Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Georgia Bulldogs Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 01/01/2025

Game Time: 8:45 pm ET, Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Venue:  Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA 

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  ND +1, UGA -1; Over/Under:  45 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  ND +1.5, UGA -1.5; Over/Under:  45 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  ND +1.5, UGA -1.5; Over/Under:  45.5 points

Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  12-1 (0-0) (FBS Independent)

Georgia Bulldogs:  11-2 (6-2) (2nd place, SEC)

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  won their last game at home against the Indiana Hoosiers 27-17.

Georgia Bulldogs:  won their last game at a neutral site against the Texas Longhorns 22-19 in overtime. 

Notre Dame is entering this game with a 12-1 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 6-1 in their home games, 3-0 in their road games, and they are also 3-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against Indiana 27-17. Riley Leonard was the starting QB and he completed 23/32 passes for 201 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Jeremiyah Love led the team in rushing yards with 108 and 1 TD. Jordan Faison led the receivers with 89 receiving yards on 7 receptions. Xavier Watts led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles while Rylie Mills, Loghan Thomas, and Bryce Young each led the defense in sacks with 1. Xavier Watts came away with the only interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Georgia is entering this game with an 11-2 record overall and they have a 6-2 record in their conference games too. They are 6-0 in their home games, 2-2 in their road games, and they are also 3-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against Texas 22-19 in OT. Carson Beck was the starting QB and he completed 7/13 passes for 56 passing yards before leaving injured and getting replaced by Gunner Stockton who completed 12/16 passes for 71 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Trevor Etienne led the team in rushing yards with 94 and 2 TDs. Arian Smith led the receivers with 41 receiving yards on 5 receptions. Malaki Starks led the defense in that game with 7 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Mykel Williams led the defense in sacks with 2. Daylen Everette came away with the only 2 interceptions for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Georgia listed as a 1 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Georgia has looked really good in their games this season with their 11-2 record overall and their 6-2 conference record which has them right near the top of the SEC. They didn't have the best record in the SEC this season, but they did go to the SEC Championship and beat Texas in it. Meanwhile, Notre Dame has looked great in their games this season with their 12-1 record overall and they are coming off a win over Indiana in the first round of the playoffs. They won that game 27-17 and were the much better team in it, but they also had the home advantage for that game. Notre Dame doesn't play in a conference either so they haven't really had a difficult schedule with many strong opponents this season, and their 1 loss even came at home against Northern Illinois from the MAC. Notre Dame has been rolling a lot of teams over the last month of the season, but they haven't seen a team like Georgia and this defense is going to make it really hard on Notre Dame to move the ball. Notre Dame hasn't really faced a lot of adversity this season either, and they haven't played from behind in a lot of their games as they are not built to do so. Georgia may have a backup QB here, but he looked good when he came into the Texas game and Georgia is a team that has had a lot of success in this part of the season over the last few years. The best way to place a bet here is on Georgia to cover the spread in this game. 

Notre Dame Georgia Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Wednesday, January 1, 2025 (8:45 pm ET start time) is Georgia 24 Notre Dame 13.

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 25-11 ATS in all lined games. 13-3 ATS when playing against a team with a winning record. 12-2 ATS vs. good offensive  teams - scoring 31 or more points/game. 24-15 OVER in all lined games. 11-4 OVER when the total is between 42.5 and 49. 11-3 OVER off a home win.

Georgia Bulldogs: 17-24 ATS in all lined games. 15-24 ATS as a favorite. 13-22 ATS after 1 or more consecutive straight up wins. 6-0 OVER after a bye week. 9-4 OVER versus good rushing teams - averaging 4.75 rushing yards/carry or more. 4-0 OVER in a bowl game.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  R. Mills (DL) Out - Knee. B. Morrison (CB) Out - Hip. B. Traore (DL) Out - Knee. C. Tucker (CB) Out - Knee. G. Payne (RB) Out - Knee. C. Jagusah (OL) Out - Pectoral. T. Bennie-Powell (SAF) Out - Shoulder. S. Prescod (OL) Out - Shoulder.

Georgia Bulldogs:  R. Robinson (RB) Out - Lower Body. B. Robinson (RB) Questionable - Leg. B. Thorson (P) Out - Knee. C. Beck (QB) Out - Arm. C. Miller (DL) Questionable - Shoulder. J. Jonah-Ajonye (DL) Out - Lower Body. C. Young (WR) Out - Suspension.

“There’s not many times in your life that you’re the first to do something, right? We’re the first group to play and win a playoff game at Notre Dame Stadium, so that’s something we’ll share for the rest of our lives.” - Marcus Freeman after his team’s win against Indiana in their last game. 

“We’re beat up, we're tired, we’re mentally fatigued. But I don't know if I've ever had a more mentally tough team. They just keep coming, keep coming. They never say die.” - Kirby Smart after his team’s win against Texas in the SEC Championship.

WR Collins, Beaux 

WR Faison, Jordan 

WR Greathouse, Jaden

TE Evans, Mitchell 

QB Leonard, Riley 

RB Love, Jeremiyah 

WR Bell, Dillon 

WR Smith, Arian 

WR Lovett, Dominic 

TE Delp, Oscar

QB Stockton, Gunner 

RB Etienne, Trevor

Passing: R. Leonard (2293)

Rushing: J. Love (1057)

Receiving: B. Collins (445)

Touchdowns: J. Love (18)

Passing: C. Beck (3485)

Rushing: N. Frazier (634)

Receiving: A. Smith (750)

Touchdowns: T. Etienne (9)

Coaches:

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Marcus Freeman (4th season)

Georgia Bulldogs: Kirby Smart (9th season)