Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Jayden Harrison. Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Watch: Notre Dame returns second-half kickoff for touchdown

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Jan 2, 2025 6:46 PM ET

Notre Dame completely swung the momentum of the Sugar Bowl on Thursday by scoring 10 points in an 11-second span going into halftime.

The Fighting Irish continued that momentum swing to open the second half by returning the opening kickoff of the half 98 yards for a touchdown, jumping out to a 20-3 lead.

Here is a look at the 98-yard return by Jayden Harrison:

JAYDEN HARRISON

9️⃣8️⃣ YARDS#GoIrish | @j_harrison5

pic.twitter.com/58i6kwbw3H
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 2, 2025

Officially Notre Dame scored 17 points in less than 60 seconds of clock time around halftime.

Mitch Jeter gave Notre Dame a 6-3 lead with 39 seconds to play in the second quarter.

On Georgia's first offensive snap following that, quarterback Gunner Stockton fumbled, setting Notre Dame up at the 13-yard line. That set the stage for Riley Leonard to find Beaux Collins for the game's first touchdown.

Notre Dame forces another Georgia fumble and finds the end zone on the next play! #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/95Vy8yS1Wj
— ESPN (@espn) January 2, 2025

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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