NCAA Football
2025-01-02 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Georgia Bulldogs
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : College Football PlayOff Quarter Final
Thursday 2nd January 2024 - Scheduled 8:45pm
1:45am (British Time)
Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said in a news conference that the College Football Playoff quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame would be delayed to Thursday
Preview
Time has been afforded to the SEC Champions Georgia Bulldogs (11-2) who upset the Texas Longhorns in the Championship Game to earn the Number 2 Seed and a Bye through to the Quarter Final.
However, things have not landed perfectly for one of the pre-season favourites to win the National Championship and that is because the Bulldogs have had starting Quarter Back Carson Beck ruled out for the entire post-season.
Instead it will be Gunner Stockton who will be playing behind Center and this is a tough test for the inexperienced Quarter Back as he prepares to face Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-1).
The Fighting Irish overcame an early season upset and worked their way through a pretty comfortable schedule to earn their Playoff spot without being a member of any of the Power Conferences. In the First Round they were able to dominate the Indiana Hoosiers, but this is a big step up for Notre Dame when they travel to New Orleans for this Quarter Final.
Head Coach Marcus Freeman may be under a bit more pressure to lead Notre Dame deeper into the post-season with an inexperienced Quarter Back facing his team, but this is also a big step up compared with many opponents that the Fighting Irish have faced in the regular season. Momentum is with the Fighting Irish, but this is an opponent from the SEC and it will be a significant test for all on their side.
All of the focus will be on the Notre Dame Offensive Line who have dominated opponents up front and who will have seen Georgia's Defensive Line just have some issues up front as the season wound down. All that is good about this Fighting Irish team begins with establishing the run and they should be able to keep Riley Leonard in positive positions on the field, especially as the Quarter Back is very comfortable tucking the ball and taking off himself.
There have also been some holes in the Bulldogs Secondary as they have struggled to replace those who left at the end of last season.
Riley Leonard is a capable passer too and it should mean the Fighting Irish are able to move the ball with some success, even against this SEC Championship level of team.
Another question for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to answer is how they can stand up to this powerful SEC Offensive unit, even if the Bulldogs are using their backup Quarter Back. The Georgia Offensive Line is big and strong and they may be extra focused to push forward and establish the run to make things that much more comfortable for Gunner Stockton.
The Bulldogs will feel they can get the run established and they will also feel the time between the SEC Championship Game and this Playoff Quarter Final will have been used well enough to have Stockton feeling comfortable. The idea has to be to keep this game competitive and not put an inexperienced Quarter Back in a position where he feels he has to win the game, even if there are one or two holes in this Secondary that Stockton will be able to exploit.
Notre Dame do have a set of players that will be looking to turn the ball over, although the injury suffered by Rylie Mills does hurt the Fighting Irish pass rush. Putting Gunner Stockton in front of the chains should mean the Bulldogs Offensive Line can give him a clean pocket, although avoiding turnovers will still be a test.
Overall this is a system run by the Bulldogs that Gunner Stockton would have had plenty of time to understand and it should mean a close, competitive game.
Both teams have to play with real belief and we don't really know how the long layoff will affect the Georgia Bulldogs. In previous years in the NFL, we have seen teams lose rhythm against those who have been fighting to earn spots in the next Round of the Playoff and that might just give Notre Dame a narrow edge in this one.
They are being given the points and those could make all the difference in the last of the four Quarter Final Playoff games scheduled.
Prediction
Take the points with the narrow underdog against the SEC Champions and their backup Quarter Back.
The Pick :
Georgia Bulldogs 23-26 Notre Dame
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Notre Dame Fighting Irish + 1 Point at -105 with EveryGame Sportsbook
