Skip To Main Content
Skip to Navigation

College Football Playoff

Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Recap

Thursday, January 2, 2025 | 3 p.m CT No. 7 Seed Notre Dame 23, No. 2 Seed Georgia 10 Caesars Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana
TV: ESPN
SCORE BY QUARTERS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th FINAL
UND #7 Notre Dame (13-1) 0 13 7 33 23
UGA #2 Georgia (11-3) 0 3 7 0 10



Attendance:
57,267
Kickoff Time:
3:11 p.m CT
End of Game:
6:37 p.m CT
Game Duration:
3:26



NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana - Riley Leonard passed for a touchdown, Jayden Harrison returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score, and Notre Dame's defense made it hold up in a 23-10 victory over No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday that sends the third-ranked Fighting Irish into the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

In a game that was delayed by a day because of a deadly terror attack in the host city, Notre Dame (13-1, CFP No. 5) made enough big plays and got some help from a clever move by coach Marcus Freeman.

Georgia (11-2, CFP No. 2) was in position to close within one score when Notre Dame stopped it on fourth-and-5 from the Irish 9-yard line with 9:29 to go.

Minutes later, Notre Dame had a fourth-and-short deep in his own territory when Freeman sent the punt team out before running all 11 players off the field and sending the offense out. Georgia raced to match up and then jumped offside as the play clock ticked down, giving the Irish a clock-sapping first down with 7:17 to go.

By the time the Bulldogs got the ball back, just 1:49 remained, and Notre Dame was well on its way to its 12th straight victory and a date with No. 5 Penn State (13-2, CFP No. 6 seed) in a semifinal at the Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 9.

Georgia entered the game without starting quarterback Carson Beck, who injured his elbow in the Southeastern Conference championship game. He was replaced by Gunner Stockton, who was 20 of 32 for 234 yards and one touchdown.

The Bulldogs outgained Notre Dame 296 yards to 244, but Georgia was stopped on all three of its fourth-down attempts.

Leonard finished with 90 yards passing and a team-high 80 yards rushing.

The game had been set for Wednesday night as part of a New Year's Day playoff tripleheader, but it was postponed after an Army veteran inspired by the Islamic State group drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning, killing 14 revelers. Security was increased at the Superdome — which will also host the Super Bowl next month — and arriving fans said they felt safe.

With some fans unable to alter their travel plans, attendance in the 70,000-seat stadium was announced at 68,400. There were some patches of empty seats in the upper levels, but passionate supporters made no shortage of noise trying to will their teams into the next round of college football's first 12-team playoff.

The game was tied at 3-all before Notre Dame scored 17 points in a span of 54 seconds.

The unusual sequence began with Mitch Jeter’s 48-yard field goal with 39 seconds left in first half.

Soon after, Georgia paid for an aggressive decision to attempt a drop-back pass from its own 25. RJ Oben’s blind-side sack caused Stockton to fumble at the 13, where Irish defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka recovered. Leonard found Beaux Collins over the middle for a touchdown on the next play for a 13-3 lead that stood at halftime.

By the time 15 seconds had elapsed in the third quarter, Notre Dame led 20-3.

Harrison took Georgia's second-half kickoff all the way to the end zone, slipping a tackle near the middle of the field, cutting toward the right sideline and outrunning everyone.

Georgia closed the gap to 20-10 when Stockton hit reserve running back Cash Jones for a 32-yard score before Jeter’s third field goal of the game gave the Irish their winning margin.



SCORING SUMMARY

QTR TIME SCORE
(V-H)
TEAM SCORING PLAY DRIVE
2nd 12:14 0-3 Georgia Peyton Woodring 41 yd FG 5-55
(2:00)
2nd 08:20 3-3 Notre Dame Mitch Jeter 44 yd FG 8-49
(3:54)
2nd 00:39 6-3 Notre Dame Mitch Jeter 48 yd FG 10-32
(2:28)
2nd 00:27 13-3 Notre Dame Beaux Collins 13 yd TD pass from Riley Leonard (PAT kick by Mitch Jeter good) 1-13
(0:06)
3rd 14:45 20-3 Notre Dame Jayden Harrison 98 yd TD kickoff return (PAT kick by Mitch Jeter good)  
3rd 09:36 20-10 Georgia Cash Jones 32 yd TD pass from Gunner Stockton (PAT kick by Peyton Woodring good) 5-63
(2:12)
4th 13:47 23-10 Notre Dame Mitch Jeter 47 yd FG 8-29
(4:18)



