Jeremiyah Love’s 98-yard scoring run jump-started Notre Dame and the Fighting Irish built a 27-3 lead on the way to a 27-17 playoff victory. Riley Leonard passed for one touchdown and ran for another while kicker Mitch Jeter added a pair of field goals. Defensively, Notre Dame dominated the contest until they relaxed in last five minutes when Indiana scored twice. The victory sends the Irish to the Sugar Bowl to face Georgia on New Year’s Day.

A raucous home crowd rocked the stadium at the opening kickoff. Unsurprisingly, both teams got off to a shaky start. Indiana’s first possession was a quick three and out, while Leonard’s first pass was tipped and intercepted. Kurtis Rourke returned the favor moments later when Xavier Watts picked off his ill-advised throw into traffic. Notre Dame was backed up on its own two-yard line but that didn’t last long. Love took a handoff on the first play, cut to the outside, and ran past the Hoosiers to paydirt.

Indiana could not respond to that haymaker and punted the ball back to the Irish. Short passes by Leonard and a 24-yard run by Jadarian Price moved the hosts into scoring range. Leonard then hit Jayden Thomas for a five-yard score to make it 14-0 early in the second period.

Both defenses dug in and forced punts until the Hoosiers got on the scoreboard before halftime. Nicolas Radicic converted a 34-yard field goal to make it 14-3 with 3:26 left in the half. Notre Dame answered by cobbling together a march that set up a long field goal attempt by Mitch Jeter. Although he has struggled mightily of late, Jeter drilled a 49-yarder a few seconds before intermission.

Leading 17-3, the Irish took the second half kickoff with hopes of building an insurmountable advantage. Their first series went nowhere and James Rendell punted the ball away. Rourke could not get the Hoosier offense moving, however, as two sacks by Notre Dame left him dazed. Leonard got the ball back in good field position and the Irish fought their way down the field. A late hit penalty against Indiana moved the ball into the red zone before the drive stalled. Jeter came on to hit a short field goal to make it 20-3.

As the game moved into the final period, Jeter had another chance to add points. This time, he misfired with a low kick that Indiana batted down. The Hoosiers finally had good field position and time was becoming a factor. Rourke managed one first down near midfield but then could not gain another inch. Surprisingly, Indiana punted the ball back to Notre Dame rather than take a risk on fourth down.

Leonard took advantage of the chance to deliver a knockout blow. After scrambling for one first down, he hit Jordan Faison on a deep post to the one-yard line. This 44-yard strike was easily his best throw of the night. Two plays later, Leonard waltzed around end for the score after faking an inside handoff.

The outcome was all but guaranteed at 27-3 and under five minutes remaining. Notre Dame’s defense went into prevent mode while the Hoosiers took advantage of the softer coverage. Rourke ultimately hit Myles Price for a touchdown with 1:27 left but that was not the end of it. A two-point conversion made it 27-11, and a perfectly executed onside kick kept the ball in Indiana’s hands. The visitors were able to put another score on the board before the Irish took a knee to end it.

Those final minutes managed to pad the statistics for Indiana but did little to tarnish the victory for Notre Dame. Leonard finished 23 of 32 for 201 yards while Rourke was 20 of 33 for 215 yards. Nearly half of Rourke’s completions and yards came in the last five minutes of the game. More importantly, Notre Dame rushed for 193 yards against 63 for the Hoosiers. This was decisive.

Let’s review the answers to our pregame questions:

• Will Notre Dame be able to run the ball? Although they struggled at times and had several negative plays, Love and the Irish did enough to keep the offense balanced.
• Can the Irish secondary cover the Hoosier receivers and shut down the Waffle House? Yes, for 55 minutes.
• Which team will be able to put pressure on the quarterback? Notre Dame’s pressure had a greater impact on Rourke than anything the Hoosiers could muster against Leonard.
• Will these strong, fast defenses continue to get stops on third down? Indiana was only four of 12 on third down while the Irish were seven of 13.
• Which coaching staff will make effective adjustments on the fly? Al Golden’s defense was a step ahead of the Hoosiers until Golden took his foot off the gas. Notre Dame’s offense had more weapons and found clever ways to score in the red zone.
• Will the Irish special teams have a positive or negative impact? A mixed bag. Positives were Jeter’s two field goals and the creative kickoff return to open the third quarter. Negatives were Jeter’s botched field goal attempt and the onside kick recover by Indiana.
• Which team will commit the fewest number of turnovers and penalties? Both teams had an early turnover and a similar number of penalties. Two major fouls by the Hoosiers were caused by a lack of discipline. There was also an unbelievable number of holding penalties on Indiana’s offensive line that were not called. That’s all I have to say about that.
• Will the home crowd provide a benefit to the Irish? Yes, the environment was electric. Love’s long touchdown run brought it to another level.

Notre Dame will have a few injuries to assess as it prepares for the Sugar Bowl. A few key performers were impacted. Riley Mills went down with a knee injury and did not return. Guard Rocco Spindler left the game with an undisclosed issue and finished the night in street clothes. His replacement, Sam Pendleton, was ineffective. Bryce Young also went down but returned to action later.

The game was far from the romp that some fans expected. Still, there was no moment after Love’s scoring run that anyone doubted the Irish would prevail. The sloppy ending will provide an agenda for the coaches and players to seek improvement. They will need it along with good news on the injury front to advance past the next round.