It is here.
I am old enough to remember when college football did not have a playoff system. It would destroy the bowl system, ruin the sport, and – no joke – a playoff could “hurt the troops.” (I will explain the last part another time.
But now that we have a 12-team College Football Playoff, it is actually not that bad of a setup. Let us hope the games are good.
Whatever happens, Notre Dame vs. Indiana will be interesting. If it is a blowout in one direction or the other, that is interesting. If it is a low-scoring defensive battle, that is interesting.
The Irish face pressure, the Hoosiers have fun, and I will comment on all of it as this new American tradition begins.
Notre Dame vs Indiana Live Updates and Commentary
Final Score: Notre Dame 27, Indiana 17
Notre Dame vs Indiana: Fourth Quarter Live Updates
–Â 0:25. Again, good for you, Indiana. LÂ ook, it’s still a double-digit loss, and yeah, the points came after everything let down on the Irish side, but the two late scores to make it 27-17 really does look better. Now, if Cignetti had just not punted at midfield while raising the white flag …
–Â 1:13. OF COURSEÂ a Curt Cignetti team has an absolutely perfect onside kick.
Notre Dame 27, Indiana 11
– 1:27. Good for you, Indiana. Kurtis Rourke throws a late TD pass, Elijah Surratt catches the two point conversion. And …
– 2:00. Give more credit to Notre Dame than make this about Indiana not being up to the moment. This is what having three weeks of full focus and preparation against an inferior team talent-wise looks like.
– 4:50. You are what your numbers say they are. Riley Leonard … 23-of-32 for 201 yards, one touchdown, one interception that wasn’t his fault, 30 rushing yards, one score, one win, one trip to the Sugar Bowl to deal with Georgia.
– 6:13. Riley Leonard and Notre Dame needed that. He’s having a strong statistical game, but now he hit a downfield shot Georgia will have to play for.
– 6:26. And now Notre Dame is killing the clock. Curt Cignetti is obviously brilliant, but that punt was puzzling – just wait until he gets questioned on THAT.
– 10:34. I dunno. Indiana is the all-time Playing With House Money cliché team, and it’s punting at midfield down 17?!
– 10:45. I love the SEC types on social media. Notre Dame is underseeded by about two spots, Indiana is overseeded, and now the Big Ten apparently sucks.
– 11:47. I do like Greg McElroy, but on this I’ll disagree. Indiana, GO!!!!!. Yes, go hyper-speed. MOVE.
– 12:22. All the rest of this fourth quarter is about to do is jack up the spread for Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
– 12:22. Land the plan, Notre Dame. There wasn’t much of a sense of urgency on the last drive, the kick was blocked, and now Indiana at least has a wee bit of spark with over 12 minutes to play.
– 13:34. Here we go. The broadcast is starting to dog Indiana for not beating anyone great. It wasn’t bad against Ohio State. Washington and Michigan played for the national championship last year, by the way, and Indiana took them both out.
– 13:47. Do … not … screw … up. Just keep taking the time off the clock, Notre Dame. Indiana won’t score four more times.
Notre Dame vs Indiana: Third Quarter Live Updates
End of Third Quarter Thoughts
1) Indiana just needs ONE big play. One spark, one thing to go its way, one moment when it can get a little bit of momentum. Down three scores it won’t get this done, but it can make the Irish sweat a bit because …
2) The Irish offense isn’t doing anything special. IU is sniffing out everything. It’s just not able to make the big defensive stop and …
3) Kurtis Rourke is 7-of-15 for 85 yards with an interception, and the Hoosier running game has only managed 46 yards. The Notre Dame defense is pitching a gem.
– 2:00. And that play epitomizes this game. Indiana had Jeremiyah Love bottled up. It had the lanes, the discipline, and it did everything right to screw up the play and making it second and long, but Love was just … better. Talent overcomes bad plays and situations.
– 2:48. No, America, this isn’t the Indiana team that rocked all season. The offense can’t find any semblance of a groove.
– 2:55. Give the Notre Dame defense credit, but Kurtis Rourke and the Indiana offense are playing like they had three weeks off and lost their mojo. They’re not doing anything they did during the season with the quick hitters to keep things moving.
Notre Dame 20, Indiana 3
– 5:15 You don’t need to be quirky, Notre Dame. If you’re going to go for it, just go for it. Mitch Jeter bails the Irish out of this mess.
– 5:15 NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. Indiana bailed out the Irish from a HORRIBLE play call. The blocking didn’t work working to the boundary, and the fake field goal got stuffed. But IU called a time out.
