By Cort Street
Sports Capital Journalism Program | @cort_street
NEW ORLEANS – Decades of postseason disappointment had become synonymous with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program. Nearly a decade of championship culture was the identity of the Georgia Bulldogs. But under the lights of the Caesars Superdome in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the 91st Allstate Sugar Bowl, the Irish found a way to turn the modern era of college football on its head.
Wide receiver Jayden Harrison set a Sugar Bowl and playoff record with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the opening play of the second half, the Irish defense came through with seven tackles for loss, three sacks, and two turnovers, and Notre Dame beat Georgia 23-10 to reach to its third semifinal in the last seven seasons.
The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish (13-1), who set a school record for victories in a season, will meet Penn State in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Thursday night.
“I think it just goes to show this program is elevating, it’s ascending,” linebacker Jack Kiser said of the program-defining win. “Just a lot to look forward to in the future, and the leaders that we have, Coach Freeman and the rest of the coaches. This team is special and we have one guaranteed more game, and we’re excited for it.”
The game – which had originally been scheduled to take place on New Year’s Day but had been moved to Thursday afternoon – was largely overshadowed by the tragic events that had taken place just days earlier, when 14 people were killed and dozens more were injured in a disturbing act of terrorism in the French Quarter of New Orleans. A poignant moment of silence to honor those who lost their lives in the devastating attack took place before the Sugar Bowl got underway and put the game into perspective as an insignificant part of a much more pertinent issue.
“It’s unprecedented,” said Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman after the game. “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.”
The Irish defense set the tone from the start, allowing just 2-of-12 third down conversions and 0-of-3 fourth down conversions to the Bulldogs’ talented offensive attack. The spirited crowd of 57,267 – a significant margin less than the 68,400 that had purchased tickets – slightly favored the Bulldogs, but the presence of the Irish fans who had made the trek from all over the country was felt.
“The passion that Notre Dame fans have for this place and this football program is tremendous, and that’s why a lot of us are here,” Freeman said. “We want to be at a place that has high expectations, that their fans are passionate about. And we want it as bad as our fans want it.”
Notre Dame’s defensive effort kicked off with a crucial forced fumble by safety Adon Shuler on veteran running back Trevor Etienne late in the first quarter, halting the early momentum that had been built by the Georgia offense. It was quarterback Gunner Stockton’s fumble late in the first half that proved much more costly for the Bulldogs, however. The sophomore quarterback, in his first start after a season-ending injury to Carson Beck, failed to feel the pressure from behind when standing in the pocket and suffered a strip sack forced by defensive lineman RJ Oben that set up the Fighting Irish on the Georgia 13-yard line. Quarterback Riley Leonard – who rushed for 80 yards on the day – found wide receiver Beaux Collins for Notre Dame’s only offensive touchdown of the day one play later as part of a run of 17 points in 54 seconds, and Notre Dame never allowed the Bulldogs within one score thereafter.
“It was a heavyweight fight,” Freeman said. “The entire game was. The ability to close the half in that way and to start the half – the second half with a kickoff return touchdown was huge for the outcome of the game.”
For the second-seeded Bulldogs (11-3), the game was a story of failing to overcome the great challenges they were faced with in the 2025 postseason. “The toughest year of…my tenure,” Smart said. “Easily the toughest year.” Georgia’s senior class completed its final season with a record of 53-5, two Southeastern Conference championships and two national championships.
Georgia’s slow start, in which they only scored three points in the first half, could be attributed to Stockton’s inexperience at the helm of the offense. But the redshirt sophomore quarterback – who finished 20-for-32 passing with 234 yards and a touchdown – was only a small part of Georgia’s struggles as a team. After the Bulldogs’ loss, teams that had received a bye in the inaugural 12-team playoff were 0-4, highlighting the challenges of playing at a championship caliber after significant break between their previous competition and now.
For a team that had defined what it meant to have a championship culture for so long, though, the Bulldogs’ seeming ineptitude for a majority of the game was shocking. Georgia’s total of 10 points on offense equaled the fewest in Smart’s nine seasons as coach and the fewest since a 27-3 loss to Florida on October 31, 2015. The total is the fewest Georgia has scored in a bowl game since a 10-6 loss to UCF in the 2010 Liberty Bowl. The loss snapped a streak of seven postseason wins that dated back to 2019, and it will mark the first time that the Bulldogs have failed to reach 12 wins in a full season since 2018 (2020 COVID-shortened season excluded).
For many of the Georgia players that have been in the program for years, championship-level expectations on a yearly basis are all they have ever known.
“Yeah, it’s every year,” defensive back Dan Jackson said. “I mean, that’s the University of Georgia. That’s all I’ve known, and that’s all that will be known from this university long after I’m gone, because that’s the standard that was built before me, and you know that I’ve tried my best to uphold it. When you put on this ‘G’, that’s what it means.”
Smart emphasized the players in his program that had given so much over the years but lauded the aggressive, physical gameplan of the Fighting Irish.
“A lot of guys are hurt in that locker room because we didn’t get the outcome that we wanted, but that’s part of life,” Smart said. “I give Notre Dame credit for how they played and give our seniors and our leaders credit for what they’ve done for this program.”
Linebacker Jalon Walker was disappointed with how the Bulldogs executed but gave credit to the tenacious effort of Notre Dame throughout.
“It hurts. We didn’t end [the season] off in the right way this year,” Walker said. “I just know that we played and gave it all. Offense and defense gave it our all. I wouldn’t trade this moment for anything at all. It was just a great, hard-fought battle. All respect to Notre Dame. Physical offense. Hard-fought offense. Well-coached. And they just did what they need to do.”
The Irish victory will set up a matchup of Notre Dame – coached by Freeman – and Penn State – coached by James Franklin – meaning that there will be a black head coach in the College Football Playoff National Championship for the first time in history. Freeman acknowledged the importance of the feat, but quickly pivoted to the success of the entire organization.
“You’re very grateful,” Freeman said. “It’s a reminder that you are a representation for many others and many of our players that look the same way I do. Your color shouldn’t matter. The evidence of your work should. But it takes everybody. And that’s what I continue to remind myself. When people will try to point the finger at you, it’s a great reminder that you’re not in this position without everybody, without all these guys.”
The shocking disappointment of the early-season loss to Northern Illinois is part of a distant past. And in the end, Notre Dame’s historic season will continue on, not because of championships from decades ago but because of the adversity the Irish had found the will to overcome.
