Marcus Freeman considers pros, cons of on-campus College Football Playoff games: 'I have to look at it as an advantage'

Notre Dame kicked off the first ever on-campus College Football Playoff game on Friday, Dec. 21, with a rousing win over in-state Indiana in front of a raucous crowd. And it’s about the ideal scene and setting for the Irish and head coach Marcus Freeman.

Given the setup of the 12-team CFP currently, the highest Notre Dame can be seeded is No. 5, with no possibility of a bye. It means that Notre Dame, unlike other schools, won’t get a shot at playing three instead of four games in the CFP. It does mean, though, that the Irish are in a strong position to continue to host should Freeman and Co. keep the high level of play.

And that’s a tradeoff Freeman is happy to make — and one he knows isn’t much of a choice, from where he sits.

“Well, I have to look at it as an advantage, right? And not look at anything that happens to us as a disadvantage,” Freeman said on “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd. “To play a first round playoff game at home was an experience like no other. And to have our guys understand, ‘OK, here’s what the playoffs are all about.’ Because it’s a first for everybody in terms of having four games, or three games if you had a bye. It was, to me, a great advantage, to go and prepare and to have that first game and now you gotta reset and get ready for your next opponent.”

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There is one new wrinkle to the 12-team system that Freeman is adjusting to, and something he’d deal with whether Notre Dame had a bye, was hosting, or went on the road.

And that’s dealing with prep for a game that could — or could not — be the last in the season for the Irish.

“Again, this is something I’ve never really had to deal with because in the season, you know you’ve got the next game,” Freeman said. “In a bowl game, you’re preparing, you know that’s the last one. And this is unique where you don’t know if this is going to be your last game or not. And the minute we won that game, you had to reset your mind and say, ‘OK, we’ve gotta get ready for this next opponent.’ Which is going to be a tall task.”