Who Does Georgia Want to Play Between Notre Dame vs Indiana?

Who do the Georgia Bulldogs want to play between Notre Dame and Indiana?

Georgia coach Kirby Smart reacts during the second half of the SEC championship game against Texas in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. / Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Who do the Georgia Bulldogs want to play between Notre Dame and Indiana?

The college football playoffs start this week and the first game of the weekend will decide who Georgia plays in the quarterfinal round of the expanded playoffs. Indiana will be making the short trip to Notre Dame to play one another, and the winner will move on to play Georgia in New Orleans in the Sugar Bowl. So who should Georgia want between the two?

Well, for starters, Kirby Smart is already 2-0 against Notre Dame in his career at Georgia. He won in South Bend back in 2017 and then beat them again in Athens in 2019. So there is at least some familiarity for Smart when it comes to playing the Fighting Irish, but not against a Marcus Freeman led Notre Dame team.

With it looking like Gunner Stockton will be the starting quarterback for this matchup, the difference maker in the game will likely be how Georgia's offensive run game matches up against the opposing team's run defense. Notre Dame has a stout defense, especially in the secondary, but when it comes to the defensive line, they are not the standard. That's not to say they don't have good players, but there is not a single 300+ pounder on the Irish's defensive line. They're good but they're not that big.

While Georgia still might like how they match up against Notre Dame, the better answer still seems to be Indiana. The last time the Hoosiers matched up against a team of Georgia's caliber, Ohio State routed them in a dominating win. The Hoosiers have also shown the propensity to struggle running the ball against more talented teams. That also results in them being one dimensional and their passing attack has brought success this season, but not so much when it's their only option to be productive on offense.

Either one of Notre Dame or Indiana appears on paper to be a solid matchup for the Dawgs or at least one that will put out an entertaining game. But if Georgia fans had to pick one to root for on Saturday, Indiana seems like the team the Bulldogs should want to face in the quarterfinal round.

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