NEW ORLEANS — Challenge everything isn’t just a catchy phrase that looks good on a T-shirt for Notre Dame football.
It’s a directive drilled from the top down in head coach Marcus Freeman’s program. It doesn’t have meaning without Freeman fully embracing it himself, and it never felt more resolute than midway through the fourth quarter of a 23-10 victory over Georgia in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal staged by the Sugar Bowl.
With Notre Dame’s offense facing fourth-and-1 from its own 18-yard line, Freeman sent his punt team onto the field with just under eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Irish were holding onto a 13-point lead, but their offense was forced into what appeared to be a three-and-out.
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But Freeman didn’t intend for Notre Dame to punt at all. Before long snapper Joseph Vinci bent down to touch the ball, all 11 of Notre Dame’s punt team members left their spots on the field and ran to the sideline while Notre Dame’s offense replaced them on the field. By rule, Georgia was then given time to substitute and run its defense on the field, which was a little less organized than Notre Dame but still worked out.
Then Georgia fell for Notre Dame’s plan when Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker jumped across the line of scrimmage, which prompted center Pat Coogan to snap the ball to quarterback Riley Leonard to ensure a penalty would be called. Leonard continued the play by chucking a deep pass to wide receiver Beaux Collins that he didn’t catch, but it didn’t matter. The Irish won the chess match in Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Notre Dame extended its drive for five-plus more minutes with the help of a couple of third-down conversions on Leonard runs before it eventually punted the ball. That left Georgia with 1:49 remaining and no timeouts. Notre Dame’s defense took care of the rest to close out the victory.
“That situation that happened in the fourth quarter was something we practiced,” Freeman said of the substitution trick. “And I think the performance was a reflection of that. We had a lot of confidence in the ability to be able to do that, and we had a plan. And that's the aggressiveness in terms of our preparation that I want our program to have, and again, out there when it matters the most.
“And so, that's got to be one of our edges, is that we are going to be an aggressive group and not fear making mistakes.”
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart ended up being the owner of more mistakes. He said he didn’t call timeout in that situation, because that’s what Notre Dame wanted him to do. Smart’s team executed the substitution correctly, but it still jumped on the hard count from Leonard. On the other hand, Smart thought Notre Dame’s substitution wasn’t legal. Regardless, it worked. And Leonard wanted to make sure Freeman received the credit for it.
“Real quick,” Leonard said. “He's being humble. That was completely his play, and we were going to do it a different way two days ago. And then he flipped it, and we executed it that way, and it worked.”
The aggressiveness that Freeman wants his team to play with was on display early and often, particularly on defense. Three of Georgia’s first five offensive plays went backward with linebacker Jaylen Sneed and safety Xavier Watts recording tackles for losses and linebacker Jack Kiser sacking quarterback Gunner Stockton.
Then what was a successful second drive from Georgia’s offense ended with a big hit by safety Adon Shuler on a third-and-1 carry by running back Trevor Etienne, which forced a fumble that linebacker Jaiden Ausberry recovered.
“It kind of set the tone for the game, and it helped the offense grab momentum,” said Shuler, who finished with a team-high eight tackles. “It was a huge blessing to be able to cause a play to help my team in the best way I could.”
Georgia scored first with a 41-yard field goal early in the second quarter, which was set up by a 67-yard completion from Stockton to wide receiver Arian Smith. The Bulldogs had only one other offensive play of more than 30 yards the rest of the game: a 32-yard touchdown reception by running back Cash Jones on a broken coverage in the third quarter.
Notre Dame responded with its first scoring drive, which was made possible by a 32-yard run by Leonard, who ended up as the leading rusher for either team with 14 carries for 90 yards. Maligned kicker Mitch Jeter, who showed signs of being back on track with a 2-for-3 effort against Indiana, made the first of his three field goals to tie the game.
