Notre Dame (12-1 straight up, 11-2 against the spread) advanced to the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff with this past Friday’s 27-17 home win over Indiana. However, the win came at a cost when Marcus Freeman’s team lost its leader in sacks and one of its captains.
Senior defensive tackle Rylie Mills sustained a right knee injury that’ll keep him out for the rest of the CFP. He had two tackles and one sack against the Hoosiers before leaving the game early in the third quarter.
In 13 games this year, Mills had 37 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and four QB hurries. Mills played in 61 games for the Fighting Irish in five seasons, contributing 131 career tackles, 26 TFL’s, 17 sacks, 11 QB hurries and two fumble recoveries.
Mills had three sacks in a 52-3 home win over Florida State in early November.
Notre Dame jumped on Indiana early thanks to a 98-yard touchdown run from Jeremiyah Love. The Irish went up 14-0 early in the second quarter when Riley Leonard found Jayden Thomas for a five-yard scoring strike.
After the Hoosiers cut the deficit to 14-3 late in the second quarter, Freeman’s team went ahead 17-3 on a 49-yard field goal from Mitch Jeter with seven seconds left until halftime.
A 33-yard field goal by Jeter with 4:21 remaining in the third quarter gave the Irish a three-possession lead. Notre Dame put the game out of reach with 4:47 left on Leonard’s one-yard touchdown run.
Indiana scored a pair of TDs in the last 84 seconds to make the final score more respectable. But make no mistake, this was a beatdown from start to finish.
The injury to Mills leaves Freeman’s defense yet another man short. CB Benjamin Morrison, who is a projected first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, was lost to a season-ending injury last month.
DEs Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore also went down with season-ending injuries earlier this year. Botelho had 12 tackles and one sack in the Irish’s first three games, while Traore recorded 12 tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble and one interception for a pick-six in the first five contests.
Junior DT Gabriel Rubio saw increased playing time after Mills was injured and had a pair of tackles. In eight games this season, Rubio has 14 tackles and one sack.
Notre Dame is set to face Georgia at the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day in the CFP quarterfinals. As of Monday, betting shops had UGA installed as a 1.5 or two-point favorite with a total of 44.
Most spots had the Bulldogs in the -125 to -135 range on the money line, while Notre Dame had +105 to +118 range (BetOnline) odds to win outright.