Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1531388
36 FEBRUARY 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT The turning point in this game came late in the second quarter during a sequence in which Notre Dame scored 10 points in 12 seconds to take a 13-3 halftime lead. Following a 48-yard field goal that gave the Irish their first lead at 6-3 with 39 seconds re- maining in the second quarter, Notre Dame graduate student defensive end RJ Oben re- corded a sack that forced a fumble that was recovered by junior vyper Junior Tuihalamaka at the Georgia 13-yard line. On the first ensuing Irish offensive play, senior quarterback Riley Leonard hit graduate student wide receiver Beaux Collins with a 13-yard bullet touchdown pass that gave Notre Dame a 10-point halftime lead and set the tone for the rest of the game. This game-changing scoring burst late in the first half became 17 points in 54 seconds when graduate student Jayden Harrison took the sec- ond-half kickoff back 98 yards for a touchdown and a 20-3 Irish lead that was never threatened. STATS OF THE GAME A dismal offensive start for Notre Dame to begin this game allowed for Georgia to build a 10:22 to 4:38 time of possession advantage after one quarter. Notre Dame responded in the game-clinching fourth quarter when it played keep-away for a 9:44 to 5:16 advantage to squash any Georgia comeback hopes. The stifling Irish defense held the Bulldogs' offense to 62 yards rushing, their second-low- est ground output this season. But perhaps most importantly, Notre Dame held Georgia to only 2 of 12 on third-down conversion attempts and 0 of 3 on fourth downs. The Irish won the turnover battle against Georgia 2-0 and scored 7 points off those two takeaways. For the season, following this game, Notre Dame has parlayed its 31 takeaways into 148 points — 42 more points in this category than any other team in the country. HISTORY MATTERS When No. 3 Notre Dame beat No. 2 Georgia (per the Associated Press Top 25), the Irish made plenty of history. The win gave the Irish 13 victories in 2024, the most in a single season in school history. This also marked only the second win over an AP top-two team (No. 1 Clemson in 2020) for Notre Dame in nine tries since the epic win over No. 1 Florida State in 1993. At 3-0 against the Irish, Georgia entered this game one of only two Irish opponents all time that had played Notre Dame multiple times and were undefeated in the series. The University of Chicago (4-0, 1893-99) is now the last unde- feated foe standing. And finally, Notre Dame has won nine straight games by double digits, marking the first time it has done that since 1949. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY TODD D. BURLAGE K MITCH JETER Finally fully healthy, the Irish graduate student enjoyed his best game this season, going 3 of 3 on field goals and 2 of 2 on point after tries. And, none of Jeter's field goals were gimmes. Jeter calmly made a 44-yarder early in the second quarter that tied the game 3-3. He added a 48-yarder shortly before halftime that gave Notre Dame a 6-3 lead, then he made a 47-yarder in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring. Jeter entered the game only 8 of 15 on field goals this season but came up clutch against the Bulldogs. QB RILEY LEONARD With 90 yards passing and 80 yards rushing, this wasn't necessarily the best statistical game of the sea- son for the Irish senior quarterback. But anyone who watched the victory over Georgia couldn't miss how Leonard's poise and decision-making in clutch situations provided the difference in this game. Statistically, this marked the fewest passing yards Leonard threw for in a game this season, though he did add a clutch touchdown pass in the second quarter. No matter, his presence more than made up for pedestrian stats, and his game-winning plays proved the difference. LB JUNIOR TUIHALAMAKA The junior vyper played the best game of his career, finishing with 4 total stops, 2 tackles for loss and 1 sack. He did most of his impactful work in the first half when he recorded 3 tackles and added a crucial fumble recovery late in the second quarter that set up a Notre Dame touchdown and helped the Irish to a 13-3 halftime lead that was never threatened. Through relentless pressure and multiple key third-down stops, Tuihalamaka made many of his game-ball contributions on plays that didn't show up on the stat sheet. GAME BALLS BY TODD D. BURLAGE Graduate student kicker Mitch Jeter made 3 of 3 field goal attempts — from 44, 48 and 47 yards — in the win over Georgia. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER