Game Wrap and Reaction: Notre Dame 27 Indiana 17

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Opponent: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN

Why They Played: 

The Hoosiers and Irish met in the first round of the College Football Playoff for the right to play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

What The Game Meant: 

The stakes were the highest they have ever been for Indiana football as a chance to advance in the tournament for college football’s national title. 

Top Offensive Performers:

Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame- Love set the tone with the longest run in CFP history. A 98-yard touchdown run to put Notre Dame up 7-0. He finished the game 108 yards on just eight carries.

Jordan Faison, WR, Notre Dame- Faison made all the tough catches to keep Notre Dame drives alive. He finished with seven catches for 89 yards.

Myles Price, WR, Indiana- Price was IU’s most consistent pass catcher. He made five catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. 

Top Defensive Performers:

Aiden Fisher, LB, Indiana- Fisher led the Hoosiers in tackles with 10 and finishes the season with 118 tackles. He had 1.5 tackles for loss as well.

Xavier Watts, Safety, Notre Dame- Watts made the play of the game with a diving interception on IU’s second drive that changed the trajectory of the game. He finished with a team-leading 10 tackles as well.

Special Teams Performance:

The moment was again too big for Indiana punter James Evans as he averaged a paltry 33.7 yards per punt. Maybe he was too worried about the Notre Dame punt rush, but his shanks failed to flip the field well enough to set IU’s defense up for success. The Hoosiers allowed a big kick return on a reverse, but other than that coverage was good.

IU hit their lone field goal and Nico Radicic had a great onside kick to give IU a slim chance to come back.

Key Stat(s):

35:43 to 24:17

Notre Dame controlled the game and held the ball for nearly two thirds of the game. Once Notre Dame went up 14-0, it was nearly impossible for IU to be able to come back.

Turning Point:

The game turned early on two consecutive plays. IU was driving, but threw a bad interception to Xavier Watts at the Irish two-yard line. The next play was a CFP record 98-yard touchdown run by Jerimiyah Love. 

I Knew it Was Over When…

IU punted down 20-3 in the fourth quarter with about 10:34 left on fourth-and-10 inside Notre Dame territory. For all of Cignetti’s talk about being aggressive and confident, this punt made little sense. Sure, IU’s offense had not done much in the second half, but it was 20-3. It was the opposite of how this team played all year.

What I take away From the Game:

2024 was a magical ride for the Hoosiers; there's no debating that. They went undefeated at home, won both traveling trophy games, beat Michigan and earned a berth into the College Football Playoff. However, the 27-17 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the CFP was disappointing on multiple levels both on and off the field.

Let’s start with the game on the field. IU’s offense did not look ready for the game and, quite frankly, overwhelmed by the moment. Kurtis Rourke was ice cold to start the game and never really heated up until IU was down 27-3.

The Hoosiers had a chance to get on the board first after the defense gave IU great field position off a D’Angelo Ponds interception, but Rourke threw into triple coverage which resulted in an interception at the Notre Dame two yard line. One play later Notre Dame running back Jerimiyah Love left IU’s defense in the dust on a 98-yard touchdown run which set the tone for the rest of the night. IU would get three first half points while four of their five drives ended in Notre Dame territory.

The defense was more competitive than the offense and gave IU a chance to stay in the game, however they still missed tackles and rarely got to the quarterback. Notre Dame controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and dominated time of possession.

I mentioned it above, but special teams played well outside of a kick return and James Evans’s punts. They hit a field goal and blocked a field goal while also converting an onside kick.

Off the field, the Hoosiers and the fans will have to hear about how they did not deserve to be there. They proved the doubters correct and gave them ammo to keep teams like IU out in the future. In front of probably the largest TV audience for an IU football game, that was not the type of performance any one wanted or expected.

The Hoosiers will enter a very important offseason. Curt Cignetti has set the foundation as best you can in the portal and NIL Era. There is plenty of momentum still with this program.

However, I believe Curt Cignetti needs to tone it down with his talk. It has become his schtick and it’s getting repetitive and tiring. Yesterday, on College Game Day he said that his teams beat the sh*t out of top 25 teams. You can’t say that and then three hours later put on a performance like that. I applaud his confidence and e backed it up most of the year, but he can’t become the coach that says crazy stuff and loses games in that fashion.

What’s Next

The Hoosiers finished the 2024 season with an 11-2 record. They head into the offseason needing to hit the transfer portal hard before winter workouts start in January.