Notre Dame's defense, the heartbeat of the Irish program for many years now, put on another terrific display of dominant football against the Hoosiers in Notre Dame Stadium Friday night. The Irish allowed the Hoosiers just 63 yards rushing on the evening for a meager average of just 2.3 YPC.

Notre Dame quickly grounded Indiana after the high-flying Hoosiers came into the College Football Playoffs with the top scoring offense. Notre Dame slugged Indiana with an aggressive tone early, keeping the Hoosiers out of the end zone until the final 1:27 in a 27-17 victory Friday night.

Notre Dame secured a decisive victory over Indiana, defeating the Hoosiers 27-17 in the opening game of the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff on Friday night in South Bend, Indiana.

There aren’t a lot of firsts anymore in college football. There sure aren’t a lot of firsts at Notre Dame. This was one of them.