Written by Pete Sampson, Joe Rexrode, Seth Emerson
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 7 Notre Dame cruised to a 27-17 win over No. 10 Indiana on Friday night in its first game of the 12-team College Football Playoff. The Fighting Irish advance to face No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
Two interceptions in the first three drives and a 98-yard touchdown run by Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love got the first on-campus playoff game off to a dramatic start. But the Hoosiers’ fireworks in particular fizzled from there, finally reaching the end zone twice in the final two minutes to reduce their margin of defeat. Despite this, Indiana had its second-lowest scoring tally of the season and had 278 yards of offense compared to Notre Dame’s 394. Indiana gained only 63 yards rushing to Notre Dame’s 193.
Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard went 22-for-32 for 201 yards and one touchdown, with 30 yards and a score on the ground. But what set this one apart was the Notre Dame defense’s effort to stop Indiana’s usually powerful offense.
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Notre Dame doesn’t have many firsts. This was one of them
athletic‘s analysis:
Notre Dame’s defense is overwhelming.
Notre Dame opened the season asking its defense to take it, and did so almost every week until Thanksgiving. The Irish have asked their defense to do the same to start the postseason. The Hoosiers answered the bell again, holding Indiana to 17 points as they came up short on a first-quarter drive that ended with an interception by Xavier Watts, barely threatening the goal line.
This was a near-perfect game plan from defensive coordinator Al Golden, who put pressure on Kurtis Rourke early and never let the Indiana quarterback get comfortable. Notre Dame’s defensive line had a lot to do with it, as they dominated Indiana’s offensive line with the return of Howard Cross from a sprained ankle. Even though the Irish lost defensive tackle Rylie Mills and defensive end Bryce Young to injuries, it didn’t matter much.
Indiana, which ranked second in the country in scoring offense during the regular season with 43.3 points per game, had no chances.
Notre Dame’s struggles were put to rest three weeks ago at USC when Notre Dame was pulled out of the air with back-to-back pick-sixes to end the game. The performance was good enough to make you question whether Notre Dame was stretched too thin by relying on juniors in the middle school who lost steam due to the pass rush.
Not exactly.
Indiana barely made a shot against Notre Dame.
The Irish will be tested to a new level against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, and the growing injury list will be an issue. But in its final home game of the season, Notre Dame put another play on tape that suggested it had a national championship-caliber defense. — sampson
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SAMPSON: Notre Dame knows who that guy is. It may change other people’s views about Georgia.
Indiana has had an incredible season, but Ohio State and Notre Dame have taken their masks off.
Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers don’t have to apologize for making the College Football Playoff with an 11-1 record. CFP Board doesn’t need to apologize either. Indiana played dominant football all season, battling against a schedule that looked much more difficult than it ended up being. But Notre Dame’s struggles and the Hoosiers’ 38-15 loss at Ohio State combined to tell the story of a team that couldn’t hold a lead against a top-talented defense. Michigan left its offensive line a bit exposed in its loss to Indiana as well. Kurtis Rourke had little time to throw and missed some of the needed shots on the rare occasions when he was able to scan the field.
It was a historic and spectacular debut season for Cignetti. It ended with a reminder that it’s unrealistic for a program with this history to produce a true national title contender in one year. — Rex Road
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Rexrode: Indiana would have qualified for the playoffs even if the schedule helped.
What’s next? Georgia in the Sugar Bowl
Kirby Smart noticed Notre Dame fans screaming during the Georgia coach’s appearance on ESPN’s “College GameDay” Friday afternoon. “We want Georgia! We want Georgia!”
Amid boos, Smart smiled and responded, “They’ve got to win this game first.”
Notre Dame won, setting up a key matchup that takes into account Georgia history and Smart’s tenure.
This is a redux of the 1981 Sugar Bowl, in which Georgia won its second national title. Then, in 2017, it was at Notre Dame where Smart led the program to a one-point win and an improbable run to the national championship game. Georgia won the rematch two years later in Athens, but it was also close.
That was when Brian Kelly was the coach. Georgia is essentially the same physical SEC program that’s still so talented, just with a more modern passing attack. The question is how far Marcus Freeman takes a Notre Dame program that languished in the previous postseason.
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Who would Georgia like to play, Notre Dame or Indiana?
The Fighting Irish are a physical team. The Bulldogs haven’t had their usual dominance in the trenches, but much of that has been due to injuries and they are now as healthy as they have been all year.
Georgia’s defense focuses on stopping the run and taking chances against the pass. But edge runs have been prone to occur this year, so you have to imagine the cringe Smart must have felt as he watched Love run down the left sideline 98 yards. Love probably won’t outscore Georgia’s defense like that. But he can get a lot of chunk plays on the outside. Georgia is also vulnerable to dual-threat quarterbacks, so Leonard’s feet could be a headache.
Then again, the same could be true for new Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton in his first college start. A solid second game between Stockton vs. Notre Dame should also be interesting. I think Georgia has much better skill position players than Indiana, especially with tailbacks Trevor Etienne and Nate Frazier.
Overall, it is a difficult game to predict. During Smart’s appearance, ESPN’s Rece Davis pointed out that Notre Dame has never beaten Georgia. That’s true, but all three games were decided by one possession. No one will be surprised if the fourth matchup is just as close. — emerson
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(Photo: Michael Reeves / Getty Images)
