Kirk Herbstreit 'all in' on Notre Dame moving forward: 'They're scratching the surface'

Kirk Herbstreit watched as Ohio State defeated Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday, but the ESPN analyst believes this is only the beginning of a fruitful era under Marcus Freeman.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show following the showdown, Herbstreit elaborated on why he’s all in on Notre Dame moving forward, explaining why he sees the Fighting Irish establishing themselves as a power in the college football world for many years to come.

“I’m all in on what they’ve done,” Herbstreit told McAfee and company. “I’ll be incredibly honest and candid, I was raised in this in the 70s and 80s, and Notre Dame football was Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State — whoever you want to say. I mean, they were a different level. Everybody tried to be Notre Dame in that era. I think after the Lou Holtz era, they’ve been searching.

“They’ve had some moments, you know, when Brady [Quinn] was there with Charlie [Weis]. I mean, they’ve had some good moments, and Brian Kelly had some moments. But I don’t know if I’ve ever felt like this about Notre Dame, as far as since the Lou Holtz era.”

Regardless, a runner-up season won’t be good enough for Freeman and company, and that’s alright. Herbstreit believes that they’ve built a program that will be desirable for recruits throughout the nation, which will only help South Bend’s team improve.

“I think they’re scratching the surface. I think he’s only going to build a stronger roster. Kids are drawn to him. They want to play for him. They want to play for that school,” Herbstreit added. “I always kind of simplify and say, ‘He’s making Notre Dame cool,’ which sounds like, ‘Whatever.’ But when you can reach 17, 18, 19-year old kids and make a brand — kind of like, ‘Nobody cares about Notre Dame,’ to all of a sudden, the way he carries himself on the sideline. The way his teams represent themselves. I think this is the beginning.

“Now, you’ve got to go find a quarterback. And I think CJ Carr, by the way, is a super freaky, talented guy. Lloyd Carr’s grandson, he’s a freshman. They got [Steve] Angeli, who stepped in against Penn State. But guys, they’re not going away. I just think that with the new 12-team Playoff, not being in a conference. You know, they have favorable opportunities to get into the Top 12. I just don’t see that — I don’t think this was, ‘Hey, they did it in 2012. See you later, back to your corner.’ I don’t see that, man.

“I see this as the beginning. They learned a lot. I feel bad for the older players, but those younger guys going through that, fighting back from 31-7, when it looked like it was on its way to 45 or 52-7, and they just fought back, you know, like they did all year. So, I was pumped for them. I think they’re just going to — as he’s there, they’re not going anywhere.”

Time will tell if Kirk Herbstreit is right in his assertion, but Notre Dame fans should be encouraged regarding their 2024 campaign nonetheless. They came up just short in the end, but the ride Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish took them on was one of the ages.