Sugar Bowl

91st Annual
Allstate Sugar Bowl
January 2, 2025

#7 Notre Dame 23 (Postgame Record: 13-1)
#2 Georgia 10 (Postgame Record: 11-3)

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Notre Dame Uses Big Plays, Satunch Defense to Post 23-10 Victory Over Georgia

The game took 60 minutes but it'll be 27 seconds between the second and third quarters that will live in Notre Dame lore.
 
The Irish scored 17 points in that time span to key its 23-10 victory against Georgia in the 91st Allstate Sugar Bowl which served as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal matchup on Thursday in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
 
The seventh-seeded Irish (13-1), who have won 12 straight, will meet sixth-seeded Penn State in the Orange Bowl next Thursday (Jan. 9) in one CFP Semifinal.
 
The game was a sellout with 68,400 tickets sold. After the one-day postponement of the contest due to the New Year's Day Bourbon Street terrorist attack, the official attendance was 57,267.
 
"What a great moment for this program,'' Notre Dame Coach Marcus Freeman said. "They are a great group. They chose hard every day. It's an honor to be a part of the program. It's that relentless effort, the physicality that this game of football demands you play with. And they (Notre Dame players) chose to do it. You can call aggressive plays but if they don't chose to play aggressively, play hard, then it's not going to work. These guys chose hard today.''
 
The Irish took a 13-3 lead into halftime after a field goal with 39 seconds left in the second quarter by Mitch Jeter then a touchdown with 28 seconds left set up by a sack of and fumble by Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard found Beaux Collins for a 13-yard touchdown pass on the play following the fumble recovery.
 
Notre Dame kick returner Jayden Harrison then put the exclamation mark on the scoring barrage with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half and a 20-3 lead with 14:45 left in the third quarter.
 
The Irish relied on their defense for the rest as they held the Bulldogs to 296 yards total offense, to 2-of-12 on third-down conversions and 0-for-3 on fourth-down conversions. Notre Dame recovered two fumbles, both of which were key.
 
"They (Notre Dame) played exactly like we expected them to play; physical, tough, don't beat yourself, and they did that,'' Georgia Coach Kirby Smart said. "They got two turnovers, and we didn't. They returned a kickoff for a touchdown. So we basically spotted them probably 14 points off that and cost ourselves a possession in the red (zone) area when we fumbled down there. But they did a really good job. They played really hard, physical brand of football. So do we.''
 
Georgia's defense was solid as well, holding the Irish to 244 yards on offense. But the kickoff return and turnovers were too much for the Dawgs to overcome.
 
Leonard, a transfer from Duke, was honored as the game's Offensive Most Outstanding Player He completed 15-of-24 passes for 90 yards and the touchdown strike and he rushed for 80 yards, including a pair of critical first-down runs in the fourth quarter. Senior safety Xavier Watts was the Most Outstanding Defensive Player after tallying a team-best seven tackles, including one for a loss, and a major quarterback hurry on a fourth-down play to stop the Bulldogs.
 
"We knew this was going to be a physical matchup,'' Leonard said. "Our number one key to victory was the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. That's exactly what we did. We knew if we could establish ourselves up front, we were going to have a chance at this thing.
 
"(Georgia is) a very physical group. They brought a lot of pressure today. But I think we handled it pretty well and stayed behind the chains early in the game, kind of figured it out a little bit. I was struggling in the passing game. But we were able to utilize our abilities and execute when it mattered.''
 
Second-seeded Georgia (11-3) cut the lead to 20-10 with 9:36 left in the third quarter when Stockton passed 32 yards to Cash Jones for a touchdown. But that was the last time the Bulldogs would score as Notre Dame's defense took care of business the rest of the way.
 
The Irish defense shined in the fourth quarter when Georgia was driving to cut the lead to six points. The Bulldogs drove from their 25 to the Notre Dame 9 with Stockton leading the way. But on fourth-and-5, Watts' pressure forced Stockton's pass to fall innocently to the turf with 9:19 left and the Irish kept the 23-10 lead.
 
Notre Dame then used a ball control offense to eat up most of the rest of the fourth quarter clock. The Irish drove from their 9 to the 50, consuming 7:36. When Georgia regained control after a Notre Dame punt to the Bulldogs 20, only 1:49 remained in the game. The Bulldogs then turned the ball over on downs and Notre Dame ran out the clock for the victory.
 
Defense dominated the first half until the final 38 seconds of the second quarter when Notre Dame scored 10 points in 11 seconds.
 
The Irish took a 6-3 lead with 38 seconds left when Jeter booted a 48-yard field goal to cap a 10-play, 32-yard drive. On the next play from scrimmage, Notre Dame's defense put its offense in prime position.
 
Instead of killing the clock on the ensuing drive and going down 6-3 at the half, the Dawgs elected to be aggressive on offense. That proved to be a mistake. On first-and-10 at the UGA 25, Stockton dropped to pass and was sacked then fumbled on a tackle by defensive end RJ Oben. Irish lineman Junior Tuihalamaka recovered at the UGA 13.
 
On the next play, Riley connected with Collins for the touchdown on a post route down the middle.
 
Notre Dame was stymied in the first quarter, managing only one first down. Stockton led the Dawgs on two impressive first-half drives near the start of the game but they yielded only three points.
 
Georgia drove 71 yards in 13 plays in the first quarter on its second possession of the game, and faced third-and-1 at the Irish 17. But running back Trevor Etienne fumbled when hit by Irish defensive back Adon Shuler and Jaiden Ausberry recovered for the Irish at their 10.
 
The Bulldogs got on the board first on their next possession with a 55-yard, five-play drive. UGA kicker Peyton Woodring booted a 41-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 12:14 to play.
 
Notre Dame then scored 13 unanswered. Jeter, who struggled during the season because of a groin injury, tied the game with a 44-yard field goal with 8:20 left in the first half.
 
Leonard led the way for the Irish in the first half, passing for 60 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 50 yards. That included a 32-yard run that helped set up the Irish for the first score of the game.
 
Stockton was 9-of-14 in the first half with 142 yards. Making his first start as a Bulldog due to an injury to starter Carson Beck in the SEC Championship game against Texas, Stockton finished with 234 yards on 20 of 32 completions.

Recap by Trey Iles for www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.