Everyone said the same thing about Notre Dame’s win over Georgia in Sugar Bowl
Oct 17, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; General view of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo at midfield before a NCAA football game against the Southern California Trojans tat Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
One particular school is looking a whole lot better now with Notre Dame easily taking out Georgia in the College Football Playoff this week.
Notre Dame cruised to a convincing 23-10 win over Georgia in Thursday’s Sugar Bowl, which was a CFP quarterfinal game. The Fighting Irish rode a 98-yard return touchdown by Jayden Harrison to begin the second half, more clever trick plays by head coach Marcus Freeman, and some major miscues by the Bulldogs to earn the victory.
In the aftermath of Notre Dame’s double-digit win to advance to the CFP semifinal round against Penn State, everyone on social media was singing a common refrain. They were all saying that Indiana was now vindicated for their own CFP loss to Notre Dame.
Indiana did not deserve the vitriol it received during and after its first-round CFP loss to Notre Dame.
It’s quite possible that the Hoosiers’ only losses this season came to the two best teams in college football.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) January 3, 2025
Indiana would’ve won the Southeastern Conference pic.twitter.com/qV4Ct77TVS
— (@hoosiercommish) January 2, 2025
They really told us that Indiana didn't belong in the College Football Playoff because they lost to (checks notes) the teams that have manhandled the top two seeds in the field
— Gucci Grimace (@GucciGrimace) January 3, 2025
I don’t wanna beat a dead horse. But. Maybe when Notre Dame beat Indiana in South Bend it was not because Indiana didn’t belong but rather…. Notre Dame is good??
— Mike Hall (@MikeHallHere) January 3, 2025
Indiana lost to Notre Dame 27-17 in the first round of the CFP two weeks ago. The loss led to plenty of reactionary takes about how the Hoosiers supposedly did not deserve to be in the CFP. Even Kirk Herbstreit dove headfirst into the narrative with some ruthless comments about Indiana.
But the public is now singing a much different tune after Georgia, this year’s SEC champions, lost to Notre Dame by an even greater margin than Indiana did. The Hoosiers finished 11-2 this season with their only two losses coming to Notre Dame and Ohio State, the two teams who now look the strongest among the remaining CFP teams. In retrospect, perhaps everybody was a little too harsh on Curt Cignetti’s side.