The final quarterfinal of the College Football Playoff is the fourth postseason meeting between Notre Dame and Georgia. The Bulldogs have won all three previous meetings. Can they get a fourth?

(More CFP: Ohio State vs. Oregon | Boise State vs. Penn State | Texas vs. Arizona State)

Date: January 1st | Time: 8:45 p.m. ET | TV: ESPN | Line: Georgia -1.5 | Overall: 44.5

How these teams got here

Notre Dame: The Irish dominated Indiana with a 27-17 win that turned out to be the closest victory of all four CFP first-round games. Notre Dame opened the game on Jeremiyah Love’s 98-yard TD run and held the Indiana offense at bay until the game was out of reach.

Georgia: The SEC champions defeated Texas twice to win the league title. Georgia lost on the road to Alabama and Ole Miss, but ended up in the SEC title game due to intra-conference chaos and three league losses to the Crimson Tide and Rebels. Georgia beat Texas 30-15 in the regular season and then beat the Longhorns 22-19 in the SEC title game.

How the QBs perform

We don’t have much college information for Gunner Stockton. The Bulldogs’ No. 2 QB is now the starter after taking over for Carson Beck during the SEC title game after Beck suffered a UCL injury on a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the first half. This season, Stockton completed 25 of 32 passes for 206 yards and one interception in four games. In the second half against Texas, he was 12 of 16 for 71 yards and one interception. He is the biggest unknown in the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard is becoming more and more comfortable as the season goes on. Leonard was 23 of 32 for 201 yards and a TD and an interception against Indiana and also ran 11 times for 30 yards and a score. Leonard only has 17 passing touchdowns, but has passed for 15 touchdowns and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry. His 751 yards on the ground this season are a career high.

Players to watch

Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price: Love interrupted the big run in the first half, but was only used sporadically due to a knee injury. If he’s not fully healthy, the bulk of the rushing load could fall on Price, who was a fantastic wingman in 2024. Price has 100 rushing for 683 yards and seven scores this season. He had just 32 yards on 11 carries against Indiana, but had 12 carries for 111 yards against USC in the regular-season finale and 10 carries for 53 yards and two scores against Army.

Georgia WR Arian Smith: Smith has the most yards of any Bulldogs receiver with 47 grabs for 750 yards and four touchdowns. But he was inconsistent and falls were a serious problem. However, Smith has already had great success in the College Football Playoff, and this would be a good time for him to become a reliable target. He is Georgia’s biggest downfield threat and can be a difference-maker against the Notre Dame secondary if Georgia relies on Stockton to throw the ball down the field.

Key to the game

No one will question how well Georgia coach Kirby Smart can motivate his team, especially in a situation like this where his starting quarterback is injured and heading to the NFL. But how well can Georgia move the ball with Stockton in the game? The Bulldogs’ offense hasn’t been great in big games with Beck, although weeks of practice with Stockton as the starter will come in handy. We won’t be surprised if Georgia plays with the ball a lot. And neither does Vegas. Just look at how low the total is (44.5). It is by far the lowest of the four quarterfinal games.