Leading up to the Sugar Bowl, there was talk about how Georgia (11-3) would look without Carson Beck.
Beck had started at quarterback for the Bulldogs all season before getting hurt in the second half of the SEC Championship game. Let’s not forget that Beck wasn’t having the type of season he had the year before.
But it’s Georgia. One quarterback goes down, and a four-star quarterback replaces him. In walked Gunner Stockton.
Kirby Smart would have roughly a month to prepare Stockton for the biggest game of his young career.
The excuse-making for the Bulldogs had started weeks before the game.
What was conveniently ignored were Notre Dame’s injuries. The Fighting Irish had lost five starters for the season, including projected first-round pick Benjamin Morrison. Four of those injuries were on the defensive side of the ball.
Instead of excuses, Al Golden made adjustment after adjustment. The “next man up” cliche was a battle cry under the Golden Dome.
Marcus Freeman has proven that the lights aren’t too bright in South Bend. One of Freeman’s biggest strengths is that he’s a uniter. Even with embarrassing losses like Marshall and Northern Illinois on his resume, he hasn’t lost the locker room in an era where the Transfer Portal is accessible.
Notre Dame played like a team that wouldn’t make excuses for itself.
Georgia did. The Bulldogs played like a team that felt sorry for itself.
The 23-10 loss wasn’t on Stockton. Stockton finished 20-32 for 234 yards and a touchdown. He did his part. If you want to discuss the fumble before the half, put that on Smart.
Smart begged for calls all night. It started with the “running into the kicker” call that he thought should have been roughing. There was the fourth-down play on which Georgia was offsides after Notre Dame went 11-on, 11-off.
What’s damning is it isn’t like Notre Dame played the perfect game. The Fighting Irish running game was quiet for most of the night, and the lost starting running back, Jeremiyah Love.
A combination of questionable play calling, Georgia’s defense, and bad eyesight scuddled the running game. The ESPN booth wondered if Notre Dame wasn’t running Love outside of the tackles all night. Then there was Jadarian Price. Several times, Price had cutback lanes he simply didn’t see.
Notre Dame’s best runner was quarterback Riley Leonard. The same Riley Leonard that didn’t throw for 100 yards.
Georgia’s running game was equally as inept. Unlike Notre Dame, Smart never figured out a formula to overcome an injured defense that had proven stout throughout the season.
Smart turned Georgia into Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame team.
