After a chaotic, tragic, and draining 48 hours in the city of New Orleans – the Sugar Bowl has crowned a champion.
Notre Dame has upset the SEC Champion Georgia Bulldogs 23-10 to advance to the College Football Playoff Semifinals.
The Fighting Irish will be off to the Orange Bowl where they will play No. 6 Penn State – with the winner of that game off to the College Football Playoff National Championship game.
In a sports sense, the win means that all four of the top seeds have been eliminated from the College Football Playoff in the first year of its new 12-team format.
But in a larger sense, the celebration of Notre Dame players on the field and fans in the stands comes in the aftermath of a devastating terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 14 people and left dozens injured.
After Notre Dame players gathered in the end zone, linking arm-in-arm as they swayed side-to-side while their alma mater played, cameras found Louisiana State Troopers manning the sidelines following a devastating period for the city, the state, and the nation.
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