By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Marcus Freeman learned the hard lessons from all those big losses as well as the inexplicable ones.
On Friday night, in the first game in college football’s new playoff era, the Notre Dame coach celebrated the most significant victory of his career – in Notre Dame Stadium with snowflakes flying and players singing the school’s alma mater.
Jeremiyah Love tied the school record with a 98-yard touchdown run on the third play of the game, Riley Leonard accounted for two more scores and the Fighting Irish held high-scoring Indiana in check, giving seventh-seeded Notre Dame the program’s first playoff victory, 27-17, over the Hoosiers.
“There’s not many times in your life that you’re the first to do something, right?” Freeman said. “We’re the first group to play and win a playoff game at Notre Dame Stadium, so that’s something we’ll share for the rest of our lives.”
He and the Irish (12-1) have a day or two to savor their 11th consecutive win to tie the school record for most wins in a season – their first in four playoff tries.
But it’s only one step. Next up is second-seeded SEC champion Georgia (11-2) in the Sugar Bowl and a chance to reach the semifinals as they chase their first national title since 1988.
“It’s really cool, but at the same time it’s another football game,” said Leonard, who ran for one record-breaking score and threw for another. “We’re just trying to stay alive and play as many games as we can because we love the game, love preparing for it and we love representing this university.”
If they play as well as they did against 10th-seeded Indiana (11-2), the Irish just might end the program’s longest title drought since winning their first claimed championship in 1924.
Notre Dame seized control quickly thanks to Love’s incredible early burst and they eventually ended the Hoosiers’ magical season despite giving up 14 points in the final 87 seconds in the same venue they nearly saw their season derailed on Sept. 7 with a 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois.
This time, they left no doubt on a chilly, brisk stage for the first CFP game ever played on a campus site, handing the Hoosiers their second straight loss to a top-five opponent this season. Indiana set a single-season school record for wins but still hasn’t won at Notre Dame since 1898.
“They took it to us. I thought their quarterback played really well, I thought their defense suffocated our offense till the last 1:50 or whatever,” said Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti, the AP Coach of the Year. “They won, they deserved to win. We didn’t play our best game, but they had a lot to do with that tonight.”
It started with Xavier Watts’ interception of Kurtis Rourke’s pass at the Irish 2-yard line.
On the next play, Love scooted around the right side of the defense, eluded one tackle and sprinted down the sideline to make it 7-0. He tied Josh Adams for the longest run in Irish history, set in 2015 against Wake Forest. It was also the longest run in CFP history.
Love finished with eight carries for 108 yards despite not being full strength and appearing to reinjure his left knee later in the first half.
“I was looking up at the video board – he wasn’t going to catch me,” Love said.
Indiana never recovered after Notre Dame made it 14-0 early in the second quarter. Leonard’s 1-yard touchdown run late in the fourth gave him 15 this season to break Notre Dame’s season record by a quarterback.
Leonard was 23 of 32 with 201 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Notre Dame receiver Jordan Faison caught seven passes for 89 yards.
Indiana’s Rourke turned in another poor game against a strong defense, finishing 20 of 33 with 215 yards, with two TDs and one interception and the Hoosiers rushed for just 63 yards.
And for Freeman and Notre Dame, it was more than a relief. It was time to revel in victory.
“There’s no place like Notre Dame,” Leonard said. “This is why you come here, this is why I came here – to play for a (national) championship.”
Indiana: The Hoosiers trailed fewer minutes than any other FBS team this season entering the playoffs and had the highest-scoring team in the playoffs. They didn’t do either Friday night against a stout Irish defense that rattled Rourke early.
Notre Dame: The Irish have relied on the running game and defense all season – and it was that combination that gave Notre Dame the first playoff win in school history. They may need more out of their passing game to win their first national championship since 1988.
Cignetti wavered from his blunt-talking ways momentarily after the season-ending loss to express just how special this season was for an Indiana team that put itself back in the national conversation.
“No one’s as disappointed as I am, but sometimes you’re going to have a disappointment and you have come back from it,” he said. “This team accomplished things no other Indiana team did.”
Indiana: The Hoosiers will spend a busy offseason trying to replicate what they built in Year 1 under Coach Curt Cignetti.
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish will face No. 2 seed Georgia in a CFP quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.
