Saturday, January 18, 2025

Notre Dame advances in the CFP Playoff; defeats Indiana 27-17

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By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

The No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the No. 10 seed Indiana Hoosiers on Friday night. This was the first playoff game of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.

The Fighting Irish won 27-17 over the Hoosiers at Notre Dame Stadium.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love runs with the football for a 98-yard touchdown during the first quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers in the Playoff First Round game
Jeremiyah Love runs with the football for a 98-yard touchdown during the first quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers in the Playoff First Round game (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

With the win, Notre Dame advances to the Sugar Bowl. There, they will face the Georgia Bulldogs on January 1st, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game will be played at 8:45 pm EST.

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Notre Dame will bring a 12-1 record into their next game. Indiana fell to 11-2.

This was the Hoosiers first season with at least 10 wins in program history.

Notre Dame leads the all-time series 24-5-1 over Indiana. The Fighting Irish have won seven straight in the series dating back to 1951.

The Hoosiers last win in the series came in a 20-7 game on October 21st, 1950 in Bloomington, Indiana.

Indiana has not beaten Notre Dame, according to ESPN, in South Bend, Indiana since 1898. That’s when the Hoosiers won 11-5 on November 11th, 1898 in the first game in the series.

According to OptaStats, the Fighting Irish are the only FBS team over the past 10 seasons to have a 98-yard play in consecutive games that was not a kickoff or punt return. The 98-yard TD by Jeremiyah Love was the first touchdown of the 12-team College Football Playoff.

The 98-yard rushing touchdown by Love tied the school record. Josh Adams also achieved this feat against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in 2015.

This key touchdown by Love came after an interception. And it was deflating for the Hoosiers early in the contest.

Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard went 23 of 32 for 201 yards. He had one touchdown pass and one interception.

Love had eight carries for 108 yards and one touchdown. Jordan Faison had seven receptions for 89 yards.

Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke went 20 of 33 for 215 yards. He had two touchdown passes and one interception.

Justice Ellison had 11 carries for 37 yards. Elijah Sarratt had four receptions for 67 yards.

The game was out of hand for much of the contest except for the fourth quarter when the Hoosiers scored two touchdowns.

Indiana outscored Notre Dame 14-10 in the second half. Rourke hit Myles Price for a seven-yard touchdown reception.

The two-point conversion was made when Rourke hit Sarratt.

Rourke also hit Omar Cooper Jr. for a 23-yard touchdown reception.

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Leonard scored on a one-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Fighting Irish. Mitch Jeter also made a 33-yard field goal.

Notre Dame led 17-3. Love scored on a 98-yard rushing touchdown. Leonard hit Jayden Thomas for a five-yard touchdown reception.

Jeter also made a 49-yard field goal.

The Hoosiers lone points came when Nicolas Radicic made a 34-yard field goal.

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    Anthony Caruso III
    Anthony Caruso IIIhttps://thecapitalsportsreport.com
    Anthony Caruso III is the Publisher of The Capital Sports Report. He has been in the Journalism field since August 2002. Since that time, Mr. Caruso has covered many marquee events. This includes 13 Heisman Trophy ceremonies, 2 Little World Series events, and one Army-Navy College Football game.
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