Notre Dame stood its ground in the first half, was staggered by Georgia counter punches in the third period, but rallied behind quarterback Ian Book to put a scare into the Bulldogs before losing by 23-17 at Sanford Stadium.
The Irish outplayed the hosts in the first 30 minutes, taking a 10-7 lead into the locker room before the Dawgs asserted themselves with a dominant third quarter. Jake Fromm and D’Andre Swift guided the Georgia offense to a touchdown and three Rodrigo Blankenship field goals after intermission, and the Bulldog defense held Notre Dame to 19 third quarter yards.