NEW ORLEANS — Glenn Schumann has a pretty good idea of what to expect from Notre Dame’s offense, having seen something similar most every day of Sugar Bowl prep.

“They run the ball, they’re good up front, lots of good backs,” said Schumann, asked about how the Irish resemble the Georgia offense. “Size across the board, play-action passing game, RPO flare in there. So there’s similarities.”

The Bulldogs’ Sugar Bowl CFP quarterfinal against Notre Dame (8:45 p.m., Wednesday) at Caesars Superdome has the look of a rock fight, with both teams intent on pounding the ball on the ground at one another.

But as Schumann notes, it’s not that simple.

Here are three key takeaways from what Schumann had to say leading up to the game:

Dual-threat

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard is known for his ability to scramble, but Schumann is not about to underestimate his ability to move the ball through the air.

“His last game is one of his best games throwing football, being accurate,” Schumann said of Leonard’s 23-of-32, 201-yard passing performance in the 27-17 first-round CFP win over Indiana.

“… when he extends plays, it places a lot of stress on the second and third level, in terms of matching routes on the scrambles.Those are some of his best throws, guys come open that way.

“That’s one of the biggest challenges, is not just the ability for the rush to keep him in the trap and to make him make throws from the pocket and make him uncomfortable, but also on the back end, when he does extend plays, because it will inevitably happen.”

Healthy front

Georgia’s defense has been spotty at times this season, in part because of the grind of a challenging SEC schedule, but also, injuries on the defensive front.

That shouldn’t be as much of an issue moving forward, however, as UGA has gained health and strength on the defensive line as the season has progressed.

“As you have more guys available, I think, especially the big guys, you’re able to stay fresher,” Schumann said. “…. the fresher you are, the better you’re gonna give effort, chase the ball, the better your burst is gonna be getting off the ball in pass rush. And I think it keeps everybody at their peak performance longer.

“I’m really proud of those guys who had to play games where we had guys playing 50 plus snaps a game in the interior D-Line that their career high had been in the 30s. And so early in the year when guys were banged up, guys rose to the occasion. And all that experience, I think, has helped us in the long run.”

Assignment football

Georgia’s most dominant defenses under Kirby Smart have effectively “built the wall,” and that will be the rule of the day against Notre Dame’s formidable run game.

“You gotta do your job, I mean, at the end of the day, that’s the key to playing great defense,” said Schumann, who’s all about gap integrity up front and disciplined eyes on the back end.

“Strike blockers up front, tackle well, leverage the football, win your one-on-ones and coverage. Mentality-wise, that’s the key to playing good defense in general.”

Georgia ranks only 35th in total defense, allowing 336.5 yards per game, and it’s also 35th in rushing defense allowing 127.8 yards each outing.

Schumann, however, isn’t about to concede anything.

“We set goals on defense based on what our standards and expectations are in terms of the points we wanna allow, our expectations in terms of rushing defense, third down defense, red zone defense,” Schumann said. “…. we just wanna play to the standard of Georgia defense. The rest will sort itself out.”