The University of Notre Dame football team, with a record of 13-1, successfully contained Georgia’s offense, which stands at 11-3, in a 23-10 victory during the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl held at the SuperDome in New Orleans. Notre Dame will advance to compete against Penn State in the CFP Semifinals, scheduled for next week in the Orange Bowl.
The Irish effectively employed timely offensive strategies, impactful special teams performances, and a robust defensive approach to limit Georgia to just 62 rushing yards during the game. Crucially, Notre Dame’s defense successfully prevented the Bulldogs from converting on all three fourth-down attempts.
“Im proud of this program, this team for the work they put in obtaining the result they put tonight,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said.”Our coaches call the game aggressive, our players executed and put everything on the line for this university.”
Riley Leonard passed for 90 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another 80 yards to be named the Sugar Bowl offensive player of the game.
The victory levels Notre Dame’s all-time College Football Playoff record at 2-2 and marks the first defeat of the No. 2 ranked team in the Associated Press poll since 1990.
The momentum of the game changed late in the first half when Notre Dame successfully executed a field goal, caused a fumble on the subsequent play, and subsequently scored on the first play following the turnover, leading to a 13-3 advantage at halftime.
The game, postponed a day following the deadly terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in the early hours of New Year’s Day, started slowly, with neither team doing much on offense in a scoreless first quarter. Gunner Stockton, making his first career start at quarterback, completed his first seven passes, helping the Bulldogs (11-3) to an early 3-0 lead, but the Irish scored the final 13 points of the first half.
“I send our condolences on behalf of our university and football program to everyone affected by the tragedy,” Irish head coach Freeman said.
Stockton, who replaced starter Carson Beck in the second half of the SEC Championship Game after Beck was injured, completed 20 of 32 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame, but was sacked four times. Including sacks, the Irish defense held the Bulldogs to 62 yards rushing on 29 attempts.
Georgia’s defense held the Irish to 244 yards, while the Bulldog offense gained 296.
“They played exactly how we expected them to play,” Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart said. “They got two turnovers, we did not and they got a kick off for a touchdown.”
Late in the first quarter, Notre Dame made the first big play of the game, at the end of a long Georgia drive. On third-and-1 at the Irish 16, the Irish’s Adon Shuler knocked the ball out of Georgia running back Trevor Etienne’s hands and Notre Dame recovered the fumble at its 10-yard line. Georgia’s defense got a stop after that to keep the game scoreless.
Early in the second quarter, after forcing Notre Dame to punt for the second time, Stockton fired deep up the right side to wideout Arian Smith for a 66-yard gain to the Notre Dame 12. However, Georgia was penalized for a sideline infraction on the play that moved the ball back to the Irish 26.
“We have a lot of guys moving on, a lot of guys hurt in that locker room because we did not get the outcome we wanted but that is part of life, give Notre Dame credit for how they played.” Smart added.
The Bulldogs eventually had to settle for a 41-yard Peyton Woodring field goal and a 3-0 lead with 12:14 to play in the half. It was the first time the Irish had trailed in a game since October. They didn’t trail for long, tying the game with 8:20 to go in the second on a 44-yard Mitch Jeter field goal.
With 39 seconds left in the half, Jeter connected on a 48-yard field goal to put the Irish ahead 6-3. On Georgia’s first play of the ensuing possession, Stockton was sacked, stripped and Notre Dame recovered the fumble at the UGA 13. The Irish scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Riley Leonard to Beaux Collins on the next play, taking a 13-3 lead into halftime.
It was the seventh time that the Bulldogs had trailed at the half this season, with Georgia rallying to win four of those games. The rally got a lot harder after the opening kickoff of the third quarter.
The Bulldogs, the SEC champions for the second time in three years, won double-digit games for the seventh time in coach Kirby Smart’s nine seasons as head coach. This was also Georgia’s fourth College Football Playoff appearance in the Smart era.
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Author: West Lamy
My passport requires no photograph. Experienced play-by-play broadcaster and multimedia sports journalist with years of producing and covering sports. WORLDWIDEWEST is a journey; in this journey my feet don't get blisters, but my shoes do.
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