College Football Playoff predictions: Who wins the Sugar Bowl between Georgia, Notre Dame?

The last College Football Playoff quarterfinal on the schedule could turn out to be the best one. Notre Dame and Georgia meet in New Orleans in the Sugar Bowl with the winner headed to the Orange Bowl.

The Fighting Irish, coming off their defeat of Indiana in the first round, have won 11 games in a row and appear to be peaking at the right time. The Bulldogs face some questions despite winning the SEC title against Texas with starting quarterback Carson Beck out for the season. Gunner Stockton played well in relief of Beck in that defeat of the Longhorns. But how he will fare against a defense as good as Notre Dame that has time to prepare for him? That remains to be seen.

With both teams appearing to have their strength on defense and lacking explosive passing games, this shapes up to be a defensive struggle. Who will prevail? Our experts give their picks.

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Scooby Axson

The Irish will be missing their top pass rusher, and Georgia will be without its starting quarterback. Notre Dame will need to pound the rock early and often to open up the passing game, which the Bulldogs have been susceptible to at times. Gunner Stockton's first career start is in the biggest spotlights, and a key turnover or special team play will let the Bulldogs escape and move on to the next round. Georgia 26, Notre Dame 24.

Jordan Mendoza

How much does the loss of Carson Beck impact Georgia? Notre Dame will be hunting Gunner Stockton all night against should be the best defense the Bulldogs have faced all season. Georgia is unable to stop the running game of the Fighting Irish and prevail in what will be a pro-Georgia crowd. Notre Dame 27, Georgia 23.

Paul Myerberg

The outlook is different if Georgia had Carson Beck under center. Life will become much more difficult with backup Gunner Stockton taking snaps against what may be the best defense in this field. Notre Dame will be able to run on Georgia and will need error-free play from Riley Leonard to score a minor upset. The Irish have what it takes to get this done. Notre Dame 24, Georgia 20.

Erick Smith

We've seen backup quarterbacks thrive in the College Football Playoff. The questions is whether Gunner Stockton is the latest. A solid performance in the second half against Texas in the SEC championship game brings optimism. Notre Dame needs this to be a breakthrough win in the postseason to establish its credentials. It'll be a four-quarter fight that might come down to a kicker. Georgia 20, Notre Dame 17.

Eddie Timanus

One usually picks against Georgia in the College Football Playoff playoff at one’s own peril. Bearing that in mind, however, we like Notre Dame’s chances with its physical ability on both sides of the ball and the Bulldogs forced to rely on inexperienced quarterback Gunner Stockton to make critical plays. Notre Dame 27, Georgia 13.

Dan Wolken

With some time to prepare for Gunner Stockton, Notre Dame’s defense has the advantage against a quarterback who doesn’t have a lot of experience under the bright lights. Maybe Georgia is good enough to overcome it, and maybe Stockton is a star in waiting. But until they prove it on the field, it’s safer to consider this version of Georgia as a downgrade from what they were earlier in the year. Notre Dame 23, Georgia 21.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sugar Bowl: Georgia-Notre Dame picks, predictions