Notre Dame can beat Georgia, despite what everyone is saying
Nobody seems to be picking Notre Dame to take down the Bulldogs on Saturday.
The Vegas line is out, college football fan opinions are in, and Paul Finebaum is making the rounds. The consensus: Notre Dame doesn’t have a shot at beating Georgia.
Why would the Irish have a chance? Only one of these two programs went to the College Football Playoff last season, on the back of an undefeated regular season where they beat 10 Power 5 opponents. Only one of these schools refuses to schedule FCS opponents.
Only one of these two teams is averaging more than 50 points per game. That same team is the one who has a huge chip on their shoulder. That’s the same team that believes in itself, despite what southern pundits are convinced will happen Saturday.
No one thinks Notre Dame can win, except for the Irish themselves.
That’s so important. Let Georgia’s collective heads inflate. Let this game mean more towards making the CFP again — than it maybe should.
Both teams went through tremendous turnover this off-season. Georgia lost a ton of receiving talent. They also lost their best corner to the NFL draft. The Irish are still breaking in new linebackers, and working to replace Dexter Williams.
Neither team has done well winning big games in recent seasons. Yeah, Notre Dame hasn’t won a National Championship since Lou Holtz in 1988, but Georgia hasn’t won one since 1980. Both teams have a big-game monkeys on their backs. It’s not Notre Dame’s unique problem.
Why are we assuming that Georgia is better?
Because they play in the SEC? Because they lose to Alabama in increasingly heartbreaking games annually? Because they didn’t have the opportunity to lose big to Clemson? Because their talent is inherently superior?
No. Georgia has done nothing to deserve this assumption of dominance. We all know Notre Dame has the better quarterback. Notre Dame has the better secondary. Notre Dame has the better receivers.
Next. What a win would mean for Notre Dame. dark
Yeah, the Bulldogs are good, but so are the Fighting Irish. There’s no good reason that Georgia is such a big favorite, other than the biases and presumptions which litter college football. Don’t let those biases fool you. The Irish are a legit Top 10 team, and they deserve the respect that comes with that status. Notre Dame can beat anyone in the country on any given Saturday.