5 Notre Dame players who must up their game for the Fighting Irish to beat Georgia

The final score does not do it justice. Notre Dame may have only beaten Indiana 27-17, but the Fighting Irish dominated the first-round College Football Playoff game throughout. Not until the final few minutes of the game was Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti not coaching scared. It was a frigid night in South Bend, but one to remember forever for the Irish. They are heading to the Sugar Bowl!

Of course, Notre Dame will have to face a team it has never beaten once in its rich college football history: The No. 2-seeded Georgia Bulldogs. While Georgia will be seeing Gunner Stockton make his first career start for the Dawgs in New Orleans, it was not that long ago Jake Fromm made his first career start at Georgia as well vs. Notre Dame. He helped win a thriller in South Bend back in 2017.

Notre Dame may have as good of a chance as anyone of winning the College Football Playoff this year, as there are no truly elite teams. However, Georgia is still Georgia, which means Notre Dame will be going up against arguably the most physical team in all of college football. I would not rule out Notre Dame coming out of New Orleans with the victory, but they need several star players to shine.

If Notre Dame wants to get to the national semifinals, these five players need to step up vs. Georgia.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish free safety Xavier Watts

Notre Dame free safety Xavier Watts is arguably the Fighting Irish's best player. The redshirt senior won the Nagurski a year ago and is a two-time All-American. He is a fearless leader on this Notre Dame defense with a great nose for the football. He must be the straw that stirs the drink on that side of the ball for the Fighting Irish going up against a four-star quarterback making his first career start.

While Georgia's offensive line has been an issue throughout most of this season, Gunner Stockton is more of a runner than Carson Beck is. Although Beck can move a little bit, the threat of running the football is an ever-present part of Stockton's game. In short, Watts needs to be the ultimate tone-setter when it comes to the Fighting Irish being relentless in pursuit on every defense snap they play.

Notre Dame will certainly get punched in the mouth, but how they respond will determine everything.

4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish placekicker Mitch Jeter

One of the major talking points throughout Friday night's broadcast was how suspect the kicking game has been for Notre Dame this season. While the Dawgs defense will give up points, you have to get points when you can get them offensively going up against Georgia. This is why placekicker Mitch Jeter is so important in being able to keep the Fighting Irish alive in this ballgame. He cannot struggle.

If you want proof of how important the kicking game is when it comes to playing Georgia, look no further than how poorly Bert Auburn kicked for the Longhorns in the SEC Championship Game. While the Sugar Bowl will be played in ideal conditions in the Superdome, Jeter's leg will play a huge part in if the Irish can pull off the slight upset. A bad kicking day could prove the difference in this bowl game.

Georgia would have to really self-destruct for Notre Dame to beat the Dawgs with a bad kicking game.

3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Leonard Moore

This is the one area where I think Georgia may look to exploit the Notre Dame defense on offense. One of the biggest perennial obstacles that Notre Dame has a hard time overcoming is depth out on the perimeter. Yes, they have great players at wide receiver and cornerback, but not having Benjamin Morrison available for this game is a bummer. That means Leonard Moore must play out of his mind.

While Georgia's wide receivers often struggle to separate, as well as come down with the football, many of these issues have come against SEC defenses. Notre Dame has plenty of talent on that side of the ball, but the Dawgs have as much depth as anyone. It is why if they can break off a big gain down the field to either Arian Smith or London Humphreys, it could be hard for the Irish to keep pace.

This is a game where Moore can emerge as a star in college football for neutralizing the Georgia pass.

2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love

Jeremiyah Love was the start of the game on Friday night. His impressive 98-yard touchdown run will forever have a place in Notre Dame lore. All night long, the Notre Dame offense could rely on him to make the big gain and keep the chains moving. However, he and the Notre Dame rushing attack will be going up against a far more formidable front-seven, one headlined by Butkus winner Jalon Walker.

If Love can get his on the ground, it opens up the possibility for quarterback Riley Leonard to get his as well. It would keep the Georgia defense on its toes, potentially opening up easier passing lanes for Leonard to rifle the pigskin through. For my money, the Notre Dame offense starts and ends with Love being able to run the football vs. Georgia. How he plays will determine if Notre Dame can win it.

How Notre Dame played on Friday night could be a pattern to potentially knock of Georgia in NOLA.

1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard

Of course, the most important player on the field for Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl vs. Georgia has to be starting quarterback Riley Leonard. For those who are wondering what kind of player Gunner Stockton might play like, look no further than the Notre Dame signal-caller. Leonard is an aggressive runner with a good feel in and around the pocket to throw the football down the field. He can do it all.

Where I did see some potential signs of trouble for Leonard potentially going up against the Georgia defense is how quickly the Indiana pass rush got in his face. The Hoosiers often blew right by the Notre Dame offensive line, but Leonard was still able to evade the pressure. Again, he will be going up against a different caliber of athlete in Georgia on a fast track in the Superdome down in New Orleans.

It is hard to envision a scenario where Notre Dame wins, despite Leonard playing poorly vs. Georgia.