Notre Dame Football

Sugar Bowl Will Be Determined by Physicality

By Matt Freeman

December 26, 2024

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Kirby Smart might not remember Notre Dame’s personnel from the 2017 and 2019 games, but he does remember one thing. The physicality.

Smart, who spoke to the local media earlier this week, mentioned Notre Dame physicality seven times in a 12-minute presser conference, so his emphasis with his team leading up to next week’s Sugar Bowl is pretty clear.

“I don't really remember the other ones,” Smart said when asked if there were similarities to the 2024 Irish and the past Notre Dame teams he’s faced. “I don't remember them as a team. The games obviously stand out, one score, fourth quarter, really physical games.

“The physicality I see when I watch Notre Dame play is pretty incredible on both lines of scrimmage. The way they play, the style of play they have.”

Some of Smart’s comments are gamesmanship as he’s not Curt Cignetti and won’t be giving Notre Dame any extra motivation, but it’s also noticeable that Georgia is already well into preparation as he knows the Irish well.

“This is a really good (team), explained Smart. “Solid, fundamentally sound, don't beat themselves, play good defense, great defense, and really physical on the lines of scrimmage. They've got a really athletic quarterback. There's a reason why that they're at the point the season they're at."

Smart also knows this game will likely depend on how each team stops the run. Notre Dame will be down Rylie Mills in addition to Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore, but Smart has his attention elsewhere.

Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price and Riley Leonard will the focus of the Georgia defense as the Irish offense goes how they go.

“They have unbelievable backs first off,” Smart stated. “Who you hand it to doesn’t matter. Those guys are tremendously talented and do a great job. They use all of them and then when you throw the skill set of Riley (Leonard) in there, the quarterback, it just makes it that much tougher to defend because they have multiple weapons, multiple options and they're really physical. They're committed to it. They're very committed to the run."

And not to sound like captain obvious, but both teams will need to win the battle in the trenches. Georgia won narrow battles upfront in the 2017 and 2019 games, which means this game will likely come down to who can find a push late in the game.

“Watching Notre Dame all year and the game the other night, physicality, they're really physical up front,” Smart explained. “They play really hard. You see it on tape. You see them dominate the line of scrimmage. That's why they win football games. That's where the game is won and lost. It kind of showed the other night almost what they've done all year.”

For Notre Dame to stop the run, the Irish linebackers will also need to raise their level of play. Without Mills, the defensive line will be undersized at best or a total wildcard with some of the younger players in the mix.

Max Bullough’s group has seen steady improvement all year and will need to play their best game of the season if the Irish want to advance - and set the tone physically.

“It was a talented group that was just inexperienced,” explained Freeman. “What you've seen is they constantly improved through experience, through coaching. Max Bullough has done a wonderful job of having that group ready, rotating guys, and they're all playing at a high level.

“Those guys are our physical, aggressive football players. They're smart, really instinctive. They do a good job of preparing for the offense and they're playing really well for us.”

Notre Dame could get a boost to the linebacker group and in sub-packages as freshman Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa is set to return to practice this week. The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder has tallied 29 tackles on the year, but if healthy, Viliamu-Asa has the potential to help Notre Dame off the edge in passing situations and that’s something the Irish have desperately needed.

“Mostly, he's been rehabbing—rehabbing and obviously getting mental work in but hasn't been able to practice,” Freeman said. “Now, we want to see the progression in the practice and then build that confidence. He (has to) build that confidence in himself and also in his coaches, and the doctors that he can go out there and get his job done, which I think he will.”