3 keys for the Irish to win the Sugar Bowl over Georgia in the CFB Playoff

Three phases of the game and a way to win each one

It’s a reality now. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are set to play the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl for the right to move on to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. It’s been a long road for Notre Dame, but they are pretty much in the exact spot many of us had them back in August.

Facing Georgia, however, wasn’t the matchup we predicted… but it’s fine. The SEC Champions are a flawed football team — just like every team in the country this season. There is no Frankenstein’s monster out there, but that doesn’t mean they’re Igor either. The Irish are going to need to buckle up and get ready for an absolute war on the football field.

The Irish have a ton of expectations going into this game, and the expectation is still to win a national championship. How do the Irish get there? Well, they have to win the next game first, and here are three keys for the Irish to win this game.

KEY 1 — OFFENSE

Explode. There is a lot to be said of “being who you are” in a big football game. Notre Dame is a power running team at its core, and the running game opens up the different things they like to do in the passing game. But… this isn’t a normal football game, and Georgia isn’t some random ACC team. The Irish are going to need to manufacture 3-4 explosive plays in the passing game to win. This doesn’t mean they have to be bombs — a 40 yard catch and run from a tunnel screen does the same job. The ability to execute these plays will force Georgia (who isn’t great against the pass anyways) to loosen up a bit while defending the run. Another big part of the strategy even though it isn’t directly related to scoring, is that these explosive plays help flip the field and set up for better field positin throughout the game.

KEY 2 — DEFENSE

Confuse. Georgia’s running game isn’t nearly as good as it has been in the past, and overall, the offense has had its fair share of struggles in the passing game. With Carson Beck out, Gunner Stockton takes over at quarterback, and no matter how talented Stockton might be — he doesn’t have a lot of experience. The Irish are pretty thin along the defensive line now that Rylie Mills is out, but defensive coordinator Al Golden is well known for his exotic blitz schemes that are meant to apply maximum pressure and maximum confusion. Doing this should allow the Irish secondary (one of the absolute best in the country) to create a turnover or two — which could be critical for a Notre Dame win.

KEY 3 — SPECIAL TEAMS

Don’t screw it up. I wrote these exact words for the Indiana game and they still ring true:

To borrow a phrase from our colleague Tim O’Malley over at Irish Illustrated, “DO NO HARM.” The Irish have experienced extreme difficulty with its field goal unit, and in particular, kicker Mitch Jeter. The Irish kicker ranks 2nd to last in all of the FBS in field goal percentage by going 6-12 on the season. The Irish are tied for 112th in the country at allowing blocked kicks as well, and this is where things could get interesting.

Jeter’s 49 yarder against IU should provide a lot more confidence for a game being played indoors — but the point remains. BUT ALSO… Notre Dame is one of the best punt blocking teams in the nation, and freshman Bryce Young has three this season. A blocked punt could be a key — a very big key.