A fierce Notre Dame rally in the fourth quarter fell just short as No. 3-ranked Georgia prevailed over the No. 7 Fighting Irish 23-17 in front of a state record 93,246 in attendance at Sanford Stadium.
Trailing 23-10 with 6:54 remaining, senior quarterback Ian Book drove Notre Dame 75 yards for one score on a four-yard pass to classmate Chase Claypool to cut the deficit to 23-17 with 3:12 left in the contest.
After the Notre Dame defense forced a three-and-out, Notre Dame took possession at its 48-yard line at the 2:00 mark and with no timeouts. The Irish drove to Georgia's 38-yard before facing fourth-and-eight there.
That's when linebackers Nolan Smith and Jermaine Johnson came in unblocked, forcing Book to scramble backwards and heave a "Hail Mary" pass in the direction of a double-covered Claypool near the 10-yard line. Cornerback D.J. Daniel was credited with the pass breakup with 48 seconds remaining.
1.TOP 3 STORYLINES
• Minus junior Jafar Armstrong (torn abdominal muscle) and sophomore Jahmir Smith (turf toe), Notre Dame's running game was non-existent with 14 carries for 46 yards, led by Tony Jones Jr.'s nine attempts for 21 yards.
Book finished 29 of 47 for 275 yards and two touchdowns, but also had two interceptions in the second half.
• Notre Dame's defense, led by junior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (team-high tying eight tackles, 2.5 for loss), played valiantly and kept the Irish in the game to the final series. Holding the Bulldogs to 23 points provided Notre Dame a puncher's chance at the end.
• The tackling, especially in open space, was sensational by Notre Dame in the first half, but when the Irish offense wasn't able to generate much the first 23 minutes of the second half, Notre Dame's defense began staying on the field too much while Georgia gradually chipped away, although it did have to settle for three field goals while reaching the end zone once.
Claypool helped get the scoring started by recovering a Georgia fumble inside the 10-yard line on a punt.
2. TURNING POINT
Trailing 10-7 at halftime, Georgia's defense asserted itself in the third quarter, recording an interception on one three-and-out, recording two other three-and-outs, and limiting Notre Dame to 19 yards total offense while taking a 13-10 lead on two Rodrigo Blankenship field goals.
By the end of the third quarter, Georgia was marching again, and the Fromm to Lawrence Cager combination connected on a 36-yard pass and then a 15-yard touchdown on third-and-seven with 13:19 left. That 20-10 lead provided the Bulldogs a crucial two-score cushion (later expanded to 23-10).
3. STAT OF THE GAME
Notre Dame held the vaunted Georgia running attack (286.7 yards per game) to 152 yards on 33 carries despite the Irish ranking 120th out of 130 teams entering the game in run defense (230.5).
While emphasizing stopping the run, it also limited quarterback Jake Fromm to 187 yards passing on his 20 completions, but kept most everything in front to it.
4. GAME BALL
Junior tight end Cole Kmet, sidelined the first two games while recovering from a broken collarbone suffered on Aug. 8, provided a huge safety net for Book, catching three passes for 33 yards on the first series alone, snaring a one-handed touchdown (intended for Jones) on fourth down to put the Irish ahead 7-0, and finishing with nine catches for 108 yards.
His pass reception total ties 1977 Walter Camp Award winner Ken MacAfee for most by an Irish tight end in a game.
5. HISTORICAL FOOTNOTE
Georgia is the first team since Iowa in 1940 to hold a 3-0 advantage over Notre Dame all time in a series. All three came down to the final series, with Georgia winning the national title in the 1981 Sugar Bowl (17-10), forcing a late fumble in a 20-19 victory in 2017, and this year's contest.
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