Notre Dame stuns Georgia in an emotional Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl was due to take place on New Year's Day
By Jacob Lev and Jamie Barton, CNN
(CNN) — Notre Dame is headed to the College Football Playoff semifinals after stunning second-seed Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, being played in New Orleans just a day after an attack on New Year’s revelers left 14 people dead.
The dominating performance by the Fighting Irish, a 23-10 victory, means all four teams that had a bye in the first round of the College Football Playoff have now been eliminated.
The game started slowly for both teams, with defenses dominating and Georgia’s punter getting hit on two consecutive punts in the first quarter by the same Irish defender. The critical stretch came on either side of halftime, with Notre Dame seizing the game by the collar.
With the game tied 3-3, the Irish kicked a field goal with 39 seconds left in the half to take a slight lead. On the first play of the ensuing possession, Fighting Irish defensive lineman RJ Oben strip-sacked Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton and Notre Dame recovered the fumble to set up good field position their offense right before halftime.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard delivered a quick strike wide receiver Beaux Collins for a 13-yard touchdown, taking a 13-3 lead to the locker room.
The Fighting Irish didn’t stop there – wide receiver Jayden Harrison returned the opening kickoff for 98 yards to put the Irish in dominant position, 20-3. According to the ESPN broadcast, the 17-point Notre Dame scoring blitz took only 54 seconds of actual game time.
Filling in for an injured Carson Beck, Stockton finished with 234 yards and a touchdown.
Despite the lack of points and spotty play from Georgia, Stockton looked the part in his first career start on one of the biggest stages. The redshirt sophomore found running back Cash Jones for a 32-yard score, making it 20-10 but it wasn’t enough for the Bulldogs. The Irish added a field goal in the fourth quarter to give the game its final score, using intense defense and clutch plays on offense to cement away the game in the final quarter.
Leonard, a transfer from Duke, spearheaded the consistent Fighting Irish offense, finishing with 90 yards passing and a touchdown while adding 80 yards on the ground.
After being on the receiving end of his players’ traditional, post-victory Gatorade dunk, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said he was proud of the effort from his team in all three phases of the game – offense, defense, and special teams – while honoring the school itself.
“We put time and effort into finding a way to get another possession and to really utilize that third phase (special teams),” he told ESPN. “I’m proud of this coaching staff. I’m proud of this team. I love this university. It’s an honor to be a part of this place.”
The win secured Notre Dame’s 13th victory, the most in the school’s storied history.
A game played following tragedy
The mood, however, was somber in New Orleans, with the city in mourning after 14 people were killed and dozens injured when a driver rammed a pickup truck into a crowd during New Year’s celebrations early Wednesday morning on Bourbon Street, less than a mile from the Caesars Superdome, where the game took place. The attacker is also dead.
A moment of silence honoring the victims of the New Orleans attack was held ahead of the national anthem where fans in attendance were heard chanting, “USA! USA! USA!”
The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday night but was postponed to Thursday afternoon after both teams, local authorities, ESPN and others agreed to an earlier kickoff.
After the game, Freeman applauded his players for how they handled their emotions in the last 24 hours.
“We spent some time together,” Freeman said. “And I think that’s what you do in tough moments. You want to spend time with family, and that’s what we are. But they found a way to get prepared for this opportunity and refocus.
“And again, it’s unprecedented. Life – you know, I told them this morning, there’s things in life that are unpredictable. And the ability to handle those unpredictable things determine the success. And they handled this incident, this change, but they handle everything that’s thrown at them in an unbelievable way.”
Leonard also thanked the New Orleans Police Department for “responding the way they did and creating a safe environment for us to play today so quickly after the events.”
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was asked after the game how the tragedy might have affected the game, which he downplayed.
“I’m not desensitizing what happened, okay? That was a very traumatic event,” Smart told reporters. “But this team was focused and ready to go play. So, I’m not going to sit here and talk about the tragedy affecting our team.
“Notre Dame played well. We didn’t play great. But when we turned the ball over twice and have a kickoff returned, that’s what I attribute the loss to. Not to the tragedy or what happened. And that’s not any disrespect to the community of New Orleans or the people with tragic losses.”
College Football Playoff semifinals set
The postseason round will give fans two heavyweight bouts between four blue bloods.
Sixth-seeded Penn State will face seventh-seeded Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl on January 9, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
On January 10, the Cotton Bowl will feature fifth-seeded Texas and eighth-seeded Ohio State at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The CFP will culminate on January 20 in Atlanta with the national championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
This story has been updated with additional information.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
