NEW ORLEANS — Notre Dame‘s 23-10 victory in opposition to Georgia within the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal on the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Thursday may need been a 60-minute informercial on how one can successfully use the switch portal.
Nearly a half-dozen transfers who joined the No. 7 Fighting Irish earlier than the 2024 season helped them seize one in all their greatest victories in a long time in opposition to the No. 2 Bulldogs. It was Notre Dame’s thirteenth win of the season, probably the most in program historical past, and it snapped an eight-game shedding streak in BCS/New Year’s Six bowl video games.
The Irish could not have knocked off the Bulldogs with out transfers equivalent to quarterback Riley Leonard, defensive finish RJ Oben, kick returner Jayden Harrison, receiver Beaux Collins and kicker Mitch Jeter, who made huge play after huge play at Caesar’s Superdome.
Notre Dame superior to play No. 6 Penn State within the College Football Playoff Semifinal on the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 9.
“I see the work they put in, and I’ve seen their course of they’ve gone by way of, and I’m simply so happy with them to see them come up huge,” Irish linebacker Jack Kiser mentioned. “There’s a ton of firsts this 12 months. It’s been an superior trip. But it simply reveals that we have earned yet one more and we’re excited for that assured alternative to come back, and we’re not going to take something with no consideration. We’re going to grab the chance.”
Leonard, who performed three seasons at Duke earlier than transferring for his senior season, basically carried the Fighting Irish offense on his again. He threw for 90 yards with one landing on 15-for-24 passing and ran 14 occasions for 80 yards.
“They’re a really bodily group,” Leonard mentioned. “They introduced numerous stress at the moment, however I feel we dealt with it fairly properly and stayed behind the chains early within the recreation, after which type of figured it out just a little bit. I used to be struggling within the passing recreation, however, shoot, that opens up the run recreation. And we have been capable of make the most of our talents and execute when it mattered.”
Leonard’s speeding whole was the fourth highest by a quarterback in a CFP recreation, in keeping with ESPN Research, and his 831 speeding yards this season are the second most in a season by a Notre Dame quarterback (Tony Rice had 884 in 1989).
Several of Leonard’s greatest runs in opposition to Georgia got here on third down, and he lowered his shoulder to transform a number of of them.
Oben, Leonard’s former Duke teammate, turned within the greatest defensive play of the sport. With the Fighting Irish main 6-3 late within the first half, Oben sacked Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton from his blind facet and prompted him to fumble.
Irish defensive deal with Junior Tuihalamaka recovered the ball on the Georgia 13 with 33 seconds left within the half. On the following play, Leonard threw a 13-yard landing to Collins, a switch receiver from Clemson.
Oben, a senior from Montclair, New Jersey, did not have a sack in his first season at Notre Dame earlier than Thursday. He had piled up 14 within the earlier three seasons at Duke.
“It’s been wonderful,” Oben mentioned. “Things have not all the time gone the way in which I needed them to, however that is the rationale I got here right here, and I’m so blissful to undergo this expertise with my group. I do know Riley can take this group so far as it may possibly go, and I’m so glad we have been capable of maintain enjoying collectively.”
Oben moved into the beginning lineup in opposition to Georgia after senior Rylie Mills suffered a season-ending knee harm in a 27-17 win over Indiana in a CFP first-round recreation Dec. 20.
“These guys do not all the time management the quantity of performs they get,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman mentioned. “Those are decided by your teaching employees when it comes to what they want out of your function for this recreation. RJ is a man that it doesn’t matter what the function is that is decided for him, he places all the pieces into it.
“And when you’ve got that mindset and you’ve got that work ethic, good issues like what occurred at the moment occur to you. And if you happen to’re sitting right here and complaining about why you are not enjoying greater than the following man, then what? You’re not placing all the pieces into making probably the most out of your alternative.”
Harrison, a Marshall switch, helped the Irish put the Bulldogs in a good deeper gap when he returned the second-half kickoff 98 yards for a landing.
It was the longest kickoff return within the postseason in Notre Dame historical past and the second longest in Sugar Bowl historical past. Florida’s Andre Debose had a 100-yard return in a 33-23 victory in opposition to Louisville in 2013.
“The entire journey has been a blessing, and issues occur for a purpose,” mentioned Harrison, who was second within the FBS with a 30.7-yard common on kickoff returns at Marshall final season. “We’re all on this collectively. Georgia was a terrific group, however my guys executed play after play after play.”
Jeter transformed all three of his area aim makes an attempt, every one from longer than 40 yards. The switch from South Carolina had been 5-for-9 on such makes an attempt earlier than Thursday.
ESPN’s David Hale contributed to this report.
