Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love didn’t let anyone catch him. It didn’t matter that he suffered a knee injury in the second half of the regular season finale against USC and still wasn’t fully healed. Or that he was battling an unknown illness.

As Love accepted a handoff from quarterback Riley Leonard early in Friday night’s game, the sophomore ran up the sideline between left guard and tackle and sprinted past several Indiana defenders for a 98-yard touchdown. Love’s score set the tone for No. 7 seed Notre Dame’s 27-17 victory over No. 10 seed Indiana in the opening game of the College Football Playoff at Notre Dame Stadium. The Fighting Irish (12-1) won their 11th straight game and faced No. 2 seed Georgia in the quarterfinals on New Year’s Day in New Orleans.

Love’s touchdown was the longest run of the year in the Football Bowl Subdivision and the longest run in a CFP game since the playoffs began in 2014. And it required a Herculean effort from Love.

“I was just out of breath (at the end of the 98-yard run),” Love said with a laugh. “I was gassed.”

Love only ran the ball seven more times for 10 yards. Still, his teammates and coaches knew how much was on his mind all season and how much he had to overcome in the last few weeks.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said Love’s touchdown was “huge” because Leonard had thrown an interception on the first drive and the Fighting Irish were tied at the 2-yard line in a 0-0 game.

“We don’t know (Loves) 100%,” said Freeman, who signed a lucrative contract extension earlier this week. “We’re just going to continue to get him healthy. But he showed on this play, no matter how high he is, once he breaks through the third level, it’s hard to catch Jeremiyah Love.”

Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said, “(Love) is the engine that drives this thing in a really positive direction.” Every week he seems to find a way to make an explosive play, rush someone or run for 98 yards. What do you want? It’s the dealer’s choice, so to speak. It’s an honor to have him with me.”

Leonard also values ​​love. At his postgame press conference, Leonard wore a T-shirt with Love’s name and photo and spoke glowingly of Love, who gained 1,057 yards on 142 carries (7.4 yards per carry) and 16 touchdowns. He scored a touchdown in 13 consecutive games, setting a Notre Dame record.

“I have the best view in the house,” Leonard said. “Every time I give him the ball I just watch, ‘What is he going to do now?’ He just continues to impress me. It’s just the little things. It’s the second or third down where he’s busy arming the guys and getting first downs for us. It’s these little plays that might mean a gain of five yards, but for everyone else it would be a loss of five yards. I mean, he’s a crazy athlete.”

Leonard added that if he hadn’t been the quarterback, Love probably would have scored several more touchdowns and gained more national recognition. Because Leonard is such a talented runner himself, Denbrock often asks him to run in goal-line situations instead. On Friday, Leonard ran for 30 yards and a one-yard touchdown with 4:50 remaining, setting a Notre Dame quarterback record with his 15th rushing touchdown of the season, one more than Brandon Wimbush set in 2017.

“I think people are starting to realize how special (love) is,” Leonard said.

Friday night also gave a national television audience the opportunity to see Notre Dame on a big stage. It was the first time a CFP game was played in an on-campus stadium, as the format changed that year: the field was expanded to 12 teams and spots five through eight hosted first-round games. Since losing to Northern Illinois in early September, Notre Dame had won the last 10 games of the regular season by more than 30 points per game, albeit against a weak schedule, leading some to question how prepared the Fighting Irish were for the postseason . They responded with another decisive victory.

During the regular season, Indiana (11-2) ranked second in the nation with an average of 43.3 points per game and had scored at least 31 points in all but two games. The only exceptions came on Nov. 9, when the Hoosiers beat Michigan 20-15 at home, and two weeks later, when they lost 38-15 at Ohio State.

On Friday night, the Hoosiers trailed 27-3 before quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw a touchdown and a 2-point conversion with 1:27 left. After the Hoosiers recovered the onside kick, Rourke threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to make the score look respectable.

Indiana gained 278 yards, well below its average of 438.8 yards per game. Rourke struggled most of the night, including throwing an interception in the red zone in the first quarter. He finished 20 of 33 for 215 yards, but those numbers were skewed as he completed his final six passes for 48 yards and two touchdowns. Rourke, a transfer from Ohio, came into the game completing 70.4% of his passes for 2,827 yards, 27 touchdowns and four interceptions.

When asked about Indiana moving the ball on its last two possessions, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden didn’t seem too concerned.

“We were in control of the game the whole game, so I’m not worried about the end of the game,” Golden said. “There are things we can learn from this. Obviously we need to finish better and I need to make some decisions there, but at that point I didn’t think it would be beneficial for us to continue to apply a lot of pressure in that situation, to be completely honest. In the end I could have given the boys a better game and helped them.”

Offensively, Notre Dame had a balanced attack, attempting 32 passes and running 35 times. The Fighting Irish gained 193 yards on the ground against an Indiana defense that was first in the country and allowed just 70.8 rushing yards per game. And kicker Mitch Jeter, who missed half of his 12 field goal attempts this season while battling injuries, made two of his three kicks on Friday, including a 49-yarder with seven seconds left in the first half gave Notre Dame a 17-17 lead. 3 at halftime.

Notre Dame’s next game is Jan. 1 against Georgia, which has arguably been the best program in the country in recent years. The Bulldogs won national titles in the 2021 and 2022 seasons and lost just one game last season. They’ve lost to Alabama and Ole Miss this season, but they’re on a four-game winning streak, including a 22-19 win two weeks ago over Texas in the SEC championship game.

Multiple reports indicate Georgia quarterback Carson Beck may miss the game against Notre Dame. Still, the Fighting Irish know they are up against tough opponents and know it will take a full team effort to advance.

“They did a lot of good things in all three phases tonight,” Freeman said, referring to the offense, defense and special teams. “No phase has been perfect, and that is exactly what we strive for: perfection. No phase was perfect, but what happens is if one phase doesn’t do its job, it gets picked up in another phase. We’re going to need that as we move forward in these playoffs.”