Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JANUARY 2025 31 QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW: GEORGIA C O L L E G E F O O T B A L L P L A Y O F F "We're mentally fatigued, but we're one of the [most] mentally tough teams that we've ever coached," Smart said. "Now, I've had more physically tough, I've had more physically talented, but I don't know that I've ever had a more mentally tough team. They just keep coming and keep coming, and they never say die." Smart is right, on all fronts. There is no unbeatable superpower in college football this season. The Bulldogs have had 10 players selected in the first round of the NFL Draft over the past three sea- sons from its runs to the national cham- pionship in 2021 and 2022. Sustaining a dynasty for longer than that is next to impossible. Still, by conquering its gantlet of a schedule, Georgia proved it's as danger- ous as anyone in the CFP. NEVER SAY DIE Every time pundits might have writ- ten off Georgia as dead, the Dawgs re- minded the nation that they're the true power in college football until they're not. In the weeks leading up to its Oct. 19 matchup at then-No. 1 Texas, Georgia's previous results included a one-point win over Kentucky (which finished 4-8), a 10-point win over Mississippi State (2-10) and a loss to Alabama. That 41-34 instant classic Sept. 28 in Tusca- loosa, Ala., was the first time the Bull- dogs had been defeated in the regular season since Nov. 7, 2020. The morning of the showdown with Texas, with College GameDay set up in Austin, every panelist — including Smart's former boss, Nick Saban — picked the Longhorns. Smart, who has famously gaslit his players into believ- ing the media thought Georgia would go 6-6 or 5-7 the year after winning the national championship, noticed. "Our whole program was doubted," Smart said after the game. "Did you watch the show this morning? I didn't because I was in meetings, but I got 8,000 texts about it. Somebody was doubting us." The Bulldogs don't just welcome that doubt. They thrive off of it. Case in point: They soundly dispatched Texas later that night, winning 30-15 in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicates. Etienne, the hero again, scored 3 touchdowns. "The one thing that this offense has shown outside of, at times, being in- consistent, it's shown unbelievable resilience," Smart said after the game. "You think about the games we've been in that we had to respond to a score. It seems like every time in the second half somebody scores, they respond." A fourth-quarter strip sack from junior defensive end Mykel Williams sealed it. Williams, the latest in a line of freakish Georgia defensive linemen, has only 5 sacks this season. Four have come in the two wins over Texas. Just under a month later, though, Georgia was in a precarious situation again. The Bulldogs' offense looked anemic in a resounding 28-10 loss to Ole Miss. It was their worst defeat since Dec. 7, 2019, against LSU and worst regular-season defeat (also worst de- feat against a team who didn't win the national championship) since Oct. 13, 2018, against LSU. That week, Georgia fell out of the projected College Football Playoff field. All of a sudden, a matchup in Athens, Ga., against then-No. 7 Tennessee be- came a must-win game. A loss could lead to the unthinkable: being left out of the CFP. Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME VS. GEORGIA Date: Jan. 1, 2025 Site: Caesars Superdome in New Orleans Kickoff: 8:45 p.m. ET Television: ESPN Radio: Notre Dame IMG affiliates Series facts: Georgia leads the all-time series 3-0, with the Bulldogs winning both ends of a home- and-home in 2017 and 2019. Both games were close, with the Irish falling short 20-19 in South Bend and 23-17 in Athens. Head coaches: Georgia — Kirby Smart (105-18, ninth season); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (30-9, third season). Noting Georgia: The Bulldogs are No. 5 in ESPN's FPI at 22.1 and No. 6 in SP+ at 26.6 … Georgia has the 29th-best scoring offense in the nation and the 23rd-best scoring defense … Senior wide receiver Arian Smith leads the Bulldogs with 750 yards on 47 receptions, and close behind him is senior Domi- nic Lovett with 571 on a team-leading 56 … Daylen Everett leads Georgia with 3 interceptions but just behind him is former walk-on Dan Jackson with 2 … The Bulldogs have the most wins over fellow CFP teams with 4; Ohio State and Oregon are tied for second with 2. 2024 GEORGIA SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 vs. Clemson* W, 34-3 Sept. 7 Tennessee Tech W, 48-3 Sept. 14 at Kentucky W, 13-12 Sept. 28 at Alabama L, 41-34 Oct. 5 Auburn W, 31-13 Oct. 12 Mississippi State W, 41-31 Oct. 19 at Texas W, 30-15 Nov. 2 vs. Florida# W, 34-20 Nov. 9 at Ole Miss L, 28-10 Nov. 16 Tennessee W, 31-17 Nov. 23 Massachusetts W, 59-21 Nov. 29 Georgia Tech W, 44-42 (8OT) Dec. 7 vs. Texas^ W, 22-19 (OT) Jan. 1 vs. Notre Dame/ Indiana$ (ESPN) 8:45 p.m. * at Atlanta # at Jacksonville, Fla. ^ SEC Championship at Atlanta $ College Football Playoff quarterfinal in the Sugar Bowl at New Orleans 2024 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 at Texas A&M W, 23-13 Sept. 7 Northern Illinois L, 16-14 Sept. 14 at Purdue W, 66-7 Sept. 21 Miami (Ohio) W, 28-3 Sept. 28 Louisville W, 31-24 Oct. 12 Stanford W, 49-7 Oct. 19 vs. Georgia Tech# W, 31-13 Oct. 26 vs. Navy^ W, 51-14 Nov. 9 Florida State W, 52-3 Nov. 16 Virginia W, 35-14 Nov. 23 vs. Army* W, 49-14 Nov. 30 at USC W, 49-35 Dec. 20 Indiana$ (ABC/ESPN) 8 p.m. # at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta ^ at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. * Shamrock Series at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, N.Y. $ College Football Playoff first round