No sugar would fall from the sky this time around.

Thanks to a wild sequence at the end of the first half and into the second, Georgia fell into a deficit it could not overcome in Thursday's 23-10 loss to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. The Fighting Irish defeated Georgia for the first time in four tries and will advance to face Penn State in the College Football Playoff semifinals, hosted by the Orange Bowl.

The game was a defensive struggle in the first half with Notre Dame taking a 6-3 lead with less than a minute to go in the second quarter. On the ensuing offensive possession's first play, Monroe Freeling allowed for Und Tuihalamaka to run free and sack Gunner Stockton, which resulted in a fumble. Notre Dame scored one play later to go up 13-3 before the end of the first half.

The Fighting Irish then ran back the third quarter's opening kickoff to open up a 20-3 lead. From there, the Georgia defense held Notre Dame to only three more points. But the offense, led by Stockton in his first start, couldn't muster much.

Stockton finished the game 20-of-32 passing for 234 yards and a touchdown. Georgia was held to 62 rushing yards on 29 carries, which included 23 yards on sacks.

Georgia's rollercoaster of a season comes to a close. For a good chunk of the early offseason we'll all wonder why this team couldn't play consistent, complementary football. In some senses, this team underachieved given the preseason expectations. In another sense, this may have been Kirby Smart's best coaching job in nine seasons, considering his least talented team since the 2016 season won the SEC and earned the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Georgia will now need to focus on upgrading via the transfer portal where Smart sees fit. An obvious hole is wide receiver as the Bulldogs need a true No. 1 wideout in the worst way. Georgia also needs to address its offensive line, which did not perform up to its usual standard all season long.

Why did Georgia get away from what was working?

In the second half against Texas, Georgia opted for a methodical offense to take what the defense gave it. It worked.

On Georgia's second drive of the game, it methodically moved the ball down the field, taking what the defense would give until the Fighting Irish forced a fumble on third down in striking distance.

Georgia continued this approach until its drive at the 3:34 mark of the second quarter. Tied at 3 apiece, the Bulldogs opted for three consecutive throws, all of which looked to be either deep or intermediate. The possession ended early and Notre Dame got the ball back with plenty of time to go up 6-3. Opting to stay aggressive, Georgia called a shot play on first down on the ensuing possession, only for a worst-case scenario -- a Stockton sack/fumble -- to play out.

Add in a special teams meltdown on the kickoff to start the third quarter and suddenly Georgia was down 20-3. That sequence made all the difference in the flow of this game. And it makes you wonder why Georgia went away from what was working up to that point.

Etienne's fumble: On third-and-1 at the Notre Dame 16-yard line, Trevor Etienne took a hard hit from Adon Shuler and fumbled the ball. This play concluded a 14-play drive where Georgia asserted its will and controlled the tempo to its liking. Coming away with zero points was detrimental.

Sideline interference: It may not have mattered in the end. But during Arian Smith's deep reception, walk-on Parker Jones was on the white part of the sideline and made contact with an official. This resulted in a 15-yard penalty and slowed Georgia's momentum following a big play. The Bulldogs settled for a field goal instead of putting itself in position for a touchdown.

The aforementioned sack/fumble: Trailing 6-3, Georgia had a decision to make. Be aggressive to tie or take the lead? Or go to the half knowing that Notre Dame would get the ball to start the second half. The Bulldogs chose the former and it resulted in a crucial mistake.

Fourth-down offside penalty: Trailing by 13 and forcing Notre Dame into a fourth-and-1 with less than eight minutes to play, the Fighting Irish substituted the punt team with the offense. Georgia substituted and lined up perfectly until Riley Leonard changed the snap count just enough to force Jalon Walker offsides. That extended the drive, with Notre Dame putting the game away by running over five minutes off the clock.

Offense: C-

The offensive line had one of its worst halves of the year in the first two quarters. You can debate whether the coaching staff should have been aggressive when trailing 6-3 near the end of the first half. Even so, Freeling has to block his man and not allow for Stockton to take a blindside sack while he's throwing the ball. The run game found it tough to get going, but all things considered, Stockton had a good showing in his first career start.

Defense: B

Credit Leonard for making the plays he did in the quarterback run game. That, along with Georgia being unable to secure the edges, proved to be too much to overcome.

Special teams: F

The kick return for the touchdown was inexcusable. Cash Jones missed his tackle and it was a wrap from there.

Offense: B-

Defense: B

Special teams: B-