Notre Dame stifles Georgia: Stout defense, mid-game surge vault Irish to College Football Playoff semifinals

7-seed Notre Dame shocked 2-seed Georgia with a 23-10 victory in the Sugar Bowl to send the Fighting Irish to the national semifinals at the Orange Bowl against Penn State. The Fighting Irish used a furious rally of 17 points in 54 seconds around the halftime break to take control of the game and never looked back. 

The Irish and Bulldogs were held scoreless in the first quarter, marking the first CFP game without first-quarter points since 2018. After Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter nailed a field goal to push the score to 6-3 Irish with 39 seconds remaining in the first half, the fireworks started. RJ Oben strip-sacked Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton, setting up a 13-yard touchdown pass by Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard to Beaux Collins the next play. 

Then on the opening kickoff of the third quarter, Jayden Harrison took the kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to push the lead to 20-3. Notre Dame only put together ield goal drives outside the stretch, but the defense held long enough to escape the Superdome with a historic victory. 

In relief of injured Carson Beck, Stockton was strong. The sophomore from Rabun County, Georgia, threw for 234 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. However, the Bulldogs’ offensive line struggled mightily, giving up nine tackles for loss and four sacks as the Fighting Irish defense feasted. Notre Dame mustered only 213 yards of offense, but it didn’t matter. Leonard rushed for 80 yards to lead the Irish. 

CBS Sports was here with updates, highlights and analysis from the Sugar Bowl. Read on below for takeaways from Notre Dame’s win over Georgia.