Josh Pate’s Prediction for Notre Dame vs. Georgia Sugar Bowl Showdown

CBS Sports college football analyst Josh Pate makes his prediction for the Sugar Bowl.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart shouts to his players during the Sugar Bowl against Texas on Jan. 1, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. / NICK WAGNER/AMERICAN-STATESMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CBS Sports college football analyst Josh Pate has built himself into one of the true voices of college football through his analysis and overall knowledge of the game. On top of being entertaining to watch and listen to, Pate is fair to all conferences/teams and does his best to not have any sort of personal bias.

Fans of college football tend to flock towards Pate and value his opinions, as it seems clear that he i not being forced to push certain narratives like you see with the SEC on most media outlets. Pate is from Georgia and understands the SEC as well as anyone, but will always offer a fair breakdown of the major games of each and every college football week, especially once we get to bowl season and College Football Playoff season.

In his video on YouTube titled "UGA vs. Notre Dame - Josh Pate's Sugar Bowl CFP Prediction", Pate intelligently breaks down the game and shares his keys to the game for both sides.

For Notre Dame, it has to run the ball and get out to a fast start. He does not believe the Irish can rely on quarterback Riley Leonard to win the game.

For Georgia, he believes the loss of Irish defensive tackle Rylie Mills will prove to be as big as Georgia's loss of quarterback Carson Beck, as he thinks it allows Georgia to dominate physically and run the ball even more effectively.

This led Pate to pick Georgia to win and cover the -1.5 point spread.

While I agree with much of his analysis in the above breakdown, I believe he is discounting what Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden will have schemed up for Georgia's quarterback Gunner Stockton, who will be making his first career start.

Golden has been able to cause major issues for some of the best quarterbacks in college football during his time at Notre Dame and beyond, much less one making his first career start in a game of this magnitude.

Pate may end up being right here, but I do anticipate a close game that will come down to the final possession. I just see Notre Dame edging it out.

More from Notre Dame on Sports Illustrated

Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard Scouts Georgia Defense Ahead of Sugar Bowl

Urban Meyer Makes His Prediction for Notre Dame vs. Georgia Sugar Bowl

Kirby Smart Breaks Down Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman Ahead of Sugar Bowl