Defense wins championships. We’ve all heard this before and it applies in this matchup featuring two of the best defenses in the country. Notre Dame has had their challenges in the playoffs in recent years but that was always in the semifinals of the four-team format and Chip Kelly was the head coach. Neither of those circumstances is applicable here. But it remains to be seen if they can get over the hump.
Standing in the Irishs’ way are the Georgia Bulldogs who were left out of last year’s playoff despite just one loss in a close conference championship game against Alabama and despite being the two-time defending national champions at the time. If there is one thing that these Dawgs know how to do it’s win. Even though they have two losses on the season, they came through in their rivalry game against Georgia Tech and beat Texas for the second time this season even with starting quarterback Carson Beck on the sideline due to injury.
2024-25 College Football Playoff Quarterfinal – Notre Dame vs. Georgia
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
In the first-ever game of the new 12-team playoff format, The Irish dominated Indiana in a 27-17 final that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. The Irish jumped ahead early and never took their foot off the pedal en route to a comfortable win. Quarterback Riley Leonard was efficient as he completed almost 75% of his passing attempts. He will need to be equally as effective if not more against a very physical defense that the Bulldogs will bring.
What the Irish lean on is the running game of which Leonard is a significant part.
The rushing attack was led by Jeremiyah Love who picked up over 1,000 yards on the season and a whopping 16 touchdowns. Jadarian Price pitched in with 683 yards and seven touchdowns. Love was the star against Indiana with 108 yards and a score on just eight carries. For the season, Leonard played a major role in the run game with 15 touchdowns.
None of the receivers stood out for the Irish this season who were led in receptions by Beaux Collins with 36. However, this group does have depth as evidenced by the fact that 12 different players caught at least one touchdown pass.
The leader of the front seven on defense for the Irish was Riley Mills who had 7.5 sacks during the regular season.
Xavier Watts was the best player in the secondary and led the team with six interceptions. The team was led in tackles by linebacker Jack Kiser with 69 and Watts again who came in second with 60 tackles.
This is a very stingy and physical Irish defense and they will need to bring their best game against a Georgia team that is more than capable of putting up points in spite of their inconsistent play this season.
Georgia Bulldogs
After some speculation regarding the availability of starting quarterback Carson Beck, he has officially been ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing UCL surgery a few days ago. Gunner Stockton gets the start after filling in admirably for Beck in the SEC championship game. Stockton completed 75% of his passes although he did throw a pick and had no touchdown passes. It will be interesting to see how much the staff lets him open things up although having three and a half weeks to get him ready is helpful.
The Bulldogs backfield was led by Nate Frazier and Trevor Etienne. While neither ball carrier reached even 700 yards on the ground, the two combined for 17 rushing touchdowns. Beck wasn’t a factor in the run game so his absence won’t impact it much.
Just like with the running backs, none of the receivers put up big numbers. The leaders were Arian Smith with 750 yards and four touchdowns and Dominic Lovett with 571 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Tight-end production has been down this season after the departure of Brock Bowers to the NFL.
As is usually the case, this Georgia team leans on a very strong defense.
The 19.6 points per game given up is high by Georgia standards and it includes three games where they gave up over 30. A pair of linebackers Jalon Walker and Chaz Chambliss each had 6.5 sacks. The Dawgs also had five players with more than 40 tackles and a sixth who was close.
The secondary only managed eight interceptions for the season. That’s concerning because if they don’t get turnovers against the Irish they simply won’t be able to pull away from them.
The Matchup
We know this Georgia team and its coaching staff have a lot of big-game experience. A lot. It’s difficult to imagine the Bulldogs not putting forth a big effort. We also know that both teams will focus on getting the run game going early and we don’t think it will be easy for either team at least not early in the game. Both teams bring a stout defense to the table. Except for a hard-fought and relatively low-scoring game. We give the slightest advantage to Notre Dame with Leonard having more ability to run than Stockton.
Prediction
Notre Dame: 20
Georgia: 17
This game should be physical and will be a test for both teams. The winner will play either Penn State or Boise State in the semifinals.
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