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The Notre Dame football program will play in the College Football Playoff semifinal next week after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs on Thursday, 23-10, in the Sugar Bowl. It was not always pretty, but Notre Dame did enough on both sides of the ball to exit victorious.
Players were, of course, playing with heavy hearts after the terror attack in New Orleans caused the postponement of the Sugar Bowl. Yet, Notre Dame managed to remain focused and did not make any key mistakes that proved costly.
In the win, Notre Dame also set a College Football Playoff record for the least amount of yards on offense for a winning team, with just 244. But the stats can be a bit misleading.
The Fighting Irish not only matched the physicality of Georgia but beat them at their own game.
Notre Dame held the Bulldogs and their monster offensive line to just 62 yards rushing on 29 carries. That is an average of 2.1 yards per carry. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish ran for 154 yards on the ground. Quarterback Riley Leonard actually led the team with 80 yards on 14 carries.
Nothing illustrated the difference in the trenches more than Notre Dame's final drive. They made a crucial fourth-down stop with just under eight minutes remaining. The boys from South Bend then ran 12 plays, all rushing attempts, killing almost six minutes off of the clock. Georgia simply could not get a stop.
That physicality and ability to run the ball will be crucial in Notre Dame's game next week. They will square off against Penn State in the Orange Bowl. The Nittany Lions also pride themselves on their ability to both run the football and stop the opposing ground game. Anyone who enjoys old-school football is in for a treat, as points will be at a premium.
