Written by Pete Sampson, Joe Rexrode, and Seth Emerson
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 7 Notre Dame defeated No. 10 Indiana 27-17 on Friday night in the first game of the 12-team College Football Playoff. The Fighting Irish advanced to play No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on January 1st.
The first intramural playoff game got off to a dramatic start with two interceptions in the first three drives and a 98-yard touchdown run by Notre Dame running back Jeremiah Love. But the fireworks went off from there, especially for the Hoosiers, who ultimately found the end zone twice in the final two minutes to close the gap in defeat. Still, Indiana was held to its second-lowest scoring output of the season, with just 278 yards of offense to Notre Dame's 394. Indiana gained just 63 yards rushing to Notre Dame's 193 yards.
Struggling Irish quarterback Riley Leonard went 22-for-32 for 201 yards and a touchdown, gaining another 30 yards and a score on the ground. But what made the game stand out was the effort of Notre Dame's defense to thwart Indiana's normally powerful offense.
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The Athletic's analysis:
Notre Dame's defense dominates
Notre Dame asked its defense to run the ball at the start of the season and did so almost every week until Thanksgiving. The Irish demanded the same from their defense heading into the postseason opener. The Hoosiers barely threatened the goal line before a first-quarter drive that ended with a Xavier Watts interception, but they answered the bell again and held Indiana to 17 points.
It was a near-perfect game plan by defensive coordinator Al Golden, who ramped up the pressure on Curtis Rourke early on and never let the Indiana quarterback get comfortable. Notre Dame's defensive line also had a lot to do with this, as Howard Cross dominated Indiana's offensive line in his return from a sprained ankle. The Irish lost defensive tackle Riley Mills and defensive end Bryce Young to injuries during the game, but that didn't really matter.
Indiana, the nation's second-leading scorer with 43.3 points per game during the regular season, had no chance.
The performance ended Notre Dame's struggles until three weeks ago at USC when the Irish were picked apart in the air and back-to-back pick-sixes ended the game. That performance was enough to make you wonder if Notre Dame ended up losing too much power, losing momentum in its pass rush and relying too much on underclassmen in the secondary.
Not exactly.
Indiana barely made any shots against Notre Dame.
The Irish will be tested at a new level in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, and there will be concerns about the growing injury list. But in the final home game of the season, Notre Dame put on another performance on tape that showed it had a national championship-caliber defense. — sampson
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Indiana had a great season, but Ohio State and Notre Dame took off their masks.
Coach Curt Cignetti's Hoosiers don't need to apologize for entering the College Football Playoff with an 11-1 record. The CFP Committee also does not need to apologize. Indiana played dominant football for most of the season despite a schedule that looked much more difficult than it actually was. But Notre Dame's rise and the Hoosiers' 38-15 loss at Ohio State combined to tell the story of a team that couldn't stand up to a very talented defense up front. Michigan also exposed its offensive line a little in the loss at Indiana. Curtis Rourke had little time to throw, and on the rare occasions he was able to see the field, he missed the pitch he was supposed to throw.
It was a historic and spectacular debut season for Cininetti. The show ended with a reminder that it's simply not realistic for a program with this kind of history to produce a true national title contender in less than a year. — Rex Road
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What's next? sugar bowl georgia
Kirby Smart noticed Notre Dame fans screaming during the Georgia coach's appearance on ESPN's “College Gameday” on Friday afternoon. We want Georgia! ”
“They have to win this first,” Smart replied with a smile amid boos.
Notre Dame won, making it a highly anticipated matchup reminiscent of Georgia's history and Smart's tenure.
This is a reenactment of the 1981 Sugar Bowl, where Georgia won its second-ever national title. And in 2017, at Notre Dame, Smart opened the program with a one-point win and continued an unexpected run to the national championship game. In the rematch two years later in Athens, Georgia won, albeit in a close contest.
This was when Brian Kelly was the coach. Georgia remains essentially a talented, physical SEC program, just with a more modern passing offense. The question is how far Marcus Freeman takes Notre Dame's program, which has faltered in the postseason so far.
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Does Georgia want to play Notre Dame or Indiana?
The Fighting Irish are a very physical team. The Bulldogs didn't have their usual advantage in the trenches, but much of that was due to injuries, and now they're as healthy as they have been all year.
Georgia's defense is predicated on stopping the run and taking chances against the pass. But with so much susceptibility to edge runs this year, you have to imagine the fear Smart felt as he watched Love run 98 yards down the left sideline. Love probably won't outplay Georgia's defensive backs like that, but he could get a lot of chunk plays on the outside. Georgia is susceptible to two-way quarterbacks, so Leonard's legs could cause headaches.
And that could also be the case for Georgia's new quarterback Gunner Stockton in his first college start. A solid secondary in Stockton vs. Notre Dame will also be interesting. Georgia likely has much better skill position players than Indiana, especially tailbacks Trevor Etienne and Nate Frazier.
Overall, it's a difficult game to predict. During Smart's appearance, ESPN's Rece Davis pointed out that Notre Dame had never beaten Georgia. That's true, but all three games were decided by one possession. No one should be surprised if the fourth matchup is just as close. — emerson
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(Photo: Michael Reeves/Getty Images)
