Riley Leonard threw a touchdown pass, Jayden Harrison returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score, and Notre Dame’s defense held strong in a 23-10 victory over No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday.
The win propels the third-ranked Fighting Irish into the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. The game was delayed by a day due to a deadly terror attack in New Orleans.
Notre Dame (13-1, CFP No. 5) made enough big plays and got some help from a clever move by coach Marcus Freeman. 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.
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 at a 3-3 deadlock before Notre Dame pulled off an impressive feat, scoring 17 points in just 54 seconds. This extraordinary sequence kicked off with Mitch Jeter’s 48-yard field goal with only 39 seconds remaining in the first half.
Shortly after, Georgia suffered the consequences of a risky decision to attempt a drop-back pass from its own 25. RJ Oben’s blind-side sack led to Stockton fumbling at the 13, where Irish defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka made a recovery.
Leonard then connected with Beaux Collins over the middle for a touchdown on the subsequent play, giving Notre Dame a 13-3 lead that held until halftime. Just 15 seconds into the third quarter, Notre Dame extended their lead to 20-13.
Harrison took Georgia’s second-half kickoff straight to the end zone, evading a tackle near midfield, veering toward the right sideline and outrunning all opposition.
Georgia managed to narrow the gap to 20-10 when Stockton found reserve running back Cash Jones for a 32-yard score, before Jeter’s third field goal of the game pushed the score to 23-10.
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