– 5:53. I’ll say this in advance. If Indiana comes up with this third down stop on its own 4, the Irish need to go for it. The field goal is the smart move, but set a tone, Marcus Freeman. If you really think you have this …
– 7:01. It’s not like the Notre Dame offense is working. The Hoosiers are generating pressure, the Irish aren’t coming up with anything, and then James Carpenter – who’s having a wonderful game – hits Riley Leonard five yards out of bounds.
– 12:05. Nope. Indiana doesn’t have it. It doesn’t have the talent, the speed, or the parts to deal with this Notre Dame team.
Here’s one thing we might all be missing. Even major bowl upsets over the years were mostly exhibition games. Talent might just win out BIG in this new CFP.
– 12:51 It’s been a clean game so far, but little things will become big if Indiana is given any breaks. That was a TOUGH offsides call for Notre Dame to take with the Hooisers backed up so deep.
– 12:57. Uh oh. Rylie Mills doesn’t look right. What’s lost is how thin this Irish team is, and it’s about to take on Georgia and its NFL monsters up front in two weeks. Losing Mills wouldn’t be okay.
– 13:15. Wonderful job by Indiana to settle in. No, it didn’t take over the field position battle thanks to the kickoff return, but it negated the Irish getting that second half kickoff.
– 13:21. It just seems like every Notre Dame pitch-and-catch is SO HARD. It feels like every completion is a fight.
– 14:48. Oh dear lord. Indiana needed to come up with a big stop, flip the field, and start to generate a little bit of momentum, and Notre Dame grabbed it right away with that reverse for a kickoff return for 60 yards.
Notre Dame vs Indiana: Second Quarter Live Updates
–Â End of Second Quarter 3 Thoughts
1. Indiana doesn’t have the guys. The schemes are great, the coaching is peerless, and the parts were there to be very, very good, but the Hoosiers don’t have Notre Dame’s guys on the lines.
2. Riley Leonard is 11-of-17 for 87 yards, and WOW does it not feel like it.
3. Notre Dame was 5-of-7 on third downs, Indiana was 3-of-7. The second half is all on Kurtis Rourke finding a groove, because the Hoosier ground game isn’t going to work.
For those not used to the College Football Playoff halftimes, no, the SMU-Penn State game won’t kick off by the time the Irish and Hoosiers get going again in the second half.
Notre Dame 17, Indiana 3
– 0:07. Absolutely massive 49-yard field goal by Mitch Jeter. He misses that, it’s a story and a thing throughout the rest of this game and the College Football Playoff, as long as the Irish are still in this.
– 0:20. No way, no how, no chance that slamming of Riley Leonard isn’t a penalty in the NFL.
– 0:36. I truly am amazed at how inaccurate Riley Leonard is. I really did think he was about to be something truly special at an NFL level after his sophomore season at Duke.
– 1:50. That is one massive catch by Jordan Faison to bail out Riley Leonard. 13 will start to run more as the game goes on.
– 2:30. Notre Dame is playing it WAY conservative. It’s playing like it would be more than happy to get into the locker room up 14-3, and Indiana is jumping all over the first few plays.
Notre Dame 14, Indiana 3
– 3:26. Politely and cheerfully disregard what I wrote just before this. Indiana and Curt Cignetti took a deep breath and grabbed the points to get on the board. It would’ve been disastrous to come away with nothing.
– 3:41. I guess you go for it on 4th and 4 on the Irish 16, but it’s only 14-0 and the Hoosier D isn’t bad. Take the three, get something positive.
– 5:44. Indiana will keep throwing that shoulder fade whether it works or not, because it’s setting up everything between the hashmarks. The Hoosier receivers are getting a bit more room to move.
– 5:50 EHHHHHHHHHH, compared to what the defensive backs have done throughout the first 20 minutes, that wasn’t pass interference on Notre Dame.
– 6:03. FINALLY, Kurtis Rourke gets all the time he needs to throw, and he connects with Elijah Surratt.
– 7:11 Xavier Watts is so freaking good. I will never, ever, ever, EVER understand why safeties aren’t given more respect in the NFL Draft.
– 7:36. Indiana will totally sell out against the run from here on. If Riley Leonard wins this through the air, so be it, but the Hoosiers are sending everyone into the backfield.
– 9:25. Yeah, Riley Leonard completed that throw for 11 yards to Kris Mitchell, but that ball took about 13 days to get there.
–Â 9:30. (Live look into the Indiana coaching box)Â … “sign … punter … ”
– 10:15. Ohio State. That’s the only team we’ll see this CFP whose defense will look like it’s playing with more confidence than Notre Dame’s D is right now.
