Notre Dame 'disappointed' in outcome

ATHENS, Ga.—Following No. 7 Notre Dame’s narrow loss to No. 3 Georgia tonight at Sanford Stadium, Fighting Irish players and their head coach, Brian Kelly, certainly appeared disappointed in the game’s 23-17 outcome. Yet, they were seemingly proud of their effort in an extremely physical game which they entered as more than a two-touchdown underdog.

“Congratulations to Georgia. They are a good football team, obviously,” Kelly said in his post-game press conference. “You could hear [the physicality] out there; the physicality was real. It was probably one of the most physical games that I have coached, against any team, that I have competed against—and I have coached a lot of games.”

After leading 10-7 at halftime, Notre Dame’s offense was stagnant for the next quarter and half. And, although the Georgia defense had a lot to do with that, the Fighting Irish was primarily to blame for their second-half ineptness per quarterback Ian Book.

“It was just on us. . . I respect [Georgia] a lot, but it was just on us to focus on the small details of what we were running and the game plan that the coaches made for us,” said Book, who finished 29-of-47 passing for 275 yards and two touchdowns. “It is tough to not come out on top of this game, but I am proud of the way this team played.”

After punting on its first drive of the third quarter, the Bulldogs scored on four consecutive possessions to take a 23-10 lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the contest. Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, whose arm was recognized by Kelly as “a lot livelier” and decision making more “outstanding” since the teams squared off two years ago, passed for 187 yards and a touchdown. In addition, D’Andre Swift rushed for 98 yards on a career-high 18 carries and a touchdown.

“[Swift] is a great running back and a great player,” said free safety Alohi Gilman, who finished with a team-high eight tackles. “He is an explosive big back, and a guy that is just competitive, as well. He is tough for anyone to match up against.”

Besides Swift in the second half, Notre Dame also found it difficult to contend with the Bulldogs’ overall team depth.

“It (Georgia’s depth) just seemed like it came in waves,” Kelly said. “Where they struggled a little bit was on the back end of their defense, but their depth was more than we’ve seen in a long time.”

Still, Notre Dame made a game of it, pulling within six points with just over three minutes left—then reaching Georgia’s 38-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. But, in the end, the Fighting Irish’s downfall was primarily their own doing as what had been a relatively mistake-free team repeatedly shot itself in the foot.

Book, who entered the game not having thrown an interception this season, was picked off twice. More so, Notre Dame committed 12 penalties for 85 yards, after being penalized just 11 times for 73 yards in two games this year.

“Penalties and dropped balls—mistakes, self-inflicted wounds,” Kelly said when asked about his team’s second-half demise. “And, Georgia is good.”