Indiana was no match for Notre Dame.
The No. 7 Fighting Irish posted a 27-17 victory over the No. 10 Hoosiers on Friday night in the opening game of the 12-team College Football Playoff. The game was effectively over when Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love tied a school record and set a College Football Playoff record when he ran 98 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
Of course, none of us watching at that moment knew that Love had ended the game. But as it went on, it became increasingly clear that Love’s run was the big example of how the night would go for Indiana.
Love’s TD gave Notre Dame a 7-0 lead and the Fighting Irish led 17-3 at halftime. Indiana’s three points came when the Hoosiers decided to make a field goal with less than five minutes left in the second quarter after spending a timeout to make the call. You could understand why Indiana would have chosen it; the difference between 11 and 14 points is still a two-possession game. Had Indiana somehow cut the lead to seven, there might have been a plausible path to a victory.
Instead, Indiana kicked the field goal. Notre Dame responded before halftime with its own field goal.
Any chance of an Indiana upset disappeared in the third quarter. Notre Dame got the ball first and returned the kickoff past midfield. The Hoosiers were able to force a punt quickly, but went three-and-out when they got the ball back.
It looked like Indiana had stopped Notre Dame on the Irish’s next drive, but James Carpenter was flagged for hitting Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard when Leonard went out of bounds. The third down penalty gave Notre Dame a free first down and the Irish extended their lead to 17 points and three possessions.
From there it was definitely over. And if that wasn’t enough, Indiana’s decision to punt the ball while trailing by 17 with less than 11 minutes to go should have given many neutral observers enough incentive to change the channel before Indiana had to give up two late touchdowns to make. the final score was respectable.
Notre Dame gets Georgia
The win gives the Fighting Irish a matchup against No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. It will be the fifth Sugar Bowl appearance for Notre Dame and the first for the school since 2007, when Notre Dame lost 41-14 to an LSU team led by JaMarcus Russell. In 1981, Georgia defeated Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl to (unofficially) claim a national title.
This Notre Dame team is capable of beating Georgia on the first day of 2025, especially with the questions surrounding the Bulldogs at quarterback. Gunner Stockton appears ready to start for the Bulldogs following Carson Beck’s elbow injury in the SEC title game. Beck could miss the entire College Football Playoff.
However, Notre Dame will have to be better on offense than it was Saturday night. Riley Leonard threw an interception on the Irish’s first drive and the run game didn’t do much outside of Love’s 98-yard run. Notre Dame was clearly the better team on Friday night, but without Love’s big play the scoreboard would have been a lot closer.
The Irish could also have concerns about injuries to the defensive line. Rylie Moss limped off the field after a sack of Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke when his right leg collided with a teammate in the second half.
Don’t call Indiana a fraud
Outbursts happen. Especially in the College Football Playoff. Indiana is far from the first team to not have a shot at the postseason. And all previous blowouts came in a four-team playoff.
But it’s fair to look at Indiana’s season and consider it fortunate. In fact, it’s perfectly acceptable and quite accurate.
After years of being in the same Big Ten division as Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, the Hoosiers couldn’t get the Nittany Lions on their schedule in 2024. In return, they got Washington, the team that lost to Michigan in the national competition. title game almost a year ago.
Yes, both Michigan and Washington were much worse than they were in 2023 thanks to player departures and coaching changes. But that’s not Indiana’s fault. The Hoosiers beat both of them and everyone else in their regular season schedule outside of Ohio State. That game didn’t go well. The Buckeyes won 38-15.
Ohio State overwhelmed Indiana’s offensive line in that game and the mismatch was evident again Friday as Notre Dame was by far the better team against Indiana’s offensive line. The Hoosiers were one of the highest scoring teams in the country, but it’s clear from the games against Ohio State and Notre Dame that they ranked above most teams in college football, but below the best.
That’s okay. Not every team that makes the 12-team playoffs is going to be great, and there are countless teams in college football history that have had double-digit winning seasons thanks to lucky schedules. And at 11-1 in the Big Ten, Indiana more than deserved a chance to play for the national title. Unlike a certain team in the SEC, it didn’t have two regular-season losses against .500 teams.
