ATHENS, Ga. — If a scoreless first quarter and a first half averaging 5.26 yards per play waylaid by five penalties for 35 yards can be considered perfect, that’s what No. 7 Notre Dame (2-1) offered to start Saturday night. The Irish avoided turnovers, capitalized on the one it snagged, and held No.3 Georgia (4-0) to only three plays longer than 10 yards and just 4.75 yards per play.
Notre Dame needed that spotless of a performance to compete against a genuine, bona fide, undeniable national title contender. At halftime, a 10-7 lead was the reward. But the Irish could not keep up that efficient of a showing, even with as many qualifiers on that efficiency as were distinctly on hand.