Notre Dame defeats Indiana 27-17 in first round of College Football Playoff

Posted by Admin December 21, 2024 Football

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU/AP) – Jeremiyah Love tied a Notre Dame record with a 98-yard touchdown run and the Fighting Irish picked up their first College Football Playoff win in program history with a 27-17 victory over Indiana on a cold, brisk Friday night at Notre Dame Stadium.

The seventh-seeded Irish (12-1) won their 11th straight in the first CFP game ever played on a campus site while shutting down the highest-scoring team in the playoff bracket. No. 10 seed Indiana (11-2) finished with its second fewest points this season, and most of them came after the game was out of reach with less than two minutes left to play.

Indiana briefly had momentum after picking off a tipped pass from Riley Leonard on Notre Dame’s second play from scrimmage, but the Irish got that momentum right back by picking off Hoosier quarterback Kurtis Rourke four plays later.

Notre Dame then took control on the very next play of the game, as Love scooted around the right side of Indiana’s defense, eluded one tackle and sprinted 98 yards down the sideline to make it 7-0. It was the longest run in CFP history, and it matched Josh Adams’ longest run in school history in 2015 against Wake Forest.

Notre Dame made it 14-0 on its next possession — a 16-play, 83-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Leonard to Jayden Thomas and took more than nine minutes off the clock.

Indiana never recovered after that, as Notre Dame’s defense took care of the rest. Until the final 1:27, the Irish allowed just one field goal.

Notre Dame advances to the quarterfinals of the CFP, where the Irish will meet No. 2 seed Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day. Georgia is 3-0 all-time against Notre Dame, but starting quarterback Carson Beck is unlikely to play for the Bulldogs after injuring his elbow in the SEC championship game, ESPN reports.

Leonard was 23 of 32 with 201 yards and one touchdown through the air. He scored a 1-yard TD run late in the fourth, giving him 15 rushing touchdowns this season and breaking Notre Dame’s season record by a quarterback (previously held by Brandon Wimbush).

Love finished with eight carries for 108 yards. Jordan Faison caught seven passes for 89 yards to lead the Irish in receiving.

Indiana’s magical season comes to an end after setting a single-season school record for wins. It was a remarkable turnaround for the Hoosiers, who won three games a year ago and only nine in the last three seasons combined, in AP Coach of the Year Curt Cignetti’s first season at the helm of the program.

The Irish now lead the all-time series against IU with a 24-5-1 overall record. Indiana’s last win over the Irish, a 20-7 victory in Bloomington, came all the way back on Oct. 21, 1950. The Hoosiers haven’t won at Notre Dame since 1898.