No. 12 Notre Dame (5-1) vs. Georgia Tech (5-2), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN), Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
BetMGM College Football Odds: Notre Dame by 11 1/2.
Series record: Notre Dame leads 30-6-1.
What’s at stake?
Notre Dame is looking to protect its College Football Playoff hopes. The No. 12 spot in The AP Top 25 shows the Fighting Irish have little margin for error if they hope to make the newly expanded 12-team field with a home loss to Northern Illinois marring their record. Georgia Tech is looking for its first three-game winning streak of the season and its second win over a Top 25 team after beating then-No. 10 Florida State to open the season.
Key matchup
Georgia Tech RB Jamal Haynes vs. Notre Dame’s run defense. Led by Haynes, the Yellow Jackets have moved to the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference in rushing offense by running for 616 yards the last two games. Haynes has rushed for 536 yards and seven touchdowns. The Fighting Irish rank only 52nd in the nation allowing 125.2 rushing yards per game.
Players to watch
Notre Dame: Freshmen Leonard Moore and Karson Hobbs could move up at cornerback after the Fighting Irish lost one of its top defensive players, Benjamin Morrison, to a season-ending hip injury in last week’s 49-7 win over Stanford. Coach Marcus Freeman said nickel back Jordan Clark also could help at cornerback.
Georgia Tech: With QB Haynes King’s status uncertain after he left last week’s 41-34 win at North Carolina with an apparent right arm or shoulder injury, the spotlight could be on backup Zach Pyron. Pyron has played in every game this season and has rushed for 60 yards and four touchdowns but has thrown only seven passes. A Pyron-led attack might lean more heavily on Haynes.
Facts & figures
Notre Dame has won the last three games in the series, including a 55-0 rout at South Bend, Ind., in 2021. … Notre Dame’s dominant series lead includes a 13-2-1 record in games played in Atlanta. … This will be the Fighting Irish’s first visit to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. The facility is about one mile from the Georgia Tech campus. … Georgia Tech is 1-3 at the stadium. … The game is part of a contract for Georgia Tech to play one game each year at the stadium from 2021-26. Georgia Tech and Georgia announced this week their annual state rivalry game in 2025 would be played at the stadium instead of at Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium… Notre Dame’s defense held Stanford to 87 passing yards and 200 total yards last week. … Notre Dame senior Riley Leonard, a Duke transfer, ranks second among active quarterbacks with 27 career rushing TDs. He has rushed for eight TDs this season.
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