Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JANUARY 2025 17 C O L L E G E F O O T B A L L P L A Y O F F Cignetti's got 11 and counting in 2024 in a season so special it could span into 2025 with a win over Notre Dame. "This team's accomplished a lot," Cignetti said. "I'm proud of what they've accomplished. I think the coaches have done a great job, players have done a great job. But in saying that, no one's satisfied. No one's satisfied. The players are hungry for more, the coaches are hungry for more." THE ENTIRE PATH As much as Cignetti has been able to do in just a few months in Bloomington, he's got quite a way to go to reach the number of accolades Kirby Smart has compiled in just under a decade as the man in charge of the Dawgs. Georgia won another SEC champi- onship, beating Texas for the second time this season to do it. The Long- horns, seeded fifth in the College Foot- ball Playoff bracket, haven't lost to any other team this season. Just Georgia. The Bulldogs have now won two of the last three conference titles in a league widely considered the best in the country. Even in a season in which UGA looks as vulnerable as it's been in the last handful of years, a stretch that includes national championship-win- ning seasons in 2021 and 2022, the mean machine in red and black has proven capable of winning it all again. Falling behind Alabama 28-0 in the first half in an eventual 41-34 loss doesn't scream "unbeatable," and neither does a 28-10 loss to Ole Miss. Neither of those SEC opponents qualified for the College Football Playoff. Heck, Georgia nearly lost to Georgia Tech in the last game of the regular season. The Bulldogs needed a comeback and eight overtime periods to win 44-42 against a team Notre Dame beat 31-13 in Atlanta in mid-October. But when the Georgia defense plays as well as it did on Dec. 7 in the SEC title game, limiting Texas to 31 rushing yards on 28 carries and sacking quarterback Quinn Ewers 6 times, that's the version of UGA that can absolutely beat any- body. It'd be a test for Freeman and Co. similar to the ones Notre Dame faced against Ohio State in back-to-back sea- sons in 2022 and 2023; in games like that, the Irish don't have a clear talent advantage. They need more to go right to win those types of matchups than they do against a program like Indiana. Now, if Notre Dame gets by Georgia in the Sugar Bowl — maybe the lesser model of UGA shows up, maybe the Irish play their best brand of football, whatever it may be — and makes it to the semifinals, it would once again have that "We're the better team as soon as we step on the field" edge against two of the potential oppo- nents, No. 3 seed Boise State and No. 11 seed SMU. Not that any team thinks that way, especially one that lost to Northern Illinois at home just a few months ago, but it's true. The Irish would be favored to beat both opponents, just like they're predicted by sportsbooks to take care of Indiana but just more than a touchdown. If it's No. 6 seed Penn State that Notre Dame sees in the semis, well, the Irish would finally get their chance to prove to the selection committee that they were wrong in every set of rankings this fall. Despite an identical number of wins — and losses, until the Nittany Lions were defeated by Oregon in the Big Ten title game — the committee consistently ranked PSU just ahead of Notre Dame. That'd be a grudge match blue and gold faithful would certainly look forward to, among other intriguing storylines that'll be hit on if the time comes. As for the national championship game, the entire other side of the bracket — No. 1 seed Oregon, No. 4 seed Arizona State, No. 5 seed Texas, No. 8 seed Ohio State, No. 9 seed Tennessee and No. 12 seed Clemson — is obviously in play as a possible op- ponent for Notre Dame. All of those teams are in the field for good reason. Let the games begin. ✦