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Notre Dame bridges past with future in dominant Playoff win
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Notre Dame bridges past with future in dominant Playoff win

These Irish are making history at a place with no shortage of it.

Matt Fortuna's avatar
Matt Fortuna
Dec 21, 2024
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Notre Dame bridges past with future in dominant Playoff win
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Photo: Getty Images

(Editor’s Note: Stephen Vincent Biagi passed away Saturday, after this story was published. You can read his obituary here.)

Marty Biagi walked into Notre Dame Stadium at 5:51 p.m. sporting a vintage jacket that would have made Rudy jealous.

It wasn’t off the rack, though, or the kind of re-commissioned piece you see all over campuses these days.

No, this belonged to his father, Stephen, who graduated from Notre Dame in 1973 and who gave his son the coat last week.

This was amid the 12-hour tailgates and the raucous “College GameDay” set. This was after the snow had cleared and the sun had set. This was more than two hours before the first game of the first season of the 12-team College Football Playoff, which doubled as a celebration of all that college football could be.

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Seventh-seeded Notre Dame beat 10th-seeded Indiana, 27-17, in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score would indicate. These Irish dominated early and often. Their best defensive player (Xavier Watts) picked off a pass near the goal line less than five minutes in. Their best offensive player (Jeremiyah Love) broke off a Playoff-record 98-yard touchdown run on the very next play.

The rout was on from there, with the home team establishing itself as kings of the state before a raucous crowd of 77,622. Notre Dame will now meet Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day, and the Irish are already favored in that game.

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