Notre Dame's historic victory over the Georgia Bulldogs punched the Irish's ticket to a matchup against Penn State in the Orange Bowl. Here are the key takeaways that powered Notre Dame's victory over the SEC Champions.
Photo via Notre Dame Athletics
As Notre Dame's Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia proved the Fighting Irish can outmuscle an SEC champion, Marcus Freeman now has the Irish primed for a playoff semifinal matchup against Penn State in the Orange Bowl. While the Irish didn't necessarily impress on the stat sheet, Notre Dame got contributions from many unlikely sources to power them past the Bulldogs. Let's break down the key takeaways from Notre Dame's first New Year's Six bowl win in 31 years.
Winning the Line of Scrimmage
Everyone predicted the Notre Dame defensive line would put constant pressure on Gunner Stockton and hold Georgia to 66 rushing yards, right?
The chatter all week regarding the Notre Dame defense was if the Rylie Mills injury would be the straw that broke the camel's back in terms of the injuries endured by this defense. However, as it's been the case the entire season, the "next-man in" mentality didn't fail the Fighting Irish's defensive line.
EDGE Junior Tuihalamaka played the most complete game of his career as the Granada Hills, Calif., native seemed to be in the Bulldogs' backfield the entire game. Whether it was recording sacks or tackles for loss, Tuihalamaka was constantly winning one-on-one battles against Georgia LT Monroe Freeling. Tuihalamaka was also there to recover RJ Oben's strip sack right before halftime, which was the ultimate game-changing play. Oben, who was the other transfer portal player the Irish acquired from the Duke Blue Devils, made the biggest play of the season at the perfect time for the Fighting Irish.
While Tuihalamaka, Oben, and freshman Bryce Young were wreaking havoc on Georgia's tackles, Howard Cross III, Donovan Hinish, and Gabriel Rubio were filling in perfectly for the injured Mills. It was a fitting way to end the game for the Fighting Irish to see Hinish, with the No. 99, in honor of Mills, written on his taped-up hand, sack Stockton and punch the Irish's ticket to the semifinals.
Transfers Getting it Done
The biggest stretch in this game was obviously the last minute of the first half and the opening 15-seconds of the second half.
To break down that timeline, South Carolina transfer Mitch Jeter made a 48-yard field goal to put the Irish out in-front 6-3. He then kicked a touchback, which led for Duke transfer RJ Oben to have a strip-sack that the Irish recovered on Georgia's 13-yard line.
Next, Duke transfer Riley Leonard connected with Clemson transfer Beaux Collins for a 13-yard touchdown, putting the Irish up 13-6 right before halftime.
As Notre Dame deferred the coin toss, they received the ball to start the second half, and Marshall transfer Jayden Harrison returned it 98 yards for a touchdown. Poetic.
While Marcus Freeman has stated that Notre Dame would never major in the transfer portal, he is certainly making the most of his minor degree. Northwestern transfer Rod Heard also had the pass deflection in the fourth quarter on 4th & 5 that seemed like a major gut punch to the Bulldogs' comeback effort.
In the end, all of Freeman and General Manager Chad Bowen's acquisitions in the transfer portal came up in a major fashion when it mattered the most.
The Notre Dame Coaching Staff
Entering the game, the direct battle of Marcus Freeman vs Kirby Smart probably favored the two-time national champion winning head coach; yet, in the end, the third-year head coach won the head-to-head matchup.
This was fully on display during the fire drill change, where the Irish appeared ready to punt, but replaced all 11 players on the field with the offensive unit, leaving Smart saying, "you can't do that." Well, as it turns out, you can. Since the initial Notre Dame long snapper never touched the ball, it was never a live play, in which instance the ball was dead, and the Irish could substitute all 11 players. While Notre Dame may have lucked out by the line judge missing Jadarian Price flinch on Leonard's clap, the Irish forced Georgia to jump offsides and gave Notre Dame the opportunity to ice the game, which they did.
Outside of the guts shown from Freeman, there is no better combination of coordinators in college football than Al Golden, Mike Denbrock, and Marty Biagi. From Golden's perspective, every week this Notre Dame defense rises to the occasion and finds a way to stonewall explosive offenses.
The Irish offense may not always look the flashiest, which may be irritating for Denbrock, but he calls a game in the way that the Notre Dame offense will not lose it. Most of the time it is an extremely conservative, run-centric effort, but it gives Notre Dame the opportunity to win games.
Then, Biagi's group finds a way to out-do themselves on a weekly basis. Whether it be a blocked punt, a fake punt, a fake field goal, or a touchdown return, the special teams unit is one that provides Notre Dame a true advantage in stealing a possession every game.
Onto the Next
While Notre Dame might not play the most appealing brand of football, they continually find a way to win games. Yes, they only threw for 90 yards. Yes, they were outgained by 56 yards. Who cares? The Irish found a way to beat Georgia in their own game. Notre Dame was the more physically dominant team than the SEC Champion. Think about that.
The depth of the Fighting Irish roster was always the thing holding Notre Dame from being elite. If the Irish had one injury to a starter, the backup couldn't fill the role in the same manner and the SEC talent gap would be on full display. Not anymore. If you were told that Jeremiyah Love would only run for 19 yards, would you be confident the Irish could win? Probably not. But whether it be Leonard, Price or Williams, Notre Dame had the depth to plug-and-place and find success. That is what is making this Fighting Irish team special, and why they are slowly inching their way to the top of the sport. I've said it before and I'll say it again: it is an exciting time to be a Notre Dame fan because in the first time in over 30 years, they have shown they can compete at the highest level.
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