Notre Dame’s most dubious streak is officially over. The Irish beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night for their first NY6 bowl win since January 1994. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was a huge reason why the Irish reversed their NY6 luck as he outdueled Kirby Smart, all while navigating the difficult circumstances around the contest. When they face Penn State in the Orange Bowl, Notre Dame will now look to win its second NY6 bowl in a week. Before looking too far ahead, though, let’s overreact to this win.
Marcus Freeman outcoached Kirby Smart
Going into the game, I said that I wasn’t worried about Freeman having the team prepared because he has shown that he is a great big-game coach; he was again tonight. If you didn’t know which coach had won two national championships, you’d have thought it was Freeman, not Kirby Smart. Freeman made the right decision in almost every critical moment. His call to run the old switcheroo on the punt in the 4th quarter turned out to be a masterful decision. Smart complained that it shouldn’t have been allowed, but how the Irish ran it is what made the play legal.
Smart, on the other hand, made some very questionable decisions. His call to let Gunner Stockton throw it with less than 40 seconds left turned out to be disastrous when the Irish forced a fumble and added a late touchdown. Freeman again showed why Notre Dame locked him into a long-term extension a few weeks back.
This was a top 5 Notre Dame win in my lifetime
As a Notre Dame fan a little over 40 years old, the bowl drought is a large portion of my Notre Dame fan life. I was 11 when Notre Dame beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl, and I don’t remember the ’89 Fiesta Bowl or the ’88 season. I remember a lot of heartache watching games like tonight, though. I was at the Orange Bowl in 2012 and the Cotton Bowl in 2018. I was at last year’s Ohio State game, the Clemson game in 2015, and the Oklahoma game in 2013. I’ve seen Notre Dame lose a lot of big games. Notre Dame did the opposite tonight. The Irish didn’t get pushed around by the big, bad SEC champion or look like they didn’t belong. The Irish controlled the game the entire second half, and if anything, they could have won even more if they had eliminated some ill-timed mistakes.
Right now, I’d put this around #4 win in my life only behind the ’88 Miami game, the ’89 Fiesta Bowl, and the ’93 Florida State game. That’s it. That’s my list right now. If Notre Dame ends up winning the whole damn thing, it might even move up higher.
Mitch Jeter was huge
The kicking game has been a significant concern for Notre Dame since Jeter injured his groin in late October, but Jeter might have put those concerns to bed. Not only did he resume kickoff duties for the first time since the injury, but he was 3 for 3 with makes from 44, 48, and 47 yards out. He was only 5 of 8 from 40-49 yards out all year long before a perfect 3 for 3. All of his kicks came with pressure, too. Jeter’s first field goal tied the game at 3. His second gave Notre Dame its first lead of the game at 6-3. His third extended Notre Dame’s lead to 23-10 when a miss would have set up Georgia with excellent field position down just 10.
All but one of Jeter’s kickoffs went for touchbacks. If Notre Dame gets this Mitch Jeter in the Orange Bowl, Freeman should be very confident about sending him out to kick, and it could allow Mike Denbrock to be more creative once in field goal range.
Another Al Golden masterclass
Backup quarterbacks have not fared well against Al Golden’s defenses at Notre Dame, and Georgia was no different tonight. Gunner Stockton played better than most Notre Dame fans expected, but Golden found ways to generate pressure on him despite all the injuries the Irish have upfront. Georgia probably should have attempted some more deep shots because there were a few big plays to be made for the Bulldogs, but they didn’t. Georgia clearly went after Christian Gray and had success early, but, like the USC game, Gray settled in and finished strong.
Notre Dame allowed under 14 points a game this year and held Georgia below that with a mere 10 points. They ran for just 62 yards on 29 attempts. Golden schemed a way to shut down the run and force Stockton to beat them. The first-time starter was unable to do it.
Special teams continue to make an impact
The switcheroo on the punt in the 4th quarter was huge, but the kick return for a touchdown by Jayden Harrison was even bigger because it opened up a three-possession lead for Notre Dame. Harrison showed good patience on the return before making a man miss and turning on the jets. A defensive or special teams touchdown is a massive momentum swing in a game like this. Georgia was in full-on desperation mode after that kick, which impacted their playcalling and some of Smart’s decision-making down the stretch because of the Irish lead.
The special teams unit impacted the game negatively at the start, with back-to-back running into punter penalties from Bryce Young, but in the end, special teams were again positive.
I didn’t love Mike Denbrocks’ gameplan
Notre Dame won, so the game plan from Mike Denbrock technically worked. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of all he did in the second half. While the Harrison touchdown impacted Georgia’s play calling, it also seemed to impact Notre Dame’s. Denbrock kept trying to run right into the teeth of the UGA defense, but it was just not there at all. It seemed like the Irish were having success attacking the edges, but Denbrock was reluctant to call many perimeter runs.
It seemed like Denbrock was trying not to run Leonard as much to start before relying on it almost too much at times in the second half. For instance, Notre Dame’s lone failed fourth down attempt came on a QB power run that almost everyone in the stadium knew was coming. Georgia’s defense is elite, and Notre Dame’s offense has limitations, so he was in a tough spot, but I was still expecting more from the offense.
The Jordan Faison illegal shift was a bad call
While Kirby Smart was whining about Notre Dame’s 11-man personnel swap, he conveniently left out that the Bulldogs were the recipients of a rather questionable illegal shift penalty on a successful fourth-down conversion called on receiver Jordan Faison. The ESPN rules expert stated it was a bad call before arguing with commentator Greg McElroy, who wouldn’t listen that it was a bad call. Georgia also got a very borderline pass interference call on a 4th and 13 late in the game. Still, the illegal shift was a bad call that took off a successful 4th down conversion off the board.
Notre Dame still had way too many mistakes in critical moments
While the referees were terrible all night, Notre Dame made too many mistakes in critical moments that Freeman and his staff will likely harp on over the next week. Jack Kiser got flagged for a delay of game on a 4th and 7, which was going to be a punt before Georgia went for it. The defense held, but that flag took the punter off the field and nearly extended a UGA drive. The first drive of the game the Irish gave up a 3rd and long on a pass interference flag. Notre Dame was uncharacteristically sloppy and still beat the #2 team in the country, but that’s a recipe they will want to repeat a week from now in the Orange Bowl.
Denbrock needs to roll Leonard out alot more with the option to run or pass. This is much more effective than straight QB runs and puts alot more pressure on defenses.
As far as I am concerned any CFP game, even the first round one, is equivalent as a major post season bowl game were (are) so, I say ND has won 2 major post season games, not just last night’s win. GO IRISH ☘️
I totally agree on the absurd play calling by Denbrock. The guy is slower than molasses in the winter to adjust to defenses. It was maddening! Swing passes to Love who never really got going would have really opened up the game. GA was loading the box early and we had success when backs bounced to the outside but boy come hell or high water Denbrock was determined to run up the middle. Ugly win but damn thankful for it. Never count the Irish out on their ability to shoot themselves in the foot in the big games. Refs sucked but ND made many costly mistakes. Hope they eliminate them against PSU. Go Irish!!
Agree with everything ghost, especially quick pitches outside give the D a different look. But GREAT WIN GO IRISH