Notre Dame protects home field in
new postseason era with 1st playoff win, 27-17 over Indiana
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 [December 21, 2024]
By MICHAEL MAROT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Marcus Freeman learned the hard lessons from
all those big losses as well as the inexplicable ones.
On Friday night, in the first game in college football’s new playoff
era, the Notre Dame coach celebrated the most significant victory of
his career — in Notre Dame Stadium with snowflakes flying and
players singing the school’s alma mater.
Jeremiyah Love tied the school record with a 98-yard touchdown run
on the third play of the game, Riley Leonard accounted for two more
scores and the Fighting Irish held high-scoring Indiana in check,
giving seventh-seeded Notre Dame its first ever playoff victory,
27-17 over the Hoosiers.
“There’s not many times in your life that you’re the first to do
something, right?” Freeman said. “We’re the first group to play and
win a playoff game at Notre Dame Stadium, so that’s something we’ll
share for the rest of our lives.”
He and the Irish (12-1) have a day or two to savor their 11th
consecutive win to tie the school record for most wins in a season —
their first in four playoff tries.
But it's only one step. Next up is SEC champion Georgia (11-2) in
the Sugar Bowl and a chance to reach the semifinals as they chase
their first national title since 1988.
“It's really cool, but at the same time it's another football game,”
said Leonard, who ran for one record-breaking score and threw for
another. "We're just trying to stay alive and play as many games as
we can because we love the game, love preparing for it and we love
representing this university.'
If they play as well as they did against 10th-seeded Indiana (11-2),
the Irish just might end the program's longest title drought since
winning their first claimed championship in 1924.
Notre Dame seized control quickly thanks to Love's incredible early
burst and they eventually ended the Hoosiers magical season despite
giving up 14 points in the final 87 seconds in the same venue they
nearly saw their season derailed Sept. 7 with a 16-14 loss to
Northern Illinois.
This time, they left no doubt on a chilly, brisk stage for the first
CFP game ever played on a campus site, handing the Hoosiers their
second straight loss to a top five opponent this season. Indiana set
a single-season school record for wins but still hasn’t won at Notre
Dame since 1898.
"They took it to us. I thought their quarterback played really well,
I thought their defense suffocated our offense till the last 1:50 or
whatever,” said Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti, the AP Coach of the
Year. “They won, they deserved to win. We didn’t play our best game,
but they had a lot to do with that tonight.”
It started with Xavier Watts' interception of Kurtis Rourke's pass
at the Irish 2,
On the next play, Love scooted around the right side of the defense,
eluded one tackle and sprinted down the sideline to make it 7-0. He
tied Josh Adams for the longest run in Irish history, set in 2015
against Wake Forest. It was also the longest run in CFP history.
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Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates his one-yard
touchdown run with Jordan Faison (6) against Indiana during the
second half in the first round of the NCAA College Football Playoff,
Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron
Cummings)
Love finished with eight carries for 108 yards
despite not being full strength and appearing to reinjure his left
knee later in the first half.
“I was looking up at the video board — he wasn't going to catch me,”
Love said.
Indiana never recovered after Notre Dame made it 14-0 early in the
second quarter. Leonard’s 1-yard TD run late in the fourth gave him
15 this season to break Notre Dame’s season record by a quarterback.
Leonard was 23 of 32 with 201 yards, one touchdown and one
interception. Notre Dame receiver Jordan Faison caught seven passes
for 89 yards.
Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke turned in another poor game
against a strong defense, finishing 20 of 33 with 215 yards, with
two TDs and one interception and the Hoosiers rushed for just 63
yards.
And for Freeman and Notre Dame, it was more than a relief. It was
time to revel in victory.
“There’s no place like Notre Dame,” Leonard said. “This is why you
come here, this is why I came here — to play for a (national)
championship.”
Takeaways
Indiana: The Hoosiers trailed fewer minutes than any other FBS team
this season entering the playoffs and had the highest-scoring team
in the playoffs. They didn’t do either Friday night against a stout
Irish defense that rattled Rourke early.
Notre Dame: The Irish have relied on the running game and defense
all season — and it was that combination that gave Notre Dame the
first playoff win in school history. They may need more out of their
passing game to win their first national championship since 1988.
One message
Cignetti wavered from his blunt-talking ways momentarily after the
season-ending loss to express just how special this season was for
an Indiana team that put itself back in the national conversation.
“No one's as disappointed as I am, but sometimes you're going to
have a disappointment and you have come back from it,” he said.
“This team accomplished things no other Indiana team did.”
Up next
Indiana: Will spend a busy offseason trying to replicate what they
built in Year 1 under coach Curt Cignetti.
Notre Dame: Plays Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day.
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