NEW ORLEANS — Notre Dame‘s 23-10 victory against Georgia in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Thursday might have been a 60-minute informercial on how to effectively use the transfer portal.
Nearly a half-dozen transfers who joined the No. 7 Fighting Irish before the 2024 season helped them capture one of their biggest victories in decades against the No. 2 Bulldogs. It was Notre Dame’s 13th win of the season, the most in program history, and it snapped an eight-game losing streak in BCS/New Year’s Six bowl games.
The Irish couldn’t have knocked off the Bulldogs without transfers such as quarterback Riley Leonard, defensive end RJ Oben, kick returner Jayden Harrison, receiver Beaux Collins and kicker Mitch Jeter, who made big play after big play at Caesar’s Superdome.
Notre Dame advanced to play No. 6 Penn State in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 9.
“I see the work they put in, and I’ve seen their process they’ve gone through, and I’m just so proud of them to see them come up big,” Irish linebacker Jack Kiser said. “There’s a ton of firsts this year. It’s been an awesome ride. But it just shows that we’ve earned one more and we’re excited for that guaranteed opportunity to come, and we’re not going to take anything for granted. We’re going to seize the opportunity.”
Leonard, who played three seasons at Duke before transferring for his senior season, essentially carried the Fighting Irish offense on his back. He threw for 90 yards with one touchdown on 15-for-24 passing and ran 14 times for 80 yards.
“They’re a very physical group,” Leonard said. “They brought a lot of pressure today, but I think we handled it pretty well and stayed behind the chains early in the game, and then kind of figured it out a little bit. I was struggling in the passing game, but, shoot, that opens up the run game. And we were able to utilize our abilities and execute when it mattered.”
Leonard’s rushing total was the fourth highest by a quarterback in a CFP game, according to ESPN Research, and his 831 rushing yards this season are the second most in a season by a Notre Dame quarterback (Tony Rice had 884 in 1989).
Several of Leonard’s biggest runs against Georgia came on third down, and he lowered his…
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