College Football Playoff players to watch, key to Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame vs. no. 2 Georgia

On By Littum

The final College Football Playoff quarterfinal is the fourth postseason meeting between Notre Dame and Georgia. The Bulldogs have won all three previous matchups. Can they get a fourth?

(More CFP: Ohio State vs. Oregon | Boise State vs. Penn State | Texas vs. Arizona State)

Date: 1 January | Time: 8:45 PM ET | TV: ESPN | Line: Georgia -1.5 | Total: 44.5

Notre Dame: The Irish dominated Indiana in a 27–17 victory that turned out to be the closest margin of victory of any of the four first-round CFP games. Notre Dame broke the game open on Jeremiah Love’s 98-yard TD run and held the Indiana offense at bay until the game was out of reach.

Georgia: The SEC champions beat Texas twice to secure the league title. Georgia lost to Alabama and Ole Miss on the road, but ended up in the SEC title game thanks to conference chaos and three league losses to both the Crimson Tide and Rebels. Georgia beat Texas 30-15 in the regular season and then beat the Longhorns 22-19 in the SEC title game.

We don’t have much college data to go by for Gunner Stockton. No. 2 QB for the Bulldogs is now the starter after taking over during the SEC title game for Carson Beck after Beck suffered a UCL injury on a Hail Mary attempt late in the first half. For the season, Stockton was 25-of-32 passing for 206 yards and an interception over four games. In the second half against Texas, he was 12-of-16 for 71 yards and an interception. He is the biggest unknown in the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard has gotten more and more comfortable as the season has gone on. Leonard was 23-of-32 for 201 yards and a TD and interception against Indiana and also rushed 11 times for 30 yards and a score. Leonard has just 17 passing TDs, but has rushed for 15 TDs and is averaging 5.6 yards a carry. His 751 yards on the ground this season is a career high.

Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price: Love broke off the big run in the first half, but saw sporadic playing time as he deals with a knee injury. If he’s not fully healthy, the bulk of the rushing burden could fall to Price, who has been a terrific wingman in 2024. Price has rushed 100 times for 683 yards and seven scores this season. He had just 32 yards on 11 carries against Indiana, but had 12 rushes for 111 yards against USC in the regular season finale and 10 carries for 53 yards and two scores against Army.

Georgia WR Arian Smith: Smith has the most yards of any Bulldogs receiver with 47 catches for 750 yards and four TDs. But he has been inconsistent and drops have been a serious problem. However, Smith has come up big in the College Football Playoff before, and this would be a good time for him to become a reliable target. He is Georgia’s best downfield threat and can be a field stretcher against the Notre Dame secondary if Georgia relies on Stockton to throw it downfield.

No one will question how well Georgia coach Kirby Smart can motivate his team, especially in a situation like this with his starting quarterback injured and headed to the NFL. But how well can Georgia move the ball with Stockton in the game? The Bulldogs’ offense hasn’t been great in big games with Beck, although weeks of practice with Stockton as the starter will be very beneficial. We won’t be surprised if Georgia runs the ball a lot. And neither will Vegas. Just look at how low the total is (44.5). It is by far the lowest of the four quarter-final matches.