Notre Dame protects home field in new postseason era with 1st playoff win, 27-17 over Indiana

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Jeremiyah Love tied the Notre Dame record with a 98-yard touchdown run, Riley Leonard added two more scores and the Fighting Irish shut down the highest-scoring team in the College Football Playoff, overwhelming Indiana 27-17 on Friday night.

The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish (12-1) won their 11th straight — and their first playoff victory. They’ll face second-seeded Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman earned the biggest win of his three-year career by extending his Irish record to 12 victories over ranked teams in three seasons.

Tenth-seeded Indiana (11-2) completed a magical season by finishing with its second fewest points this season on a cold, brisk night in the first CFP game ever played on a campus site. Both of the Hoosiers’ losses came to top-five opponents. Indiana set a single-season school record for wins but still hasn’t won at Notre Dame since 1898.

Up next

Indiana: Will spend a busy offseason trying to replicate what they built in Year 1 under coach Curt Cignetti.

Notre Dame: Plays Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.

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Michael Marot, The Associated Press