Marcus Freeman details how changes in Big Ten, SEC impact Notre Dame's scheduling approach
Notre Dame is in as interesting of a spot as any program with the expanded playoff happening. That’s why the Fighting Irish will have to plan, or, in this case, schedule, unlike other teams across the country.
On Friday, Marcus Freeman, along with QB Riley Leonard and DB Jordan Clark, came on ‘Get Up’ on ESPN. In that conversation, he discussed scheduling and how his program will do it in keeping pace with actual conferences. For him, that means mimicking their slates as best as they can from the standpoint of an independent. From there, it’s all just about winning enough of those games.
“I think, for us, we schedule teams in every conference,” said Freeman. “We know we’re going to play coast to coast.”
‘I think, as we continue to move forward? Schedules are really already made out through 2030-something. But, as we move forward, I want to make sure that our schedule lines up with those in the SEC and the Big Ten. As long as we do what we’re supposed to do, we still have every opportunity to make the College Football Playoff,” Freeman explained. “That’s the biggest thing. We have to make sure that we have a schedule that is similar to some of those other Big Ten, SEC, and other conferences to make sure that, again, our path to the playoff is simple.”
League play provides the luxury of respected competition, especially in ones like the SEC and Big Ten. Contenders in those conferences can bolster their resumés on a week-by-week basis just with who they play.
That’s not the case for Notre Dame as they have to plan out all of their dozen games beforehand.
Still, regardless of who they play, that hasn’t affected the overall mindset of the Fighting Irish. They know their goal is the No. 5 seed or, at the very least, a playoff berth. Earning that means victories against anyone and everyone that they play each weekend.
“I think, for us, you’re going to want to win every game you play because it’s going to affect your playoff seeding, right?” said Freeman. “If you’ve got a chance, you know you’re going to make the playoff going to Week 11 or 12? You still want to make sure you can get the highest seed you can get – for us, which would be five.”
Notre Dame knows this is the path they chose by remaining outside of the conferences. They’re comfortable traveling it, though, as, so long as their opponents are up to par, their job is a straightforward one.
“Even if it was a four-team playoff, you lose one game, you lose two games? They say, ‘Okay, you’re not going to make the playoff’. You still prepare to win every single game you play,” said Freeman. “It’s still the same mindset in the regular season, no matter if you have a chance to make the playoff or not. We are going to prepare to win every game we play.”