By Pete Sampson, Joe Rexrode and Seth Emerson
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 7 Notre Dame cruised past No. 10 Indiana 27-17 in the first game of the 12-team College Football Playoff on Friday night. The Fighting Irish advance to play 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 fireworks fizzled from there, particularly for the Hoosiers, until they finally reached the end zone twice in the final two minutes to shrink the margin of defeat. Still, Indiana was held to its second-lowest scoring output of the season and was held to 278 yards of offense to Notre Dame’s 394. Indiana gained just 63 yards rushing to Notre Dame’s 193.
Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard went 22-for-32 with 201 yards and one touchdown with another 30 yards and a score on the ground. But it was the effort of Notre Dame’s defense to stop Indiana’s usually high-powered offense that set this one apart.
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Notre Dame’s defense dominates
Notre Dame opened the season asking its defense to carry it, which it did just about every week through Thanksgiving. The Irish asked their defense to do the same to open the postseason. Again, it answered the bell, holding Indiana to 17 points as the Hoosiers barely threatened the goal line short of a first-quarter drive that ended with a Xavier Watts interception.
It was a near-perfect game plan from defensive coordinator Al Golden, who turned up the pressure on Kurtis Rourke early and never let the Indiana quarterback get comfortable. Notre Dame’s defensive line had a lot to do with that, as the return of Howard Cross from an ankle sprain overwhelmed Indiana’s offensive line. Even though the Irish lost defensive tackle Rylie Mills and defensive end Bryce Young during the game due to injury, it didn’t matter much.
Indiana, the nation’s No. 2 scoring offense during the regular season at 43.3 points per game, had no chance.
The performance put to bed Notre Dame’s struggles at USC three weeks ago when the Irish were picked apart through the air until ending the game with back-to-back pick sixes. The performance was enough to wonder if Notre Dame had finally been stretched too thin, relying on underclassmen in the secondary with a pass rush losing steam.
Not exactly.
Indiana barely took shots against Notre Dame.
The Irish will be tested at a new level against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and the growing injury list will be a concern. But in the final home game of the season, Notre Dame put another performance on tape to suggest it has a national championship-level defense. — Sampson
Indiana had an incredible season, but Ohio State and Notre Dame pulled off the mask
Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers don’t need to apologize for making the College Football Playoff with an 11-1 record. The CFP committee doesn’t have to apologize, either. Indiana played dominant football for most of the season, against a schedule that looked much more difficult than it ended up being. But Notre Dame’s romp in tandem with the Hoosiers’ 38-15 loss at Ohio State combine to tell the story of a team that couldn’t hang up front against supremely talented defenses. Michigan exposed that offensive line a bit in its loss at Indiana as well. Kurtis Rourke had little time to throw and missed some he needed to make on the rare occasions he was able to scan the field. It was a historic, spectacular debut season for Cignetti. It ended with a reminder that a program with this history producing a true national title contender in one year simply isn’t realistic. — Rexrode
What’s next? Georgia in the Sugar Bowl
Kirby Smart noticed what Notre Dame fans were yelling while the Georgia coach appeared on ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Friday afternoon: “We want Georgia! We want Georgia!”
“They gotta win this one first,” Smart replied, smiling, amid the booing.
Notre Dame won, setting up a marquee matchup that harkens to Georgia history, and Smart’s tenure.
It’s a redux of the 1981 Sugar Bowl, when Georgia won its second-ever national title. Then in 2017, it was at Notre Dame where Smart launched his program with a one-point win, on its way to an unexpected run to the national championship game. Georgia won the rematch in Athens two years later, though it was also close.
That was when Brian Kelly was the coach. Georgia is still essentially the same talent-laden, physical SEC program, just with a more modern passing offense. The question is how far Marcus Freeman has taken a Notre Dame program that has wilted in the postseason before.
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The Fighting Irish are a physical team. The Bulldogs haven’t had their usual dominance in the trenches but much of that was because of injuries, and now they’re as healthy as they’ve been all year.
Georgia’s defense is predicated on stopping the run and taking its chances against the pass. But it’s been susceptible to edge runs this year, so one has to imagine the cringe Smart felt watching Love go 98 yards down the left sideline. Love probably won’t outrun Georgia’s defensive backs like that, but he could get a lot of chunk plays on the outside. Georgia has also been susceptible to dual-threat quarterbacks, so Leonard’s feet could be a headache.
Then again, so could new Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton in his first college start. Stockton vs. Notre Dame’s solid secondary will also be interesting. Georgia does figure to have much better skill position players than Indiana, especially with tailbacks Trevor Etienne and Nate Frazier.
All in all, it’s a hard 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 have been decided by one possession. No one should be surprised if the fourth matchup is just as close. — Emerson
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)