Marcus Freeman urges Notre Dame to be in ‘attack mode’ in second half vs. Georgia

On By Littum

Notre Dame looked outstanding in the first half of the Sugar Bowl, taking a 13-3 lead over Georgia into the break. Before going back to the locker room, the Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman discussed his side’s first-half performance and revealed how they can hold on to their lead.

“A great way to end the half,” Freeman said. “We’ve got to win the turnover margin and we’re going to take advantage of that on offense. But it’s going to be a 60-minute game and you watch this Georgia team all year and you know they’re not going to quit.

“So we have to be in attack mode and not get comfortable with a 10-point lead. We have to be in attack mode as soon as we come out of the locker room.”

The Fighting Irish were definitely in attack mode in the first half. Notre Dame’s defense was particularly spectacular, recording three sacks and forcing Georgia into two fumbles, both of which resulted in turnovers.

One of those fumbles occurred with 33 seconds left in the first half when the UGA quarterback Gunner Stockton was stripped off RJ Oben and Junior Tuihalamaka recovered the ball.

On the next play, the Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard threw a 13-yard dart to Beaux Collins to increase the Fighting Irish’s lead to double digits. Leonard completed 10 of his 15 first-half pass attempts for 60 yards and a score. He also tallied 50 rushing yards on just six carries.

At halftime, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart discussed his decision to look for a deep ball late in the half, which ultimately led to the fumble.

“Well, I’d say we tried to be aggressive in two minutes and probably regret it, right? Going into the half 6-3,” Smart told ESPN sideline reporter Laura Rutledge. “But we wanted to show confidence in our quarterback and let him play, we didn’t get the blocking we needed and they made a good play.”

Notre Dame apparently took Marcus Freeman’s message to heart at halftime. Coming out of the break, Notre Dame’s Peyton Woodring returned Georgia’s kickoff for a touchdown, boosting Notre Dame to a 20-3 lead. Now the Fighting Irish will look to build on their momentum as the second half progresses.