NOTRE DAME STARTERS

POS. NO. OFFENSE
WR 1 Jaden Greathouse
RB 4 Jeremiyah Love
WR 5 Beaux Collins
WR 10 Kris Mitchell
QB 13 Riley Leonard
OL 50 Rocco Spindler
OL 54 Anthonie Knapp
OL 59 Aamil Wagner
OL 74 Billy Schrauth
OL 78 Pat Coogan
TE 88 Mitchell Evans
POS. NO. DEFENSE
S 0 Xavier Watts
LB 3 Jaylen Sneed
S 8 Adon Shuler
DL 9 RJ Oben
CB 15 Leonard Moore
LB 24 Jack Kiser
CB 29 Christian Gray
LB 34 Drayk Bowen
LB 40 Joshua Burnham
DL 56 Howard Cross III
DL 97 Gabriel Rubio

NOTRE DAME RESERVES

0 - Deion Colzie, 1 - Jordan Clark, 2 - Jayden Harrison, 2 - Rod Heard II, 4 - Jaiden Ausberry, 6 - Jordan Faison, 9 - Eli Raridon, 10 - Loghan Thomas, 13 - Ben Minich, 16 - James Rendell, 20 - Aneyas Williams, 22 - Devyn Ford, 23 - Kennedy Urlacher, 24 - Jadarian Price, 25 - Preston Zinter, 27 - Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, 28 - Luke Talich, 30 - Bryce Young, 35 - Teddy Rezac, 37 - Max Hurleman, 38 - Davis Sherwood, 41 - Donovan Hinish, 44 - Kahanu Kia, 44 - Junior Tuihalamaka, 45 - Kobi Onyiuke, 55 - Armel Mukam, 55 - Chris Terek, 56 - Charles Jagusah, 76 - Guerby Lambert, 79 - Tosh Baker, 83 - Jayden Thomas, 84 - Kevin Bauman, 87 - Cooper Flanagan, 89 - Charlie Selna, 98 - Mitch Jeter.

GEORGIA STARTERS

POS. NO. OFFENSE
RB 1 Trevor Etienne
TE 4 Oscar Delp
TE 7 Lawson Luckie
WR 11 Arian Smith
QB 14 Gunner Stockton
OL 53 Dylan Fairchild
OL 55 Jared Wilson
OL 57 Monroe Freeling
OL 69 Tate Ratledge
OL 73 Xavier Truss
WR 86 Dillon Bell
POS. NO. DEFENSE
LB 2 Smael Mondon Jr.
LB 3 CJ Allen
DB 6 Daylen Everette
DB 7 Daniel Harris
DB 8 Joenel Aguero
DL 13 Mykel Williams
DB 17 Dan Jackson
DB 24 Malaki Starks
LB 32 Chaz Chambliss
DL 78 Nazir Stackhouse
DL 97 Warren Brinson

GEORGIA RESERVES

2 - Nitro Tuggle, 3 - Nate Frazier, 4 - KJ Bolden, 5 - Raylen Wilson, 5 - Anthony Evans III, 6 - Dominic Lovett, 10 - Damon Wilson II, 11 - Jalon Walker, 15 - Demello Jones, 16 - London Humphreys, 18 - Chris Cole, 19 - Justin Williams, 20 - JaCorey Thomas, 29 - Gabe Harris Jr., 31 - Kyron Jones, 32 - Cash Jones, 33 - Quintavius Johnson, 44 - Jordan Hall, 52 - Christen Miller, 56 - Micah Morris, 60 - Henry Peagler, 64 - Jahzare Jackson, 71 - Earnest Greene III, 74 - Drew Bobo, 83 - Cole Speer, 84 - Ben Yurosek, 90 - Drew Miller, 91 - Peyton Woodring, 93 - Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, 94 - Xzavier McLeod.


