Notre Dame Football extended its winning streak to twelve games in 2024 with a decisive victory over the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. This win has a lot of significance in the grand scheme of things, but this 12-team playoff format means we don’t have a chance to deal with all of that yet. The Irish have one, hopefully two games left in their CFP march, and that’s where all the focus is now.

So let’s summarize the data history of these 14^Th Data point and entry into Notre Dame’s historic 15^Th Game of the season.

Summary of points

The final score of the 2024 Sugar Bowl was 23-10 in favor of Notre Dame. I’ve watched a lot of Notre Dame football so far this season and expected a slow start. It didn’t help at all to prepare myself mentally, and the first quarter still stressed me out beyond belief. Neither team scored, so it wasn’t bad for all that mattered, but my stomach was in complete knots.

Notre Dame started cooking in the 2nd^nd quarter, and outscored Georgia 13-3 before halftime. The 3^approx Quarter was a tug of war and the teams were tied 7-7. I think most people’s nerves had calmed down by 4 o’clock^Th Quarter and the Irish scored another three points and held the Bulldogs scoreless to end the game.

Trip Summary – Notre Dame

One of the most defining characteristics of this 2024 Notre Dame squad is its ability to make the most of opportunities when we get them, even if it doesn’t always happen when we want or expect them to arise. It’s particularly annoying to put together previews, but great fun to review.

The Irish got their most effective scoring effort in the second quarter, starting with Mitch Jeter coming through at crucial moments. He hit a 44-yard field goal, capping an eight-play, 49-yard drive. The offense followed with a punt drive and then Jeter scored a 48-yard field goal after a 10-play, 32-yard drive.

The defense forced a crucial turnover and the Irish offense quickly took advantage of the excellent field position with a 13-yard touchdown drive in 1 play. And in a statistical review of the Indiana game, Notre Dame managed a 98-yard touchdown run/drive, this time via a kickoff return, to open the 2^nd Half.

From a statistical perspective, there was nothing notable that Notre Dame did with the game’s late drives, but there were many more detailed decisions made that were crucial to the ultimate outcome.

Ball movement

It wasn’t a great third down conversion day for either team. The Bulldogs had 12 chances and the Irish had 14. Notre Dame finished with the statistical edge by converting just 28.6% of its third down conversion attempts. But the timing of their success was crucial.

The first came on a 10-play, 32-yard field goal drive. The second was the eight-play, 25-yard drive that ended with a turnover on downs in the third quarter. The last two occurred on the final, substantive drive, which lasted 12 plays, 41 yards and took up 7:36 of the game clock.

Summary of the offensive

Georgia’s offense finished with a high-level offensive advantage in the Sugar Bowl. They accounted for 55% of the game’s total offense and Notre Dame recorded 240 yards of offense.

The Bulldogs did their best work through the air, racking up 234 passing yards, compared to Notre Dame’s 90 passing yards.

Notre Dame typically dominated on the ground, outrebounding Georgia by 150 rushing yards to 62 rushing yards.

Summary passed

Although Georgia had significantly more pass attempts than Notre Dame at 32-24, both teams finished with the same pass accuracy of 62.5%. The Bulldogs averaged 7.3 yards per catch while the Irish had 3.8 yards. But again, the details and the timing of Notre Dame’s success are the only things that mattered in this game.

Rush

Summary

Notre Dame finished the Sugar Bowl with 35 rushing attempts and Georgia recorded 29 attempts. The efficiency stats weren’t spectacular for either team, but the Irish had the clear advantage. They averaged 4.3 yards per carry while the Bulldogs finished the game with just 2.1 yards per rush attempt.

Details

Riley Leonard was Notre Dame’s star, finishing with 51% of the team’s total production. The quarterback recorded 14 attempts, which equated to 80 yards and 5.7 yards per carry. Running back Jadarian Price had 10 attempts for 37 yards and Jeremiyah Love finished Round 2 with 19 yards.

Reception

detail

Jordan Faison added another dominant performance to his postseason resume. The two-sport receiver accounted for 51% of the total yards through the air and had a final stat line of 4 catches for 46 yards. Beaux Collins had just one catch for 13 yards but was responsible for Notre Dame’s only offensive touchdown against Georgia. Tight end Mitchell Evans also made a significant contribution, recording three receptions for 22 yards.

Trip Summary – Georgia

This year’s defensive unit somehow just keeps getting better. The Bulldogs played this game without Carson Beck, but their offense was anything but hampered. And the Irish defense still put in one of its most dominant performances.

Georgia marched 71 yards down the field on a 13-play drive early in the game, and Notre Dame ended that momentum with a forced fumble. On their next attempt, Georgia required five plays for 55 yards to score a field goal. They couldn’t do much else until their 5-play, 63-yard touchdown drive in the 3rd^approx Quarter.

The Bulldogs were given three additional chances at a comeback and scored on 19 plays for a net gain of 71 yards. The first attempt was 8 yards, the second 66 yards and the last -3 yards. But most importantly, Notre Dame’s defense forced turnovers on downs in all three situations.

Security guards continue to be the backbone of Notre Dame’s defense. Adon Shuler totaled eight tackles (five solo) and Xavier Watts had seven total tackles (six solo).

It’s all a feeling at the moment. When we talk about consistency and the energy he brings to the unit on the field, Xavier Watts has to be college football’s most impactful defensive player of the 2024 season.

Senior Jack Kiser and sophomore Drayk Bowen were the standout linebackers. They recorded a total of six tackles apiece and all six of Kiser’s were solo. Leonard Moore led the cornerback group in stats with five total tackles (four solo).

Notre Dame maintained a lot of pressure up front and finished with nine total tackles for a loss. Defensive player Junior Tuihalamaka got two of them. He was also responsible for three of the team’s four sacks, along with fellow defensive linemen RJ Oben and Donovan Hinnish.

The Irish defense blocked five Georgia pass attempts and Leonard Moore was responsible for two of them.

Linebacker Jaiden Ausberry recovered Georgia’s first fumble. RJ Oben forced the second attack and fellow lineman Tuihalamaka equalized.

Final thoughts

At this point I have become completely superstitious and am hesitant to say too much about this victory as there is still a lot of high level football to be played. But a few words. I didn’t really get interested in Notre Dame football until high school and my choices are definitely limited, but this is the most excited I’ve ever been about an Irish team. And the program in general.

The defense played obsessively throughout the game, and the offense responded accordingly, gaining extra yards on every play. This team has shown the world that as long as they have a say, they cannot be held back in the war of attrition that this 12-team format is becoming. Next!

Cheers and Go Irish!!