The Sugar Bowl is just days away. Georgia, in its first playoff game of the 12-team College Football Playoff era, will face the surging Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who easily disposed of overmatched Indiana in the first round.
For the Georgia fans whose attention has centered almost entirely on the SEC this season, here are some key players to know for Notre Dame ahead of the New Year’s Day matchup.
Quarterback Riley Leonard
Leonard first popped on the national radar last season when he helped Duke to an early season upset over Clemson. He was one of the prizes in the portal last winter and wound up in South Bend, where he’s overseen one of the more dominant Notre Dame teams in recent years. Since a humiliating home loss to Northern Illinois in September, the Irish have won 11 straight with an average margin of victory over 30 points.
The numbers won’t jump off the page - Leonard has completed nearly 67% of his throws with 17 touchdowns against six interceptions – but he’s been effective. His legs are a vital part of the Irish’s offensive success. He’s run for at least 30 yards in all but one of Notre Dame’s games and he’s its second-leading rusher. His ability to extend plays has been crucial. His experience and comfort level shined in the first round, as Leonard rebounded from an opening-drive interception to play a clean game the rest of the way.
How Georgia’s defense handles Leonard’s running is perhaps the No. 1 most important element of this matchup. Quarterbacks Jalen Milroe, Jaxson Dart and Haynes King have hurt the Bulldogs with their running ability. The Irish will surely try to attack Georgia similarly. Can Leonard make enough throws against Georgia, though? He’s exceeded 203 yards passing only three times in 13 games largely because Notre Dame hasn’t required it. If Georgia bottles up their rushing attack, as it did to Texas, Leonard will need to accept more play-making responsibility.
“I think this is special for us,” Leonard said after the Irish defeated Indiana. “A lot of us, me being a guy who - my freshman year I went 3-9 (at Duke) and didn’t have – I was just begging to make a bowl game. To be playing in a Sugar Bowl right now, I’ve got to go full circle now, and it’s really cool.”
Running back Jeremiyah Love
Love is one of the top running backs in the country and could be a preseason All-American entering next season. He’s run for 1,057 yards with 16 touchdowns on 142 carries (7.4 yards per carry). His average yards per carry increases against ranked opponents (8.1). He ran for 108 yards and a score on eight carries against Indiana, which included a 98-yard scamper that put Notre Dame on the board.
Yes, that means Love was contained outside that run, but his home-run ability is invaluable. It’s why he’s 35th among all running backs in rushing yards despite having significantly fewer carries than many ahead of him. His yards per carry is just behind the nation’s best, Boise State’s Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty (7.5).
“He is the engine that kind of sparks this thing to go in a real positive direction,” Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said. “Every week he seems to find a way to make an explosive play, hurdle somebody, run for 98 yards. What do you want? It’s kind of dealer’s choice, and I’m honored to have him around.”
Running back Jadarian Price
This will indeed be another test for Georgia’s rushing defense. One reason Notre Dame doesn’t need to overtax Love is because of its other talent. Price actually carried the ball more against Indiana – Love wasn’t 100%, dealing with an illness – and while he wasn’t as effective (32 yards on 11 carries), he’s been productive. He has 683 yards and seven touchdowns on 100 carries.
“We got a lot of dawgs in the room, obviously have some stallions,” Love said of the Irish’s running backs. “We’ve got me, J.D., Kedren (Young), Aneyas (Williams), Devyn (Ford), all great backs, all got different types of roles. Everybody executes when their name is called, and we’ve got a great room of backs.”
The backs are running behind a young-but-blossoming offensive line. Notre Dame prides itself on toughness, which might’ve been met with eye rolls in the past, but these Irish have continued proving teams won’t push them around.
Receiver Jordan Faison and other targets
Faison had seven catches for 89 yards against Indiana; he’d exceeded two catches just once previously. But the Irish wanted to get him involved, knowing how valuable his explosiveness can be. When Leonard is trying to best Georgia’s secondary, he’ll be looking for Faison often.
“He’s a guy for us offensively that’s got to touch the football,” Denbrock said.
Clemson transfer Beaux Collins is Notre Dame’s leading receiver, though he’s had some drop issues and managed only two catches for 18 yards against the Hoosiers. The team’s second-leading receiver, Jaden Greathouse, had only one catch for eight yards. As usual, the Irish have a future NFL player at tight end in Mitchell Evans. A sound blocker, Evans was the team’s third-leading receiver with 289 yards and three touchdowns. He had two catches for 17 yards against Indiana.
Much has been made of Georgia’s problems with its pass catchers. The Irish lack an elite weapon that could truly test the defense, which makes their rushing success and Faison’s emergence crucial.
Defensive lineman Howard Cross III
Cross returned from injury and made a difference in the first round. “Howard is a huge piece,” coach Marcus Freeman said of his senior lineman who had four sacks in nine games. Notre Dame will need him to have a career-best game in the Sugar Bowl, especially with fellow defensive lineman Rylie Mills out. Mills was an instrumental part of the Irish’s defensive front and will be extremely difficult to replace.
Safety Xavier Watts
Perhaps the team’s most talented defender and undoubtedly one of the country’s best safeties, Watts halted Indiana’s opening drive with an interception deep in Notre Dame territory. The senior is a defensive coordinator’s dream, successfully versatile playing back and closer to the line of scrimmage. His six interceptions are the second most in the nation, a testament to his receiver background. Watts stood out in the first round, seemingly all over the place defensively.
“He was major,” Freeman said. “He made some big-time tackles, tracked the ball carrier well, was close to getting a couple balls out, had the interception. He’s a leader out there. He gets everybody lined up. He communicates. He plays the game the way you need him to play. He is a huge part of what we’re trying to do and a very important piece.”
Cornerback Leonard Moore
Notre Dame lost No. 1 cornerback Benjamin Morrison earlier in the season, an unfortunate blow as Morrison was an All-American-level player. But they’ve enjoyed a breakout star in Moore, a true freshman from Texas. Indiana completed only one of six attempts at Moore in the first round, which was a continuation of his season.
Moore, who’s 6-foot-2, 191 pounds, has eye-popping speed. He closes extremely quickly and he’s a sound tackler. It has the makings of an excellent development story as Moore was a three-star recruit by 247Sports. He’s a sizable part of the country’s No. 3 passing defense; one that will present quite the challenge for quarterback Gunner Stockton in his first start.
