Notre Dame 27, Indiana 17
In a high-stakes college football playoff game at a chilly South Bend, Indiana, the first of the new expanded 12-team college football playoff, Notre Dame edged past Indiana with a dominant 27-17 victory. Fans arrived early, queuing in cars from 7 a.m. to arrive on campus to witness the first meeting between the two programs since 1991, which would kick off a full thirteen hours later.
Remarkably, given their campuses are just 200 miles apart, this was just the thirteenth meeting between these in-state rivals since 1898, the first game, and last game Indiana has won against its storied rival.
A Fast Start for Notre Dame
The game came to life early with explosive plays on both sides of the ball. Indiana's James Carpenter batted down a Riley Leonard pass, leading to an interception by D'Angelo Ponds. Indiana couldn't convert and their quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who came into the game with a 70% pass completion rate and 27 touchdowns on the season, looked out of sync early.
Xavier Watts, Notre Dame’s defensive anchor and winner of the 2023 Bronco Nagurski Award, intercepted Rourke for his sixth pick of the season. Both quarterbacks had been intercepted in the first four minutes.
Notre Dame’s standout running back Jeremiyah Love showcased his 10.5 second 100-metre speed with a stunning 98-yard touchdown run, leaving Indiana’s top-ranked run defense scrambling.
The Fighting Irish racked up 131 rushing yards in the first quarter alone, exposing unexpected vulnerability in the Hoosiers’ defensive unit. By halftime, the Irish led 17-3, thanks to a 5-yard Jayden Thomas touchdown catch and a 49-yard field goal from Mitch Jeter — a notable turnaround for the team that had ranked dead last in the FBS with just 8 of 18 field goals made coming into this game.
Indiana Struggles to Keep Pace
Rourke completed just one of his opening six pass attempts, and struggled to move the chains to convert first downs. The Hoosiers finally found some momentum late in the second quarter with a 34-yard field goal by Nicolas Radicic. However, their offense struggled to capitalise on opportunities, hampered by Notre Dame’s relentless defense, led by defensive coordinator Al Golden’s scheming and standout performances from the promising freshman Bryce Young and sack leader Rylie Mills.
Second-Half Dominance and a Late Indiana Push
Notre Dame opened the second half with a clever reverse kickoff return that set them up on Indiana’s 47-yard line. The Fighting Irish defense then sacked Rourke twice, with Young continuing to apply pressure. A costly Indiana penalty from a late James Carpenter hit on Leonard allowed Notre Dame to extend their lead to 20-3 on another Jeter field goal.
Inexplicably, Cignetti elected to punt midway through the fourth quarter on fourth down when the Hoosiers were 17 points down. Notre Dame would use up almost six minutes of the clock on a nine-play scoring drive. Riley Leonard connected on a 44-yard pass to Jordan Faison to set himself up for a one-yard rushing touchdown.
Indiana showed resilience in the fourth quarter, adding two late touchdowns, including a swing pass from Rourke reeled in by Myles Price and a 23-yard score by Omar Cooper Jr. following a successful onside kick, but missed a critical two-point conversion that would have brought them within one possession and a glimmer of hope in completing what would have been a stunning comeback. You wonder if the decision to punt might have cost them that opportunity.
Notre Dame Advances to the Quarterfinals
With just seconds remaining, Notre Dame recovered Indiana’s second onside kick, and Leonard sealed the victory by taking a knee. The Fighting Irish impressed in all three phases with their run offense, strategic defense and clever special teams play.
They now advance to face Georgia in the quarterfinals, riding high after dominating Indiana. They remain one of the dark horses in this college football playoff, but they will need to show more in the passing game to trouble a Georgia team who are veteran campaigners in the business end of the season.
"Notre Dame outplayed us." - Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti.
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