Marcus Freeman believes he has 'special team' ahead of Ohio State matchup

Notre Dame will take on Ohio State in a rematch of last year’s contest that ended in favor of the Buckeyes 21-10. Coach Marcus Freeman believes he has a special team, one that could flip things around this year.

The Fighting Irish have been bolstered by the transfer of Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman, who has led a balanced offense.

“I’ll tell you what, man, this is a special team,” Freeman said Saturday on ESPN’s College GameDay. “It starts with a special coaching staff and we have a high ceiling of potential.

“As I told these guys all the time, this is about us reaching our full potential, and there’s many different ways that we have to make sure that we go out to execute to do that, but this really is about us and it’s about what we do. Can this group reach its full potential vs. a great opponent tonight at 7:30?”

That is a major question, not just for Notre Dame but for the College Football Playoff picture.

Ohio State enters the game ranked No. 6 in the country, while Notre Dame checks in at No. 9. Both are capable of moving up the rankings considerably as the season goes on. If they can keep winning.

Tonight will put that to the test.

All eyes will be on Hartman, the newcomer to the series from a year ago. Hartman has already thrown for a nation-leading 13 touchdowns, racking up 1,061 yards passing without an interception.

If his accolades preceded him with the transfer to Notre Dame, teammates have quickly found out they were hard-earned, not given to him. Hartman has impressed at every turn.

“Now we get to play with him and still same guy in the locker room, still your buddy, your brother in the locker room, but then on the field he’s such a confident person because he puts the work in, because he studies the film so much and prepares and mentally prepares,” offensive lineman Joe Alt said. “Then there’s just a confidence out there with him. It’s been a lot of fun.

“That friendship and that relationship has grown literally from Day 1, it’s been great.”

Notre Dame will also be leaning on key running back Audric Estime, who has been great through the first four games of the season. Estime has run for 521 yards and five touchdowns already.

Both players will get a chance to showcase just how true Freeman’s words about having a special team are tonight.

The two programs kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET with a broadcast on NBC.