Riley Leonard scored a touchdown, Jayden Harrison returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, and Notre Dame's defense held on in a 23-10 victory over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday, sending the Fighting Irish in the semi-finals of the American college football playoffs.
In a game delayed a day due to a deadly terrorist attack in the host city, Notre Dame (13-1) made enough big plays and benefited from a nifty move by coach Marcus Freeman.
Georgia (11-2) was able to get close when Notre Dame stopped it on fourth down and five to go at the Fighting Irish nine with 9:29 to play.
Later, in a situation on fourth and short to go in his territory, Freeman faked sending his special unit to perform a punt before suddenly withdrawing his eleven players to send the attack back on the field. The move precipitated Georgia's moves, which were penalized for offside, resulting in a first down with 7:17 remaining.
By the time the Bulldogs got the ball back, there was only 1:49 left in the game and Notre Dame was on track to play Penn State in the semifinals at the Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 9. .
Georgia started the game without starting quarterback Carson Beck, who injured his elbow in the Southeastern Conference championship game. He was replaced by Gunner Stockton, who completed 20 of 32 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown.
Leonard finished the game with 90 passing yards and 80 rushing yards, a team high.
