Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2025 33 Senior quarterback Riley Leonard threw for only 90 yards against the Bulldogs, but his touchdown pass at the end of the first half and 80 yards rush- ing helped carry the Irish to a monumental victory. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER ward Oben and rushed to hand him the football. Oben earned it. "We've been game-planning all week, watching the tackles, seeing how they set," Oben said. "There was an opportu- nity that presented itself, and I was able to make a play." One snap later, two more transfer ad- ditions gave Notre Dame firm control of the game. Leonard found graduate stu- dent wide receiver Beaux Collins over the middle of the field for a 13-yard touch- down pass, putting the Irish up 13-3. Notre Dame entered the halftime locker room with its fans chanting "Let's go Irish," a shell-shocked Georgia on the other sideline and the knowledge that it would get the ball back to begin the second half. When it did, graduate student wide receiver Jayden Harrison broke the game wide open. Harrison took the Bulldogs' second- half kickoff at the 2-yard line and cut left. He cut back right at the 20 and found a seam to the outside. He sprinted past a diving prayer of a tackling at- tempt from UGA kicker Peyton Wood- ring at the 40 and just like that, he was gone. "I saw white jersey in between red the whole time," Harrison said. "I almost cried." Harrison went 98 yards for a touch- down, giving Notre Dame a 17-point lead. Most teams talk about winning the "middle eight." The Irish scored two touchdowns in the middle 54 seconds. Al Golden's dominant defense took over from there, allowing one touch- down on a busted coverage but nothing further. Georgia averaged 2.1 rushing yards per carry, including 4 sacks for the Irish, and held the ball for only 5:16 of the fourth quarter. Notre Dame made two fourth-down stops and converted one of its own by making the Bulldogs jump on fourth-and-1 from deep in its own territory. Junior defensive tackle Donovan Hin- ish put the final nail in Georgia's cof- fin by sacking Stockton on fourth down with less than a minute to go. And for the first time since Jan. 1, 1994, confetti rained down on the Irish. FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 0, GEORGIA 0 Top moment: Sophomore safety Adon Shuler met Georgia running back Trevor Etienne in a running lane over the middle of the field and popped the ball loose. Sophomore linebacker Jaiden Ausberry fell on it at the Notre Dame 10-yard line to keep Georgia from hav- ing a chance to put points on the board. Feature performers: The Notre Dame safeties. Shuler and graduate student Xavier Watts were both flying around and had 3 total tackles apiece to tie graduate student linebacker Jack Kiser for the most of any player from either side. Notable Stats: Georgia outgained Notre Dame 58-17 in total yards and had 5 first downs to the Irish's 1. The Bull- dogs possessed the ball for 10:22 and converted 2 of 4 third-down tries, while the Irish were 0 of 1 on third down. Items: Notre Dame had a pass inter- ference penalty and two running into the punter calls, both on freshman Bryce Young, and the Irish still forced Geor- gia to kick it away because the Bulldogs lost 13 yards on 5 plays otherwise … An illegal forward pass penalty on senior quarterback Riley Leonard doomed the Irish's first drive; he caught the ball off a ricochet off the back of his offensive line then threw it again, which is not allowed. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME 13, GEORGIA 3 Top moment: Duke transfer RJ Oben pulled off the best pass rush of his Notre Dame career, jarred the ball loose and junior vyper Junior Tuihalamaka fell on it at the Georgia 13-yard line in the final minute of the first half. On the very next play, Leonard connected with Beaux Collins for a touchdown that put the Irish up 13-3. Feature performer: Excluding 1 sack for a loss of 11 yards, Leonard rushed 5 times for 50 yards. He also completed 7 of 11 throws for 53 yards and the touch- down to Collins. Notable Stats: Notre Dame out- gained Georgia 118-94 in total yards and had 7 first downs to the Irish's 3. The Irish possessed the ball for 9:18 and converted 1 of 5 third-down tries, while the Bulldogs were 0 of 3 on third down. Items: Georgia got the scoring started with a 41-yard field goal with 12:14 left in the quarter … Notre Dame countered with a 44-yarder off the foot of graduate student kicker Mitch Jeter on the Irish's next possession … Tui- halamaka had a sack and a tackle for loss in a span of four plays … Jeter made a 48-yard field goal with 39 seconds left before the Oben play set up the Irish's first touchdown. THIRD QUARTER NOTRE DAME 20, GEORGIA 10 Top moment: Jayden Harrison re- turned the opening kickoff of the sec- ond half 98 yards for a touchdown. Feature performer: With sopho- more tailback Jeremiyah Love tweak- ing his knee like he did at USC, junior Jadarian Price had 3 carries for 20 yards and would have had more if not for a holding call on a lengthy gain. Notable Stats: Georgia outgained Notre Dame 91-68 in total yards and had 4 first downs to the Irish's 3. The Irish possessed the ball for 8:07 and