Marcus Freeman details impact of what a national championship means for Notre Dame

Marcus Freeman never wants to make it about himself, but there’s no doubt a national championship win would elevate his status as a head coach.

But, rather than focus on personal accolades, Freeman was asked what a title would do for Notre Dame itself. The Fighting Irish take on Ohio State January 20th for the crown.

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The school hasn’t won a title in nearly four decades, so safe to say, it would be lasting memory for all those involved.

“It would be something special,” Freeman said Sunday. “Obviously, this place hasn’t won a national championship since 1988 and every year, the aspirations are to win a national championship. That’s why all these players choose to come to Notre Dame. One of the reasons is to be a part of a program that can win a national championship. And so I think it’s something that they’ll be able to say for the rest of their lives is that they were a part of a national championship football team. 

“There’s a lot of work that goes into getting to that outcome, and that’s what we got to focus on, but it would be special for this university and for these players that have poured so much work into getting the results that we have.”

Marcus Freeman aiming for a national title for Notre Dame

Notre Dame last got to the big stage in 2012, losing to Alabama in the BCS National Championship. Safe to say, Fighting Irish fans don’t have fond memories of that blowout loss.

There’s been a common theme about Freeman and Notre Dame this season. It’s not just surviving the playoff gauntlet, but it’s staying aggressive.

Notre Dame beat Indiana, Georgia and Penn State over the last three games to get to the finals.

“What we didn’t want to do — I think it was a ten-point lead at the half. I didn’t want to ‘survive.’ I think that’s the natural tendency in a big game,” Freeman said after the quarterfinal win over Georgia. “You’re up ten versus a really good team, to say, ‘Let’s survive.’ No, let’s be aggressive. I didn’t know we were going to come out of the locker room and score a kickoff return touchdown, but that helped.

“And again, it was – that middle eight is something we often talk about. And the ability to close the half in that way and to start the half – the second half with a kickoff return touchdown was huge for the outcome of the game.”