It will be a tough film review session for Georgia coach Kirby Smart after the Bulldogs’ 23-10 loss to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl CFP semifinal on Thursday night.

Georgia lost despite out-gaining the Irish 296-244 and getting a solid performance from quarterback Gunner Stockton, who was making his first start.

Stockton was 20-of-32 passing for 234 yards and a touchdown, but he fell victim to a fumble-inducing blind-side hit that led to a pivotal Notre Dame touchdown just before the end of the first half.

Irish quarterback Riley Leonard — limited to just 90 yards passing on 14 completions — hit Beaux Collins for a 13-3 halftime lead that UGA could not overcome.

Smart said on television that UGA could have just been content to go to the locker room down 6-3, but later added that the Bulldogs wanted to be aggressive.

Smart said the thinking was Georgia wanted to show confidence in their quarterback and take advantage of the opportunity to score, but the reality was that the Bulldogs didn’t need to press so early.

What Stockton did need was more timely play calling and execution, as UGA was just 2-of-12 on third-down conversions and 0-for-3 on fourth down calls.

Georgia’s special teams were uncharacteristically outplayed, allowing Notre Dame a 98-yard kick return to open the second half that enabled the Irish lead to swell to 20-3.

Then, with 7:17 left and in need of a stop, the Irish out-foxed Georgia by running its offense on the field on a fourth-and-1 from its own 18, and baiting All-American Jalon Walker into an offsides call that enabled them to sustain the drive.

Notre Dame made that special teams miscue hurt, running another nine plays and 5 minutes, 17 seconds off the clock effectively eliminating any realistic shot Georgia had for last-minute heroics.

The Bulldogs receivers played well at times — Arian Smith reeled in a beautiful 67-yard pass from Stockton.

But that second-quarter play was essentially undone by a 15-yard penalty on the sideline, as an official trailing the play ran into a UGA player not dressed out for the game.

Georgia had its share of sideline warnings throughout the season, but none that had resulted in such a penalty.

The flag led to Georgia having a first-and-25 at the Notre Dame 26, instead of a first-and-10 at the 11, and UGA settled for a field goal.

The Bulldogs could point to several miscues, but one of the earliest, and perhaps most costly, came when veteran Trevor Etienne fumbled with Georgia driving in the first quarter of a scoreless game.

Etienne, who was held to 38 yards on 11 carries, had talked about his Caesars Superdome jinx leading into the game, having failed to win there as a prep standout.

The bad luck followed the Louisiana native into the Sugar Bowl on a third-and-1 at Notre Dame 16, as he had the ball jarred loose, the Irish recovering at their own 10-yard line.

Smart said a receiver (Anthony Evans) had missed his block on the play, leading to the full-speed hit Etienne took from the side.

The Georgia receivers led the nation in dropped passes, and Dillon Bell added to the total when he dropped what would have been at least a 48-yard completion — and possibly a touchdown while running wide open.

Stockton overcame the drop and led the Bulldogs to their only touchdown of the game on the drive, but the optics did UGA no favors.

Georgia, quite simply, had its worst game of the season from an execution standpoint on offense and special teams on the biggest stage.

The Bulldogs will open next season on Aug. 30 against Marshall looking to set a new SEC record for consecutive home wins with 32.

Notre Dame advances to play Penn State at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 9 in the Orange Bowl CFP Semifinal.

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