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3 takeaways from Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff victory over Indiana
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Notre Dame beat Indiana 27-17 Friday night inside Notre Dame Stadium to advance to the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff. The Irish will face 2-seed Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
It was a strong showing from the Irish (12-1), who sprinted out to an early 14-0 lead and, at one point in the fourth quarter, held a 24-point edge over the Big Ten’s regular-season darlings. Indiana entered the game with just 1 loss in its previous 12 games and, as a result, coach Curt Cignetti swept every Coach of the Year award.
Notre Dame just overwhelmed Indiana for stretches at a time, dominating time of possession and wearing out the IU lines. Indiana got a pair of late touchdowns to make the margin a bit more respectable, but the final score is a touch misleading. Indiana was never a threat.
And the Irish are moving on.
Here are 3 takeaways from the Playoff win.
Golden Domer defense dominates
Indiana effectively waved the white flag when it punted from Notre Dame’s side of the 50 with 10 minutes and change to play. And IU head coach Curt Cignetti was properly battered for the decision to do so, but what else was he supposed to do? Hand the ball to Notre Dame at midfield? Which is what would have happened on a fourth-and-11 play.
Indiana couldn’t block Notre Dame’s front. Indiana couldn’t create a rhythm for quarterback Kurtis Rourke. Indiana couldn’t generate push for the ground game. All the issues that presented against Ohio State were once again present for Indiana.
Rourke ended the day 20-for-33 for 215 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception. He was sacked 3 times and was running for his life far too often. IU got some garbage-time production to make Rourke’s numbers look more respectable, but Notre Dame had him spooked in the first half.
IU had 77 passing yards in the first half. It had 85 passing yards through 3 quarters. Notre Dame opened the game by forcing a 3-and-out and then picked off Rourke 4 plays into the Hoosiers’ second drive. It forced 3-and-outs on both of Indiana’s first 2 drives to begin the second half.
Safety Xavier Watts was everywhere. Leonard Moore could have had another pick if not for a teammate undercutting the ball and batting it away. Bryce Young came screaming in for a sack to cap a 3-play sequence in the third quarter that fully encapsulated Notre Dame’s defensive dominance. IU finished with 63 rushing yards on 27 attempts and averaged just 4.6 yards per play for the game. The Irish defense did what it has done all year — dominate.
Jeremiyah Love goes crazy
Notre Dame took this thing that was perceived as a strength for the Hoosiers and completely flipped it on its head. Indiana went into Friday night’s game ranked No. 2 in the country in run efficiency defense, allowing only 2.5 yards per carry. Had Indiana played anyone of significance? Not really, but it had shut down the teams it lined up against. Even Ohio State was under 4 yards per carry.
Notre Dame ran for 6.3 yards a pop, adjusted for sacks.
That was entirely because of Jeremiyah Love.
Indiana had given up only 7 runs all season of more than 20 yards. It gave up fewer than 98 rushing yards in 8 of its 12 regular-season games. Love ran 98 yards for a touchdown on his second carry of the game.
Love, a legitimate Heisman candidate in 2025, is one of the best players in this Playoff. He is a home-run hitter, lighting in a bottle. There is at least some cause for concern from this game, if only that removing Love’s 98 yards carry leaves the Irish with a per-carry average of 3.2 yards, but Notre Dame clearly has a playmaker on its hands and that’s always the hardest thing to find.
He finished the game with 8 carries for 108 yards and a touchdown. You hope he’s fully healthy. If he’s not, he has until Jan. 1 to get as close to 100% as possible. Notre Dame needs Love to beat Georgia. It’s also true that Notre Dame can beat Georgia because of Love.
I mean, c’mon man…
A receiver steps up
Entering Friday night, Jordan Faison had 16 receptions for 190 yards and a score.
Against the Hoosiers, the 5-foot-10 sophomore brought in 7 of his 10 targets for 89 yards. It was a career-best night for Faison in terms of receptions, and it came at the perfect time. There was a clear level of trust with Faison and Riley Leonard, who looked for him often and let it fly late.
Notre Dame’s pass-catchers have been a topic of conversation all season. No one had more than 500 receiving yards going into the Irish’s 13th game of the year. As Notre Dame moves deeper into the postseason and the talent level turns up, guys on the outside have to step up and keep defenses honest.
Leonard finished the evening with 201 yards on 23-of-32 passing. There were a ton of check-downs, and no one other than Faison had more than 20 receiving yards. If Faison can build on Friday’s outing, that’s a major development.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