– 11:28. And the SPLIT-SECOND I write the next thing below this, the Indiana offense starts to do exactly what it’s supposed to.
– 12:43. Nope. Indiana’s offense doesn’t have it like I thought it would. Notre Dame’s defense is playing like its legs had three weeks off.
–Â 12:52. If Indiana can’t go on a scoring drive here …Â uh oh.
Notre Dame 14, Indiana 0
– 12:52. Riley Leonard to Jayden Thomas for a five-yard touchdown. 13 will never have an easier throw.
– 13:31. The Irish are setting up for an easy Riley Leonard throw. The Hoosiers are selling out against the run. This will break wide open …
– 15:00. Just bash away, Notre Dame. Until Indiana can hit the fastball, keep throwing it.
Notre Dame vs Indiana: First Quarter Live Updates
–Â End of First Quarter 3 Thoughts
1. Notre Dame is just that good, especially defensively. Indiana needed to come out hot, and it didn’t. That Kurtis Rourke interception was a KILLER.
2. The Irish offensive line will take over this game sooner than I thought.
3. Notre Dame might get away with this without Riley Leonard do anything through the air.
– 2:15. A friend crushed me with this. I made the mistake of looking up what he was talking about, and now I can never unring the bell. I’m warning you, if you know what I’m referring to, you’ll never unsee it. Last warning … okay … the College Football Playoff trophy looks like the child of a Tesla Cybertruck and a fleshlight
– 4:57. It’s one of the most underrated parts of a modern broadcast. Can we give it up for the ESPN graphics and scorebug? It can’t be seen from outer space like the obnoxious FOX college football thing.
– 6:25. The Irish defense is more than fine so far with the IU O that can’t find a groove. The Irish need SOMETHING to click with the passing game soon … and Beaux Collins just bailed out a bad play call fora. first down.
– 7:06 Elijah Sarratt is the best receiver on the field, but IU is better with the quick-hitting strikes. Rourke is accurate, but they’re taking some interesting downfield shots when the short ones would do.
– 8:25. LOVING how the Indiana offensive line is responding. Kurtis Rourke should be settled in now, and the running game is bashing away. Taking time off the clock right now is massive.
Notre Dame 7, Indiana 0
– 10:57 Amazing 98-yard touchdown run from Jeremiyah Love, and he’s got some serious wheels, but someone in the Indiana coaching box scratching down right now: “recruit … faster … defensive backs.”
– 10:57. SOMEONE hammered on Jeremiyah Love to not pull a Jonathan Taylor going across the goal line.
– 11:11 Ohhhh Kurtis, NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Rourke was throwing into triple-coverage and it got picked off by Xavier Watts; possibly the nation’s most unappreciated superstar defensive back.
– 12:26. Because I don’t care about these things I just noticed. The Notre Dame uniforms are just fine. Social media won’t know what to do with itself now that the kits are … fine. Totally fine.
– 13:19 Holding. The Indiana fan in the stands can be heard screaming an expletive.
– 13:23. Not Riley Leonard’s fault. Ball got tipped, interception. NOW you start to pound it, Indiana. Start to establish some …
–Â 14:01. Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love stuffed and …
– 14:16. (Cue the Grandpa Simpson going into the brothel gif). That’s the thing about this IU offense. When it doesn’t work, that O gets off the field FAST.
– 15:00. Indiana with the ball first. Don’t mess around, IU. Get Kurtis Rourke throwing early. Quick hitters, midrange passes, get into a tempo.
Notre Dame vs Indiana CFP First Round Pregame
– Notre Dame is better. Indiana has the better schemes, the stronger overall attitude – this team isn’t phased by anything, and the potential to make this a blast, but Notre Dame is better.
– The Indiana run defense has to hold up. I think it will for about three quarters, and then the dam will break.
– The weather won’t matter. I’m here in Chicago. It’s cold, but the snow has blown through. The conditions won’t be the difference here.
– I’ll be that guy. It’s the College Football Playoff – no S. Feel free to mock and ridicule those who call this the Playoffs, including the Dr. Pepper ads.
– There are few lower forms of sports talk discussion than analyzing what it means if an opposing team’s fan base might have more people in the stands than expected.
– I’m picking Notre Dame to win, but Indiana to keep it close. It might be a backdoor cover, but I’ll be very, very disappointed if this isn’t fun.
–Â (Watching the teams running on to the field in a freaking College Football Playoff game in an expanded tournament.)Â This … is … awesome .
– And the official called it the College Football Playoffs on the coin toss. LET’S GO.
