Indiana’s high-flying offense wiped out by aggressive Notre Dame defense

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame quickly shut down Indiana after the high-flying Hoosiers advanced to the College Football Playoff with the highest-scoring offense.

Notre Dame hit Indiana with an aggressive tone from the start, keeping the Hoosiers out of the end zone until the final 1:27 in a 27-17 victory Friday night. The Fighting Irish (12-1) advanced to face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinals.

Indiana (11-2) entered the game averaging 43.3 points — second in the nation in scoring offense. The Hoosiers gained 278 total yards on offense, but 126 of those yards came on the final two drives after Notre Dame took a 27-3 lead. Indiana entered the game averaging 438.8 yards, but gained 63 yards rushing – well below its average of 173.6.

“We knew going into the game we had to control the perimeter,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “It was a team that ran the perimeter with so many stretch plays, some screens, and our mindset controlling the perimeter was to attack and get all three levels to beat blocks in the perimeter and then we wanted to be aggressive.

“We have an aggressive mindset. We called the game aggressively. They played aggressively. It was good to see our guys on defense play well today for the majority of the game.

Notre Dame’s aggression was unleashed from Indiana’s first possession. On Indiana’s first play, running back Justice Ellison took a 3-yard loss from defensive end Joshua Burnham. This led to a quick three-and-out.

After the Fighting Irish turned the ball over on an interception on the next possession, Xavier Watts bailed out Notre Dame with an interception at the 2. That led to a 98-yard TD by Jeremiah Love on the next play.

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti looks on against Notre Dame during the first half of the first round of the NCAA College Football Playoff, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in South Bend, Ind. Credit: AP/Darron Cummings

Indiana offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan credited Notre Dame’s defensive front for disrupting the Hoosiers.

“It’s a good unit,” Shanahan said. “They’re just a really good defense.” They made some moves early on. They also attacked one or two backers a lot throughout the match.

Notre Dame ended up with 10 tackles for loss – three quarterback sacks.