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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Owen Hillman

Looking back on Georgia’s Sugar Bowl win over Notre Dame

The No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs will play the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish after Notre Dame won their home playoff game against the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers. Georgia and Notre Dame will play in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Notre Dame fans were excited about this matchup during “College GameDay”, but this isn’t the first time Georgia played the Fighting Irish in the Sugar Bowl. The two teams matched up in 1981, and Georgia’s social media team called back on that matchup.

The 1980 Georgia Bulldogs, led by legendary head coach Vince Dooley, went 11-0, ranking No. 1 overall, before playing a 9-1-1 Notre Dame team that was ranked No. 7. Despite that, the Bulldogs were underdogs heading into the matchup.

The Fighting Irish started off the scoring with a Harry Oliver field goal, but Georgia put up 17 unanswered points with a field goal and two Herschel Walker touchdowns in the second half. Notre Dame scored a touchdown in the third quarter, but the Georgia defense stood strong in the fourth quarter, winning the game 17-10.

That win earned Georgia the No. 1 rank on the AP polls, designating the Bulldogs as consensus national champions. Perhaps history can repeat itself in 2024-25.

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