The 1981 Sugar Bowl was the 47th

edition Edition may refer to: * Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies * Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run * Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text * Edition Recor ...

of the

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

, played at the

Louisiana Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, on Thursday, January 1. Part of the 1980–81 bowl game season, it matched the undefeated and top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

, and the seventh-ranked

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

. A slight underdog, Georgia won, 17–10.

Teams

Georgia

Notre Dame

Game summary

The game kicked off shortly after 1 p.m. CST, televised by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, at the same time as the Cotton Bowl on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. In the first quarter, Notre Dame scored first on a 50-yard Harry Oliver field goal. Another Notre Dame scoring opportunity in the first quarter was foiled when Bulldog freshman

Terry Hoage Terrell Lee "Terry" Hoage (born April 11, 1962) is a former American college and professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Hoage played college football f ...

blocked a field goal. Hoage had been a last-minute addition to the roster by head coach

Vince Dooley Vincent Joseph Dooley (September 4, 1932 – October 28, 2022) was an American college football coach. He was the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs from 1964 to 1988, as well as the University of Georgia's (UGA) athletic director from 1979 to ...

for his kick blocking ability. Due to good field position Georgia's Rex Robinson would eventually boot a 46-yard field goal of his own to tie the game at three. On the ensuing kickoff, a communication gaffe between the Irish's deep return players resulted in neither one fielding the kick which bounced at the one-yard line and was recovered by Georgia's Bob Kelly. Two plays later, Bulldog running back Herschel Walker scored on a one-yard touchdown run as Georgia led 10–3. In the second quarter, Walker scored on a three-yard run making the score 17–3 at halftime. The only score in the second half came in the third quarter; Notre Dame scored on a one-yard run to close the margin to 17–10. Georgia's defense held on to that lead, giving Georgia the victory and the 1980 national championship. True freshman Walker rushed for 150 yards and was named Sugar Bowl MVP. Bulldog defensive back Scott Woerner made several key plays throughout the day including a late game interception that sealed Georgia was first in both final polls.

Scoring

First quarter *Notre Dame – Harry Oliver 50-yard field goal *Georgia – Rex Robinson 46-yard field goal *Georgia – Herschel Walker 1-yard run (Robinson kick) Second quarter *Georgia – Walker 2-yard run (Robinson kick) Third quarter *Notre Dame – Phil Carter 1-yard run (Oliver kick) Fourth quarter :''No scoring''

Statistics

: :

Note

This Sugar Bowl marked the debut of Georgia's costumed mascot Hairy Dawg.

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

native

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

was in attendance, three weeks before leaving office.

References

{{Notre Dame Fighting Irish bowl game navbox

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

Sugar Bowl Georgia Bulldogs football bowl games Notre Dame Fighting Irish football bowl games