After a pair of interceptions from Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard and Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke to start Friday night’s College Football Playoff first-round matchup, the Fighting Irish struck first in the opening quarter.
Pinned down to their own two-yard line, star running back Jeremiyah Love took a handoff to the left side and beat the entire Hoosiers defense to the edge. They tried in vain to chase him down, but 98 yards later, Love found paydirt to give Notre Dame the early 7-0 lead.
The play, which alone accounted for more than 10% of the rushing yards the Hoosiers have allowed on the season, was absolutely electric. And the call on The Notre Dame Radio Network from Tony Simeone was perhaps even more electric.
As called by Tony Simeone on Notre Dame radio:
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog.lol) December 20, 2024 at 8:28 PM
The first quarter of the inaugural on-campus College Football Playoff game featured some ugliness on both sides, but Love came through for his team to give it the lead with what could already be one of the best plays we see in the entire postseason.