The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were bestowed an honor on Friday night. South Bend became host to the first-ever home CFP game in the expansion era. They lived up to the billing and then some. Marcus Freeman and co. eased past in-state Indiana Hoosiers, 27-17. The scoreline doesn’t quite do justice to Notre Dame’s dominance. They restricted the 2nd ranked scoring offense in FBS to 3 points for about 90% of the game before conceding two consolation TDs. With this triumph, ND has booked a date against Kirby Smart-led Georgia at the Sugar Bowl in round 2, on New Year’s Day, no less.

Their adversaries are coming off a more treacherous win in their last outing, beating Texas in OT to lay claim to the throne of the southeast. This SEC Championship win exacted a toll on Kirby Smart’s outfit, though. QB1 Carson Beck is out injured for the foreseeable. This means backup Gunner Stockton, who garnered plaudits for his performance against Texas, will line up under center. This would seemingly be a huge facet in dictating which team proceeds further into the final 4. However, one seasoned CFB analyst believes that no matter who plays quarterback, Notre Dame will topple the Bulldogs.

CBS Sports’ Emory Hunt went early on his prediction for this matchup, in the wake of Notre Dame taking care of IU handily. Speaking on the Football Gameplan, Hunt said, “I’m gonna say the quiet part out loud. I don’t care if they have Carson Beck, Notre Dame is going to beat Georgia. Notre Dame is great on both sides of the line of scrimmage. They can run the football, they can shut down your passing game.” Emory Hunt proceeded to elaborate on what unit of Georgia’s team is poised to be their weak link.

“We saw Beck in that passing game struggle, because Georgia receivers are not the usual suspects that we used to see. So this matchup is a bad one for Georgia…They don’t have the receivers. They just don’t match up well versus Notre Dame” he said. Carson Beck’s struggles, especially with turning the football over, are well documented. After a stretch of 4 games where he threw 9 picks in the midst of the season, it was pandemonium in Athens. Just once he was looking like quelling some criticism, he had to exit the firing line altogether.

Emory Hunt’s indictment of Georgia’s receiving corp. is well backed in tangible evidence. Relative to their own standards, the skill position guys on in this iteration of the offense are a rung below the likes of Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey. Last season, before the duo turned pro, the pass offense was humming. This year, Georgia leads the entire FBS in dropped catches. This has also made Carson’s performances appear worse than they’ve perhaps been. However, the forced switch to Stockton could inadvertently transform Georgia’s modus operandi back to its roots under Kirby Smart.

Injury to his QB1 could prove a blessing in disguise for Kirby Smart

After Carson Beck’s injury on the stroke of halftime, a proverbial switch which lay dormant all year turned on for Kirby Smart. By force, the Bulldogs leaned on their run game and defense the rest of the way. They scored a TD on their very first drive with Stockton after garnering a measly 54 yards all throughout the first half. This had a conspicuous effect in revitalizing the whole team en route to the win. 

Stockton is not as good a passer as Beck, but he makes Georgia a run-first team. This transformation will seemingly permeate over to the playoffs. With their perceived lack of quality wide receivers, this could indeed be the best course of action.  Even when they were winning back-to-back national titles, Georgia never had a superstar at QB. The Bulldogs under Kirby Smart have always been a sum of their parts rather than a one-man freight train. Gunner Stockton makes Georgia have to trust in the collective more, as well as gives them a much-needed shot up the arm.

Notre Dame has shown just how good a run defense they are all year. This continued against Indiana. Marcus Freeman will have apt plans in place to deal with what Bulldogs’ OC Mike Bobo throws his way. As such, Empty Hunt’s decree is somewhat justified. January 1st remains a long while away, with how quickly things change in this sport. You’d be mistaken to think Kirby Smart is not conjuring a master plan to will his team over the line. As he has perpetually at this time of the year.