NEW ORLEANS – Like millions of people around the country, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was devastated by the terrorist attack early Wednesday morning that killed 15 people.

As a result, the Sugar Bowl was postponed for 24 hours until Thursday afternoon.

But as far as the event having an effect and the Bulldogs in their 23-10 loss, Smart said absolutely not.

“Guys, I'm not desensitizing what happened, OK? That was a very traumatic event. But this team was focused and ready to go play. So, I'm not going to sit here and talk about the tragedy affecting our team,” Smart said. “Notre Dame played well. We didn't play great. But when we turned the ball over twice and had a kickoff returned, that's what I attribute the loss to. Not to the tragedy or what happened. And that's not any disrespect to the community of New Orleans or the people with tragic losses.”

Gunner Stockton agreed.

“It was a lot, but I thought we handled it good,” Stockton said. “It was tragic what happened. It affected everybody’s family. I hated to see it happen.”

Smart also brushed off the notion that having an extra week off since the SEC Championship left his team rusty.

With Georgia’s loss, all four top seeds in the quarterfinals will be home watching when the CFP semifinals take place in Dallas and Miami.

“I mean, I look at what Vegas says, and it went kind of what Vegas said, you know what I mean? I mean, at least in those two games. I guess ours was a (push); I don't know what it was. It was close,” Smart said. “But two of those (Penn State and Texas) teams were better than the other teams, to be honest with you. And that is what it is. That's more about the seeding process and where it is. But I'm not here to complain about anything. Given the opportunity, Notre Dame lost probably their best defensive player. So, I don't know how that's an advantage.”

Georgia’s offensive line struggled mightily against the Irish, allowing Stockton to take four sacks, including one late in the second quarter that resulted in a fumble and Notre Dame taking a 13-3 halftime lead.

Left tackle Monroe Freeling was the guilty party. The redshirt freshman was beaten twice in the first half by Junior Tuihalamaka of the Irish, who finished the first half with six tackles for loss.

Freeling would be replaced by Xavier Truss on Georgia’s next possession with Earnest Greene III moving to right tackle.

The turnover was one of two by the Bulldogs, who also lost a key fumble by Trevor Etienne at the Irish 10 with Georgia driving for an apparent score.

…Notre Dame was flagged for back-to-back running into the kicker calls against freshman punter Drew Miller, who was making his Bulldog debut.

…As expected, Carson Beck traveled to the game.

.Redshirt sophomore quarterback Gunner Stockton, making his first career start, was 20-for-32 for 234 yards and one touchdown and was sacked four times. The Bulldogs finished with 296 yards of offense on 61 plays. In the first half, he was sacked three times with two fumbles, one which was recovered by the Irish at the UGA 13 that led to a touchdown at the end of the half.

…Georgia entered the fourth quarter trailing 20-10 ,and then fell behind 23-10 with 13:47 left and turned it over on downs in the red zone.

….Down 20-3 in the third quarter, the Bulldogs went 63 yards in five plays capped by a 32-yard touchdown catch by Cash Jones (career-long) to cut it to 20-10.

…At the half, Georgia trailed 13-3 with 152 yards of total offense on 33 plays. Notre Dame came in allowing just 13.8 ppg, which ranked third in the FBS. Notre Dame forced two fumbles and turned them into seven points to improve to +18 in Turnover Margin.

…Georgia now has trailed at the half seven times this year (at Kentucky 6-3, at Alabama 30-7, vs. Florida 13-6, at Ole Miss 16-7, vs. Georgia Tech 17-0, vs.Texas 6-3, Notre Dame 13-3) and finished 4-3 in those games, beating Texas, Georgia Tech, Florida and Kentucky.

…Georgia’s first possession was five plays for minus-13 yards with a sack and fumble out of bounds. The second drive covered 70 yards on 13 plays and ended with an Etienne fumble on a third-and-1 play at the Notre Dame 16 that was recovered by the Irish at the 10. It marked just the fifth time that the Bulldogs have not scored in the red zone this season and their fourth turnover there.

…For the seventh time this season, Georgia did not score in the first quarter. The Bulldogs were 5-2 in those games.

…Georgia’s third drive resulted in a 41-yard field goal by Peyton Woodring and a 3-0 lead with 14:03 left in the first half.

Junior wideout Arian Smith had one catch that covered 67 yards, a career-long for Stockton. Junior Dillon Bell had a team-high six catches for 33 yards.

…Notre Dame entered the game third nationally in scoring, averaging 38.8 ppg, and it was held to 13 points and 135 total yards in the 1st half while the 2nd half scoring was a kickoff return for a touchdown and a field goal. They finished with 244 yards on 61 plays in their victory.

…The Irish were blanked in the first quarter. Their first drive was three plays for -9 yards. The second drive was five for 20 yards. Down 3-0 in the second quarter, their third drive covered 49 yards and resulted in a 44-yard field goal with 8:36 left in the first half. With 38 seconds left in the first half, the Irish added a 48-yard field goal.

…Senior Smael Mondon, Jr., notched a sack for minus-11 yards, his third of the year and eighth of his career. He had a team-leading nine tackles in the first half while freshman KJ Bolden and sophomores Christen Miller and Raylen Wilson had five each.

…Sophomore place-kicker Peyton Woodring tallied four points on a 41-yard field goal and one PAT. He is now 21-for-23 in field goals this year. Also, he handled kickoffs.

…Freshman Drew Miller handled the punting for the first time in his career. His first official career punt went for 36 yards as the Irish were flagged twice for running into him. He had four for a 39.8 average. His longest punt of the first half covered 48 yards.

…Notre Dame’s Jayden Harris took the second-half kickoff 98 yards for a TD and a 20-3 lead. It marked the first one allowed by Georgia since 2018 when Georgia Tech's Juanyeh Thomas had a 100-yarder. It was the second longest surrendered by the Bulldogs in a bowl as Texas A&M’s Bob Smith had a 100-yarder on the opening kickoff of the 1950 Presidential Cup.