Notre Dame’s march towards the college football playoffs took another step forward Saturday when it defeated Georgia Tech 31-13. Despite a slow start to the game, Notre Dame showed why they’re the better team and why they’re one of the 12 teams deserving of a playoff spot. But don’t just take my word for it. If you watch the broadcast, it was beaten over your head that this win gives the Irish a 63% chance to make the playoffs.
What this game showed is this Irish team has learned to overcome adversity. It was a criticism of Notre Dame after the NIU game. When Antario Brown broke off an 83-yard catch and run for a touchdown, the entire game changed. It felt like Notre Dame was punched in the mouth and was unable to recover. That’s why NIU was able to gain momentum and win the game. If you want to be a national championship contender, you can’t let plays like that take you out of the game.
However, Notre Dame has made major strides in this area. Midway through the first quarter, Riley Leonard threw a terrible interception trying to hit Beaux Collins deep. Georgia Tech would then march down the field for a 71-yard touchdown drive. But, unlike the NIU game, the Irish responded right away scoring a touchdown on their next three possessions. That’s how good teams respond when something goes wrong. Here are the other major takeaways.
Big Plays on Special Teams
The special teams unit rarely gets praise during one of these articles. Most of the time the special teams is the forgotten unit of the team. You don’t talk about them unless they mess up and it costs the team the game. However, you can’t tell the story of this game, without talking about what Notre Dame did on special teams.
First, Notre Dame blocked two field goals in this game. The first one was right before halftime, which was a huge momentum flip. Instead of Georiga Tech only being down four and getting the ball back, they were still down a touchdown. Then late in the third quarter, the Irish blocked another field goal, after Georgia Tech’s big 60-yard gain. Now sure six points don’t seem like much when you lose by 18. However, those blocks were momentum killers. Any positive momentum Georiga Tech gained was quickly put out by them leaving points on the field.
Notre Dame also got creative when it came to its special team’s play calling. The first was when they used a reverse fake punt for a first down. Then later in the game when they faked a field goal attempt and again gained a first down. These types of trick play keep opponents off guard. They’ll never know what’s coming next and can never put a play to counter one play because they need to be expecting anything.
Notre Dame Defense Is Still Elite
The biggest storyline following Notre Dame this week was the Benjamin Morrison news. Out of nowhere, it was announced that Morrison would miss the remainder of the season due to a hip injury. This is a massive loss as Morrison had been a centerpiece for this Irish defense. This is yet another injury to an already depleted Notre Dame defense. They already lost defense linemen Boubacar Traore and Jordan Botelho for the season.
Due to all these injuries, the Irish were forced to start freshmen in these spots. That should make any Notre Dame fan nervous. The defense was the main strength of this team coming into the season. If this was going to be a special year for the Irish, the defense was going to be a major part of it. But with such key pieces gone, it was a question if the defense would be at the same level.
However, these fears were quickly squashed. Six of Georgia Tech’s eleven drives were six plays or less. They also held the Yellow Jackets to 13 points and 333 yards. Both are lower than Georiga Tech season averages. This type of performance has to inspire confidence. That the depth pieces on the roster, although inexperienced have enough talent to keep the defense at the championship level.
Brian Germinaro is a sportswriter for Belly Up Sports. Follow him on Twitter/X for more sports coverage and Belly Up Sports for even more college football content. Feature image credit: Kevin C. Cox.
