Georgia's Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame is marked by a kickoff return TD.

Notre Dame defeated Georgia 23-10 to advance to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

Penn State, who defeated No. 3 Boise State, will now face Notre Dame next Thursday to determine the national championship game.

The game scheduled for Wednesday night was postponed to Thursday afternoon due to the horrific terror attack in New Orleans. Despite the tragedy, the Caesars Superdome was still packed for the matchup, with a moment of silence held for those affected by the senseless act of violence.

Before the national anthem was sung, chants of "U-S-A!" were heard throughout the stadium.

The Bulldogs scored the first points of the game with a 41-yard field goal, leaving both teams struggling to find points on the scoreboard despite their strong defenses.

Although Arian Smith ran 67 yards with a Gunner Stockton pass, a sideline referee collided with Parker Jones, a walk-on cornerback who wasn't playing all season and was on the sideline in his jersey without pads on, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.

Georgia lost four potential points when they settled for a field goal after the 15-yard penalty.

Although Notre Dame did not match the field goal on the next drive, they took a 6-3 lead with 39 seconds remaining when Mitch Jeter hit a 48-yarder just before the end of the half.

Despite never finding the end zone, the Fighting Irish were leading Georgia heading into the locker room. However, everything changed on the first play of Georgia's next drive when quarterback Gunner Stockton was strip-sacked by RJ Oben.

Notre Dame's Junior Tuihalamaka seized the ball from the turf and gave Riley Leonard and the Fighting Irish offense a chance to score on Georgia's 13-yard line.

When Leonard struck Beaux Collins for a 13-yard score, the score became 13-3 at halftime.

The second half of the game began with Notre Dame in possession of the ball, and that's when the tide turned in their favor.

Notre Dame's Jayden Harrison scored a touchdown by taking the kickoff 98 yards down the left sideline, leaving his opponents struggling to keep up. Coach Marcus Freeman was ecstatic on the sidelines, cheering with his team as they took a commanding 20-3 lead.

On the opposite side, head coach Kirby Smart recognized the need for his team to intensify their efforts, and Stockton was able to score a touchdown in the third quarter when Cash Jones was left alone on a 32-yard wheel route that resulted in six points.

Georgia would receive nothing in the second half as Notre Dame's defense forced two turnover-on-downs drives, including a fourth-and-5 incomplete pass to Lawson Luckie, resulting in a victory.

Leonard had a poor performance, throwing for only 88 yards and rushing for 65 yards on 11 carries. However, he didn't throw any interceptions. Jordan Faison, on the other hand, contributed significantly to Notre Dame's offense with 46 yards on four catches.

Trevor Etienne, the Bulldogs' hard-nosed running back, had just 38 yards on 11 carries, while Stockton was 18-for-29 for 225 yards and a touchdown pass for the Fighting Irish.

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