College Football: Top 10 games of the 2017 season

8. Georgia 20, Notre Dame 19 | September 9

It was a matchup between two fabled college football programs, Notre Dame and Georgia, with both programs at crossroads in their own respective way. Georgia had just began its second year with Kirby Smart at the helm after an 8-5 opening season in Athens. Notre Dame had just finished a disastrous 4-8 season the year before and Brian Kelly was on the hot seat. This game had a lot riding at stake early on for these two programs.

The game was a defensive battle the whole way through, with teams trading field goals for most of the game. Georgia did benefit from two touchdowns, one from Sony Michel, the other a pass from Jacob Fromm to Terry Godwin. Michel’s touchdown run gave Georgia a slim lead going into the fourth quarter, but Notre Dame took it back on a field goal from Justin Yoon with over ten minutes to play.

Fromm, in his first career start as a true freshman did not blink, and led the Bulldogs on a nine play, 63 yard drive and set up Rodrigo Blankenship with a 30-yard field goal to give Georgia the 20-19 advantage. Notre Dame got the ball back with plenty of time, but as Brandon Wimbush went back to pass, he was blindsided by Georgia defensive end Davin Bellamy, fumbled the ball, and gave it back to the Bulldogs to seal it.

Little did anyone know that this win would catapult Georgia to an SEC Championship and a berth in the national championship game, but it was the foundation that they built that run on.