Notre Dame football’s win over the Georgia Bulldogs was pulled off thanks to a ton of different factors. There was Riley Leonard able to run the ball, there was a defense that righted the ship after struggling early there was the second-half kick return to the house, and there was the 4th down substitution package late in the game that drew the Bulldogs offsides.
That last one, where the Irish sent the punt team out, and then subbed in the entire offense, forcing the Bulldogs to also sub in their entire defense, forcing them to be less than confident about what was going on and eventually jumping offsides. That penalty allowed the Blue and Gold to run more clock, and eventually win the game, 23-10.
After Notre Dame football handed the Bulldogs the dominating loss, head coach Kirby Smart complained to the media that he was told by “SEC officials” that the way the Irish handled the mass substitutions wasn’t legal because teams aren’t allowed to sub out all 11 players like that.
"It's really unfortunate because I've been told by our head officials in the SEC you can't do that... you can't run 11 on and 11 off."
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 3, 2025
Kirby Smart addresses the substitutions made that caused the offside penalty against Georgia late in the game ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/gGivrKbPTM
Notre Dame football simply knows the rules better than the SEC
“"It's really unfortunate because I've been told by our head officials in the SEC you can't do that... you can't run 11 on and 11 off." Smart said.
The genius of Marcus Freeman.
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) January 3, 2025
The FULL hockey line change of all 11 guys.
Georgia has to frantically sprint its defense back on the field.
You can see UGA coaches hollering from the sideline right as Leonard claps his hands.
Works to perfection. pic.twitter.com/chAuBxLNRR
However, that’s not actually how the rule works. Social media users even pointed it out when a clip of his behavior, cast as sore loser by more than one Irish fan, was posted on Twitter.
“The NCAA rulebook states that you can't substitute more than 11 players ‘while the ball is in play’ (AR 3-5-2-I),” Twitter community notes users explained. “Replay shows the long snapper had not gotten set or touched the ball before the mass substitution, making it a dead ball and a legal play.”
It’s hardly shocking that SEC officials took issue with that play. They were mad that their coach got so thoroughly outcoached on such a public stage. But Notre Dame football handed Kirby Smart a big loss. He would have been better suited to just take his lumps in the 23-10 loss.