 
 
Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl
 

OFFENSIVE
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Riley Leonard
Riley Leonard
Sr., QB, Notre Dame

DEFENSIVE
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Xavier Watts
Xavier Watts
Sr., S, Notre Dame


TEAM STATISTICS UND UGA
First downs 14 17
Rushing 8 5
Passing 5 9
Penalty 1 3
Rushes-Yards 37-154 29-62
Passing Yards 90 234
Passes Comp-Att-Int 15-24-0 20-32-0
Total Offense
(Plays-Yards)
61-244 61-296
Punt Returns-Yards 2-11 1-6
Kickoff Returns-Yards 1-98 1-19
Punts (Number-Avg) 5-43.4 4-39.8
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-2
Sacks By
(Number-Yards)
4-39 1-11
Penalties-Yards 10-78 5-41
3rd Down Conversions 4-of-14 2-of-12
4th Down Conversions 0-of-1 0-of-3
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Notre Dame - Riley Leonard 14-80; Jadarian Price 10-37; Jeremiyah Love 6-19; Jordan Faison 2-9; Jayden Thomas 1-7; Aneyas Williams 2-4.

Georgia - Trevor Etienne 11-38; Nate Frazier 4-37; Arian Smith 1-13; D.Bell 1-1; Cash Jones 2- -4; Gunner Stockton 10- -23.
Passing: Notre Dame - Riley Leonard, 15-24-0, 90, 1 TD.

Georgia - Gunner Stockton, 20-32-0, 234, 1 TD.
Receiving: Notre Dame - Jordan Faison 4-46; Mitchell Evans 3-22; Jaden Greathouse 2-6; Aneyas Williams 2-5; Beaux Collins 1-13, 1 TD; Jayden Harrison 1-4; Jeremiyah Love 1-2; Riley Leonard 1- -8.

Georgia - Dillon Bell 6-33; Trevor Etienne 4-26; Dominic Lovett 3-36; Cash Jones 2-37, 1 TD; Oscar Delp 2-18; Nate Frazier 2-17; Arian Smith 1-67.
Punting: Notre Dame - James Rendell, 5-217, 43.4.

Georgia - Drew Miller, 4-159, 39.8.
Returns: Notre Dame - Punt: Max Hurleman 2-11; Kickoff: Jayden Harrison 1-98; Intercept: None.

Georgia - Punt: Anthony Evans III, 1-6; Kickoff: Anthony Evans III, 1-19; Intercept: None.
Field Goals: Notre Dame - Mitch Jeter, 3-3 (44 Good, 48 Good, 47 Good).

Georgia - Peyton Woodring, 1-1 (41 Good).
Tackles:
(Solo-Assist-Total, Sacks-Yds, TFL-Yds)
Notre Dame - Adon Shuler (5-3-8, 0, 0); Xavier Watts (6-1-7, 0, 1-5); Jack Kiser (6-0-6, 1-12, 1-12); Drayk Bowen (2-4-6, 0, 0.5-3); Leonard Moore (4-1-5, 0, 1-1); Junior Tuihalamaka (2-2-4 0.5-8, 1.5-9); Gabriel Rubio (2-2-4, 0, 0); Donovan Hinish (2-1-3, 1-7, 1-7); Jordan Clark (2-0-2, 0, 0); Rod Heard II (2-0-2, 0, 0); Jaylen Sneed (1-1-2, 0, 1-2); Christian Gray (1-1-2, 0, 0); Joshua Burnham (2-0-2, 0, 0); RJ Oben (1-0-1, 1-12, 1-12; Bryce Young (1-0-1, 0, 0); Max Hurleman (1-0-1, 0, 0); Kahanu Kia (0-1-1, 0, 0.5-3).

Georgia - Smael Mondon Jr. (4-5-9, 1-11, 1-11; KJ Bolden (0-5-5, 0, 0); Raylen Wilson (2-3-5, 0, 0); Daylen Everette (2-3-5, 0, 0); Christen Miller (2-3-5, 0, 0); CJ Allen (3-1-4, 0, 0); Dan Jackson (1-3-4, 0, 0); Malaki Starks (4-0-4, 0, 0); Jalon Walker (2-1-3, 0, 0); Chaz Chambliss (3-0-3, 0, 0); Damon Wilson II (2-0-2, 0, 0); Nazir Stackhouse (1-1-2, 0, 0); Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins (2-0-2, 0, 0); Warren Brinson (1-1-2, 0, 0); Daniel Harris (1-0-1, 0, 0); Joenel Aguero (1-0-1, 0, 0); Mykel Williams (0-1-1, 0, 0); Xzavier McLeod (0-1-1, 0, 0).