Defense, Special Teams Lift Notre Dame To Win Over Georgia In Sugar Bowl
Jan 2, 2025, 6:24 PM | Updated: 6:38 pm
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 02: Jayden Harrison #2 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish returns the second-half kickoff for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs during the 91st Allstate Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome on January 02, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Riley Leonard passed for a touchdown, Jayden Harrison returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score, and Notre Dame’s defense made it hold up in a 23-10 victory over No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday that sends the third-ranked Fighting Irish into the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.
In a game that was delayed by a day because of a deadly terror attack in the host city, Notre Dame (13-1, CFP No. 5) made enough big plays and got some help from a clever move by coach Marcus Freeman.
Notre Dame takes the opening kick of the second half to the house‼️ pic.twitter.com/7nPR29xTnV
— ESPN (@espn) January 2, 2025
Georgia (11-2, CFP No. 2) was in position to close within one score when Notre Dame stopped it on fourth-and-5 from the Irish 9-yard line with 9:29 to go.
Then, on fourth-and-short deep in his own territory, Freeman sent the punt team out before running all 11 players off the field and sending the offense out. Georgia raced to match up and then jumped offside as the play clock ticked down, giving the Irish a clock-sapping first down with 7:17 to go.
By the time the Bulldogs got the ball back, just 1:49 remained, and Notre Dame was well on its way to playing No. 5 Penn State (13-2, CFP No. 6 seed) in a semifinal at the Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 9.
RELATED: Sugar Bowl Postponed Following Terror Attack In New Orleans
Georgia entered the game without starting quarterback Carson Beck, who injured his elbow in the Southeastern Conference championship game. He was replaced by Gunner Stockton, who was 20 of 32 for 234 yards and one touchdown.
Leonard finished with 90 yards passing and a team-high 80 yards rushing.
The game was tied at 3-all before Notre Dame scored 17 points in a span of 54 seconds.
The unusual sequence began with Mitch Jeter’s 48-yard field goal with 39 seconds left in first half.
Soon after, Georgia paid for an aggressive decision to attempt a drop-back pass from its own 25. RJ Oben’s blind-side sack caused Stockton to fumble at the 13, where Irish defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka recovered. Leonard found Beaux Collins over the middle for a touchdown on the next play for a 13-3 lead that stood at halftime.
By the time 15 seconds had elapsed in the third quarter, Notre Dame led 20-13.
And then there were 4️⃣ …
Who ya got movin' on to the national championship? 🤔 #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/nUAPVouBiz
— ESPN (@espn) January 3, 2025
Harrison took Georgia’s second-half kickoff all the way to the end zone, slipping a tackle near the middle of the field, cutting toward the right sideline and outrunning everyone.
Georgia closed the gap to 20-10 when Stockton hit reserve running back Cash Jones for a 32-yard score before Jeter’s third field goal of the game made it 23-10.
