The University of Notre Dame football team (12-1) became the first college football program to play college football with a 27-17 victory over Indiana (11-2) on Friday night at Notre Dame Stadium playoff victory on its home field.

Notre Dame controlled the game from start to finish, holding Indiana to three points and 63 total rush yards in the first half and building a 27-3 lead before the Hoosiers, with the game decided, late in the fourth quarter. Collected points.

Two of the Fighting Irish’s playmakers stepped up when Notre Dame needed it most. Senior Consensus All-American safety Xavier Watts thwarted a scoring opportunity for IU with an interception, and on the next play Jeremiyah Love launched into a 98-yard touchdown run.

Irish signal-caller Riley Leonard went 22 of 32 for 201 yards, a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown in the contest. He connected with Jordan Faison on seven passes for 89 yards.

Notre Dame will face No. 2 College Football Playoff seed Georgia in the 2025 Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 in New Orleans.

The first few minutes were turbulent as both teams made great plays. Notre Dame’s defense held Indiana off with a quick three-pointer on the first possession. However, the Hoosiers quickly regained momentum and intercepted a deflected pass on Notre Dame’s second offensive play to gain possession at the Irish 48-yard line.

The Notre Dame defense earned a third-and-long throw, but Indiana converted on a throwback into the red zone. Indiana quickly got to the line for the next play, but Hoosier quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw his intended target over the middle and Xavier Watts intercepted his 13th career pass at the two-yard line.

A media timeout lowered the energy in the stadium somewhat. That quickly changed when Jeremiyah Love made the first play of the game down the left side of the Irish line and outran the entire Indiana defense for a brilliant 98-yard touchdown run.

Indiana got two first downs on its next drive before a great pass from Leonard Moore on third-and-long forced a punt.

Notre Dame took the lead and put together the longest drive in College Football Playoff history by number of plays, finding a win after 16 plays. Beaux Collins got the game started with a great 10-yard reception in the third after deflecting a tackle just in front of the upright. Freshman back Aneyas Williams picked up the next big third down with six yards on third and two.

Jadarian Price found 20 yards around the left side of the Notre Dame line behind a great double-team block from Anthonie Knapp and Eli Raridon. Then Jordan Faison took nine yards up the middle and brought the ball to the seven-yard line with one yard to go. Riley Leonard easily grabbed the first down and then found Jayden Thomas on the next play after making a great play-action fake in the end zone for the second Irish touchdown of the day.

The teams exchanged possession before Indiana scored its first points of the game with a 34-yard field goal with 3:26 left in the first half. The Hoosiers made two big plays on the drive and were also helped by a defensive holding call by the Irish. Jaiden Ausberry’s big tackle on third down, as Indiana tried to run and get the first down, forced the field goal attempt.

With just over two minutes left, Notre Dame gained possession of the ball and was able to score Indiana’s field goal before halftime. Faison started the drive with a diving third-down catch. Leonard then fought for another set of downs in two plays. Three consecutive plays against Williams, an undercheck down route, a 12-yard run on third-and-short and then a five-yard catch on third-and-long put the ball just within Mitch Jeter’s reach. His 49-yarder split the uprights cleanly and the Irish entered the locker room with a 14-point lead.

The Irish special teams came up with a solid effort to get the Irish to midfield early in the second half. Jayden Harrison passed the ball sideways to Faison, who broke down the right sideline for a 48-yard return. However, the Irish were unable to take advantage of the field position and had to punt.

That punt was key, as Rylie Mills sacked the quarterback on the first play of the game, burying the Hoosiers deep in their own territory. However, the Irish All-American defensive lineman was injured on that play. With the crowd in high spirits, freshman defensive end Bryce Young ended the drive with another sack and Indiana fumbled for the fourth time.

The Irish, who took the lead at the 43 mark, hoped to score six more points but had to settle for just three. A late Indiana strike gave Notre Dame a first down and the Irish drove to the four-yard line but had to settle for a 33-yard field goal from Jeter.

The Irish defense earned a very quick three-and-out, sparked by a third-down pressure in the quarterback’s face by Young and linebacker Drayk Bowen.

Notre Dame drove to the 23 on the next drive, but had no chance as Indiana blocked Jeter’s third field goal attempt of the game, returning the block to the 40-yard line.

Notre Dame’s defense didn’t budge. Indiana gained a first down across midfield, but then a pass from Adon Shuler fell short and a pressure from the Bowen quarterback forced third-and-long. Young then pressured the quarterback again and Bowen destroyed a screen pass for one Defeat, and the Hoosiers punted again.

Faison, who finished the game with a career-high seven catches, secured a first down on a reception over the middle to start Notre Dame’s next drive. Leonard fought for another first down as Notre Dame crossed the 50-yard line.

Then it was Faison time again as Leonard stepped into the pocket and watched him race down the field. He made the catch and fell at the one-foot line. One play later, Leonard scored a one-yard touchdown for a 27-3 lead.

Indiana scored two meaningless touchdowns at the end of the game to make the score 27-17, and Notre Dame picked up a win in the first-ever College Football Playoff game played on campus.