Notre Dame vs Georgia prediction & betting tips - Jan. 1 - College Football Playoff

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish play the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday at 8:45 p.m. ET. The game serves as the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, which can be seen on ESPN.

Notre Dame beat Indiana 27-17 in the first round of the playoff. Georgia, meanwhile, won the SEC and had its bye in the first round.

Notre Dame vs Georgia: Preview

Notre Dame is -105 while Georgia is a -115 favorite, with the over/under set at 45.5 points.

The Fighting Irish dominated Indiana in the first round of the playoff in a statement win. Notre Dame is led by quarterback Riley Leonard, who threw for 2,293 yards, 17 touchdowns and six interceptions. Jeremiyah Love has rushed for 1,057 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart knows stopping Love will be tough but is the key to the Bulldogs' success.

"Well, they have unbelievable backs first off," Smart said, vis 247Sports. ... "Those guys are tremendously talented and do a great job. I mean, (they) use all of them, too. And then when you throw the skill set of Riley (Leonard) in there, the quarterback, it just makes it that much tougher to defend because they have multiple weapons, multiple options, and they're really physical. I mean, they're committed to it. They're very committed to the run."

Notre Dame is led defensively by Howard Cross III, who has four sacks, while star pass rusher Rylie Mills is out for the rest of the season. Xavier Watts has six interceptions and Jack Kiser has 69 tackles.

Georgia, meanwhile, will start Gunner Stockton as Carson Beck is done for the season. Stockton replaced Beck in the SEC Championship Game as he went 12-for-16 for 71 yards and a pick.

Despite the QB change, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman doesn't think the Bulldogs offense will change much.

"We utilize the game film that's there," Freeman said. "I don't think they're gonna change their offense completely because he is their quarterback."

Georgia will rely on its run game as Nate Frazier led the team with 634 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Bulldogs struggled this season to stop running quarterbacks, as Haynes King and Jalen Milroe both had a ton of success. Riley Leonard should be able to run the football well against this defense and lead Notre Dame to a big win here, as Georgia's offense will struggle to move the ball with Gunner Stockton at QB.

Prediction: Notre Dame 21, Georgia 20

Notre Dame vs Georgia: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Notre Dame ML (-105)

Tip 2: Under 45.5 points (-110)

Tip 3: Riley Leonard 40+ rushing yards (+115)

Tip 4: Under 22.5 points first half (-112)