Marcus Freeman has had an interesting journey in his short tenure as the head man at Notre Dame. There have been some really terrific and encouraging bright spots, but also many letdowns and head-scratching moments as well.

Now, Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame have the chance for a program-validating win on New Year’s Day in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia. Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs have been the standard of excellence in college football recently.

The Bulldogs have dominated the all-time series against the Irish, even though the past two on-campus matchups came down to the very end.