day going up against some productive edge rushers. Look for Jagusah to have an impact in the running game as well.

Oregon State S Kitan Oladapo
One of the top safeties in the country, Oladapo accepted a Senior Bowl invite and is headed to the NFL Draft. Much like JD Bertrand, he's still playing in this bowl game and that's huge for Oregon State. A consistent playmaker, the Beavers have a shot at winning this game because of a player like him.

Notre Dame QB Steve Angeli
He's not walking into an ideal situation, but Angeli has made the most of just about every situation he's been put in this season. Plenty of ND quarterbacks have struggled in their first start and they didn't have two brand new tackles protecting them. He'll be helped greatly if Notre Dame can establish the run and put him into favorable down and distance for most of the day.

Oregon State WR Silas Bolden
A burner with big play ability (11 receptions of 20+ yards), he led the Beavers in targets this season. Expect him to get a ton of touches in this game, including on special teams. He's scored a touchdown running, receiving, and as a returner this season.

Notre Dame LB Jack Kiser
Kiser will become the de facto leader of the linebacker group next season. For this game, he'll be elevated to a starter, but he might have played quite a bit even if Marist Liufau was around with the way Oregon State often has two tight ends on the field. Expect high tackle numbers from Kiser and expect to see him with other young linebackers on the field other than Bertrand as well. 

Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman:
”Do the things that have put yourself in this position. To me, he’s earned the right in practice to be Sam Hartman’s backup and the opportunities - he’s played in games and done really well. You have to be Steve Angeli. Don’t be Sam Hartman. Don’t be anybody else. Be Steve Angeli. Take care of the football. That’s always a big thing for me. One play, one life. You have heard me say that plenty of times.” 

Notre Dame interim offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli:
”It’s a whole new offense. At the end of the day, I think we’ve got three starters returning and two of those starters have only started three or four games in Billy (Schrauth) and Ashton (Craig). Everybody else will be getting the opportunity to have their first start in a game of this magnitude. 

“You have to go back to your basics, your foundation, your install one stuff from training camp. The fortunate thing is you get a lot of time to prepare for a game like this, so you get stuff in. We’ve got really smart kids at Notre Dame and those guys will go out there and be able to execute.

“As far as how much you can put in, we’ll be able to do enough, but we’re going to lean on the things we think we’re best at.” 

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden:
”I think it is challenging because you don’t know how they’re going to evolve on game day. We’re trying to keep it simple, but be broad and be adaptable on game day. At least in this situation, we have eight games where he (Ben Gulbranson) started a year ago to go back and say what did he really do well. What might they do and then they might not do any of that. At least you have an idea of how they saw him in the offense a year ago and what they may do with him on Friday.” 

Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price 
”Just prove that I can put a final stamp on the season and go into next season showing all the Notre Dame fans they should be even more excited for next season. Just continue to build on the standard of our running back room.” 

Notre Dame tight end Eli Raridon:
”It’s been different. We have pretty much a whole new team. It’s been weird with the offense with a lot of guys who are new faces. The players and coaches have done a great job with all the distractions and keeping focused to get our work done. I feel really confident with where we are right now.” 

Notre Dame defesnive tackle Howard Cross III:
”This is the starting point for a very great year. I was talking to my dad and if I want to go into the season being that guy, then this is it. This is where you prove to everyone you’re the best.” 

Notre Dame cornerback Jaden Mickey: 
”It’s first about winning the game and going 1-0. That’s in the back of our mind sitting at nine right now and coming from nine last year. Just to take a step forward for the program and as a team.” 

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