Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman looks on during the second quarter against Georgia Bulldogs at Caesars Superdome. Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Watch: Notre Dame fools Georgia with another incredible trick play

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated Jan 3, 2025 9:07 AM ET

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman continues to showcase how creative he is.

Freeman made a savvy move during the fourth quarter of Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff quarterfinals matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Thursday.

The Fighting Irish were leading 23-10 and had a fourth-and-1 at their 18-yard line with under eight minutes to go. They lined up in a formation to punt but then sent the entire unit off the field and substituted them for their offense. Georgia responded by substituting in their defense rather than their punt return unit.

Quarterback Riley Leonard was getting set to snap the ball and caught a few Georgia players jumping offside as the play clock was nearing zero. That penalty gave Notre Dame a first down, allowing them to continue possessing the ball and running more time off the clock.

ONE MILLION football IQ play by Notre Dame to draw the offsides pic.twitter.com/CZy070WIrr
— BetMGM (@BetMGM) January 3, 2025

That was another genius move by Freeman, who continues to show what an outside-the-box thinker he is.

Fans may recall that in their first-round playoff game against Indiana, Freeman pulled off a similar move on another fourth down play. His move confused and led Indiana to burn a timeout. Freeman’s creative coaching is making a big difference.

Notre Dame has now won 12 games in a row. On Thursday, they will face Penn State in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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