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The narrative coming into the College Football Playoff quarterfinals at the Sugar Bowl on Thursday was that Notre Dame still couldn't beat the big boys and knock off a traditional powerhouse. Marcus Freeman and the Irish put all of that noise to bed with a convincing 23-10 win over Georgia to advance to the semifinals.
Freeman came into this one with a great game plan and completely shut down the Georgia offense all day long. Save for a few big plays down the field, the Bulldogs couldn't get much going with the ball against the vaunted Notre Dame defense. after the game, Freeman let out all of the emotions about his team after the huge win according to Angelo Di Carlo of Sports Michiana.
“I'm proud of this coaching staff,” Freeman said, per Di Carlo. “I'm proud of this team. I love this university. It's an honor to be a part of this.”
With this win, Notre Dame advances to play Penn State at the Orange Bowl in the semifinals. A win in that one would move the Irish on to its first national championship game appearance since 2012, when it lost to Alabama. This Notre Dame team has proven on multiple occasions that it can compete with anyone, and it will get another chance to back that up next Thursday.
How far can Notre Dame go?
Even in a defensive slugfest, Notre Dame showed that it has what it takes to win a national championship this season. Even with injuries to two of its best defensive players — defensive lineman Rylie Mills and cornerback Benjamin Morrison — Marcus Freeman's defense still dominated a pair of good offenses in Indiana and Georgia on its way to the semifinals.
Notre Dame's secondary is still one of the best in the country led by star safety Xavier Watts. The Fighting Irish suffocated Georgia's depleted and underwhelming receiving corps in the Sugar Bowl and didn't give Gunner Stockton anywhere to go with the ball for a lot of the day. Up front, Notre Dame was stout against the run and got a ton of pressure on the quarterback, even forcing a few turnovers in the process.
In the next round, Notre Dame will have to be formidable on the line of scrimmage once again against a Penn State team that is very physical on both sides of the ball, the dynamic running back duo of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are hard to stop, but slowing them down is going to be the big key.
In the passing game, the matchup between Watts and star tight end Tyler Warren is a blockbuster showdown between two future NFL players. If Watts can help eliminate the versatile Warren from the Penn State game plan, it will be very difficult for the Nittany Lions to move the football. Overall, Penn State will be very difficult to beat, but Notre Dame has shown that it has all of the components necessary to slow it down.
