College Football Playoff players to watch, key to the Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Georgia

The final College Football Playoff quarterfinal is the fourth postseason meeting between Notre Dame and Georgia. The Bulldogs have won all three of the previous matchups. Can they get a fourth?

[More CFP: Ohio State vs. Oregon | Boise State vs. Penn State | Texas vs. Arizona State]

Date: Jan. 1 | Time: 8:45 p.m. ET | TV: ESPN | Line: Georgia -1.5 | Total: 44.5

How these teams got here

Notre Dame: The Irish dominated Indiana in a 27-17 win that turned out to be the closest margin of victory of any of the four first-round CFP games. Notre Dame broke the game open on Jeremiyah Love’s 98-yard TD run and kept the Indiana offense in check until the game was out of reach.

Georgia: The SEC champions beat Texas twice to secure the league title. Georgia lost to Alabama and Ole Miss on the road but ended up in the SEC title game thanks to chaos within the conference and three league losses for both the Crimson Tide and the Rebels. Georgia beat Texas 30-15 in the regular season and then beat the Longhorns 22-19 in the SEC title game.

How the QBs stack up

We don’t have much college data to go on for Gunner Stockton. The No. 2 QB for the Bulldogs is now the starter after taking over during the SEC title game for Carson Beck after Beck suffered a UCL injury on a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the first half. For the season, Stockton was 25-of-32 passing for 206 yards and an interception over four games. In the second half against Texas, he was 12-of-16 for 71 yards and an interception. He’s the biggest unknown in the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard has gotten more and more comfortable as the season has gone on. Leonard was 23-of-32 for 201 yards and a TD and interception against Indiana and also rushed 11 times for 30 yards and a score. Leonard has just 17 passing TDs but has rushed for 15 TDs and averages 5.6 yards a carry. His 751 yards this season on the ground are a career high.

Players to watch

Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price: Love broke the big run in the first half but saw sporadic playing time as he’s been dealing with a knee injury. If he’s not fully healthy, the bulk of the rushing load could fall to Price, who has been a fantastic wingman in 2024. Price has rushed 100 times for 683 yards and seven scores this season. He had just 32 yards on 11 carries against Indiana but had 12 rushes for 111 yards against USC in the regular season finale and 10 carries for 53 yards and two scores against Army.

Georgia WR Arian Smith: Smith has the most yards of any Bulldogs receiver with 47 grabs for 750 yards and four TDs. But he’s been inconsistent and drops have been a serious issue. Smith has come up big in the College Football Playoff before, however, and this would be a great time for him to become a reliable target. He’s Georgia’s best downfield threat and can be a field-stretcher against the Notre Dame secondary if Georgia trusts Stockton to throw it down the field.

Key to the game

No one will question how well Georgia coach Kirby Smart can motivate his team, especially in a circumstance like this with his starting quarterback injured and off to the NFL. But just how well can Georgia move the ball with Stockton in the game? The Bulldogs’ offense hasn’t been great in big games with Beck, though weeks of practice with Stockton as the starter will be very beneficial. We’re not going to be surprised if Georgia runs the ball a lot. And neither will Vegas. Just look at how low the total is (44.5). It’s by far the lowest of the four quarterfinal games.