Jeter’s second field goal, a 48-yarder, came with just 39 seconds left in the first half to give Notre Dame its first lead of the game. Smart tried to ice Jeter with a timeout, but it didn’t work. Jeter didn’t even try a free practice kick after the timeout.
“I never go out there to kick a ball twice,” Jeter said. “I know I have one shot to go out there and do my job. So, that’s kind of my mindset on it.”
Jeter’s field goal was the start of a wild sequence for Notre Dame before and after halftime. The Irish scored the next 14 points of the game in the following 54 seconds of game clock.
Notre Dame defensive end RJ Oben created a major mistake for Georgia when he stripped Stockton of the ball while sacking him on Georgia’s first play. Vyper defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka recovered the football and set the Irish offense up at the 13-yard line. Leonard converted the opportunity with a 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Beaux Collins on the next play.
Smart’s aggressiveness backfired.
“Typically when you're down, you need every possession you can have,” he said. “And we made a decision that we were going to be aggressive, and we were going to try to go two-minute. And that's what everything says you should do. You can't give up possessions when you're trailing.
“So, we're down 6-3. We felt like we had a little quick-game pass. Certainly not counting on getting beat that quick at left tackle. And got a sack fumble, which gave them some momentum.”
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Georgia allowed Notre Dame to be aggressive on special teams with a kickoff to start the second half that only made it to the two-yard line. That’s where Jayden Harrison caught it and returned it 98 yards for a touchdown. The Marshall graduate transfer recorded his first kickoff return touchdown in a Notre Dame uniform after returning a pair for touchdowns at Marshall last season.
“I think if I get a chance to return it,” Harrison said, “there’s a possibility that I’ll go to the house, just because my guys block so well.”
Harrison made Freeman’s halftime message seem poignant.
“I didn't want to survive,” Freeman said. “I think that's the natural tendency in a big game. You're up 10 versus a really good team to say, ‘Let's survive.’ No, let's be aggressive.
“I didn't know we were going to come out of the locker room and score a kickoff return touchdown, but that helped.”
Georgia pulled back within 10 with the previously mentioned touchdown play to Jones, but the Bulldogs couldn’t get their offense rolling consistently. Georgia’s next drive ended with a fourth-and-2 incompletion with linebacker Drayk Bowen and Watts pressuring Stockton a blitz dialed up by defensive coordinator Al Golden.
The final two Georgia possessions ended with turnovers on downs as well. Golden kept applying the pressure. Notre Dame rushed six defenders on a failed fourth-and-5 pass to tight end Lawson Luckie. The Irish only needed to rush four to end Georgia’s final possession when defensive tackle Donovan Hinish wrapped around the outside to sack Stockton with 53 seconds left in the game.
A defensive line that played for the first time this season without starting defensive tackle Rylie Mills (knee) managed to help the Irish defense limit Georgia to 62 rushing yards on 29 carries and sack Stockton four times.
“You see Junior step up,” Kiser said. “You see Gabe [Rubio] step up. RJ stepped up huge tonight. That’s so exciting to see those guys, see them put in the work and then come out here and make plays. They’ve earned every opportunity they have.”
With the help of an aggressive Freeman challenging everything, more opportunities are on the way for this Irish team. Seventh-seeded Notre Dame (13-1) will meet sixth-seeded Penn State (13-2) on Thursday (7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN) in a College Football Playoff semifinal hosted by the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Certainly, the Irish could face another critical fourth-down decision against the Nittany Lions. Whatever Freeman decides, he’ll have the belief from his players.
“That starts with the leadership of the team with Coach Freeman and his mentality,” Kiser said. “We’re gonna challenge everything.
“We’re gonna be an attacking team, attacking mindset. No matter the circumstances or stakes, we’re gonna put our best foot forward, and we’re gonna come after you.
“You see that on fourth downs. You see that on special teams. You see that on the offense by going for it in critical situations.
“That’s the heartbeat of the team. That’s the culture of the team. We wouldn’t change that for the world.”
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