Five thoughts: Marcus Freeman out-coached Kirby Smart

By Jack Soble

Georgia had to burn a timeout with 13:24 left in the third quarter of the Sugar Bowl. At that moment, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was as visibly fired up as he had been all night.

He was screaming — the kind of screaming where it’s a bunch of words we can’t write in this magazine with some “Yeah!” mixed in. He was pumping his fist. He drifted out toward the hash marks to pump up his defenders on the field. All for a timeout.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had to spend that timeout because his offense, facing third-and-8 from its own 34-yard line, was out of sorts. Maybe the Bulldogs let the crecendoing Irish fans get to them, or maybe they were too stunned by the 17 points Notre Dame had scored in the previous two-plus minutes of game time. 

Either way, Smart’s team was folding. And Freeman knew it.

In a game that certainly looked like Georgia had the talent advantage early — Notre Dame’s offense clearly had a difficult time with the Bulldogs’ size and athleticism on defense — Freeman gave the Irish an edge in ways Smart did not. He was the one dictating the flow of the game, and the two-time national champion on the other sideline was the one who constantly had to react.

Here are four more thoughts on Notre Dame’s monumental 23-10 win.

2. Forget the rest of the season. Oben, Harrison etched names in Notre Dame history

Graduate student Irish defensive end RJ Oben had zero quarterback hits in 13 games entering the Sugar Bowl, according to Pro Football Focus.

Not sacks. Hits. The Duke transfer brought in to start at field end hadn’t touched a signal-caller in a Notre Dame uniform, and he was 16th on the team in total pressures with 6. He was relegated to playing exclusively on early downs, being subbed off the field in obvious passing situations.

None of that matters now.

Oben will be remembered forever in South Bend, because he made the play of the night in Notre Dame’s first major bowl win since Jan. 1, 1994. Even with a 6-3 lead late in the first half, the Irish couldn’t have felt great about the way that game was playing out. Oben, with an incredible individual effort to strip-sack Georgia redshirt sophomore quarterback Gunner Stockton, completely flipped the script.

“If you’re ever in the facility, like five hours post-practice, he’s going to be somewhere doing something to get better,” senior quarterback Riley Leonard, who played with Oben at Duke, said. “Whether things are going good or bad, he’s going to put his head down and work.”

“When you have that mindset and you have that work ethic, good things like what happened today happened to you,” Freeman said.

Graduate student wide receiver Jayden Harrison, a Marshall transfer, is a different case. He had played his role well as a reserve slot receiver, but the real excitement around his acquisition was his status as an All-American kickoff returner. He hadn’t produced the fireworks Irish fans wanted until Thursday night.

Now, he’s responsible for one of the greatest moments in recent Notre Dame history.

3. Defense leaves no doubt about it: One of two best in the nation

The other is Texas. Order them however you want, and it won’t be wrong. I mentioned Georgia’s defense had the athleticism edge against Notre Dame’s offense; that was decidedly not the case when the Bulldogs had the ball.

The Irish are ridiculously fast and instinctive in the back seven, and they put that on display all game. Georgia only managed 2.1 rushing yards per carry, including 4 sacks. And 10 points is 10 points. If there was any doubt the USC game was an anomaly, there is not anymore.

About those two big plays through the air (three if not for an inexplicable drop), by the way:

“We didn’t believe that we could lose this game by passing yards, but we could lose if we don’t stop the run,” Freeman said. “And the defense did an amazing job at stopping the run.”

4. I am done counting this team out because of injuries

I picked Notre Dame to win this game. I switched my pick because I thought graduate student defensive tackle Rylie Mills’ season-ending injury was one loss of a star player to many. I will never make that mistake again.

Sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love went down with the same tweaked knee that he suffered against USC. His replacement, junior Jadarian Price, ripped off some tough runs in his stead. Graduate student defensive tackle Howard Cross III also left the game with an injury, and his replacement, junior Donovan Hinish, ended the game with a sack on Stockton. The Irish didn’t miss a beat after either injury.

This team has taken hit after hit after hit, and it just keeps rolling.

5. Total yards is a stupid stat; here’s why

Leonard produced 170 total yards in the Sugar Bowl. He produced 179 in Notre Dame’s Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois.

QB1 wasn’t perfect Thursday night. He did not deal with pressure well, which is something he’ll have to get better at by the time the Irish face Penn State (get ready to learn Abdul Carter, buddy) in the Orange Bowl. But he ran effectively, taking advantage of Georgia’s lone defensive weakness. He protected the football, never coming close to a turnover. He picked up critical first downs in the fourth quarter, crushing any chance the Bulldogs had of a comeback.

Leonard did what Notre Dame needed him to do. The Irish wouldn’t be heading to Miami without him.