On3's JD Pickell Sees the Light on Notre Dame vs Georgia Sugar Bowl Prediction

Many talking heads are backtracking on picking against Notre Dame, and now they're becoming believers.

Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) runs with the ball during the second half as Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Donovan Hinish (41) goes for a tackle at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images / Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Georgia was the popular pick among talking heads in the days leading up to the Bulldogs matchup with Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl on January 2. It was hard to push back given Georgia's recent history of winning two of the last three national titles.

However, the past is the past, and those who had watched Notre Dame this season thoroughly knew that the Fighting Irish of 2024 are a different squad. It was exactly that in its 23-10 victory over the Bulldogs which propelled them to the Orange Bowl against Penn State.

Among those that picked against Notre Dame, was one of the emerging mouthpieces of college football, On3's JD Pickell.

Pickell is fair for the most part when it comes to breaking down games, and he definitely had his fair reasons to pick against the Irish. Although he has picked against Notre Dame many times this season ... I digress.

TEAM GLORY

2025 SUGAR BOWL CHAMPS #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/DXbBLYD7ah

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 3, 2025

One thing Pickell is great about is breaking down why he made his pick, what happened in the game for him to be wrong and what he saw from both teams in the game.

In short, he thought Notre Dame losing All-American defensive tackle Rylie Mills would be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

Pickell, unlike many, was aware of Notre Dame's injury crisis on the defensive side of the ball and thought that Georgia would be able to assert their will offensively and push Notre Dame around. Of course, that did not happen and Notre Dame dominated both lines of scrimmage.

And now he sees the Notre Dame light ...

Pickell is very complimentary to the Irish in the above video. Notre Dame will get its well deserved flowers this week for what was a massive win for the program, but all attention now turns toward Penn State and the Orange Bowl.