Marcus Freeman explains late game aggression in Georgia Tech win

Notre Dame left Atlanta with a convincing win over Georgia Tech. Despite a large lead late, head coach Marcus Freeman remained aggressive, particularly on fourth down.

Freeman was asked about his aggression late in the game, particularly what the logic was to go for it on fourth down regularly late in the game, including a fake punt and a fake field goal. One theory that had been suggested by the broadcast was that Freeman was looking for style points in the win, which could help them in the eyes of the College Football Playoff selection committee.

“At that moment, I think you’re talking about the fake punt and the fake field goal,” Marcus Freeman said. “At that moment, I felt like that was the right decision regardless of the score at that point.”

The fake punt came when Notre Dame had a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Irish were on their own 46-yard line and it could have set a struggling Georgia Tech offense up on a short field. However, the Irish converted and eventually ended the drive with three more points. The fake field goal was a little later in the fourth quarter with the Irish up 17 points. Instead of trying a long field goal with their backup kicker, the Irish had the snapper scramble for a first down.

“It was like, ‘We want to steal a possession. We’re in a position where we can’t go for the field goal. I really don’t want to punt in this situation. If we can fake it here and they give us the look, let’s do it.’ That’s why we called it. I felt good about that play at that moment.”

Marcus Freeman also made it clear that Notre Dame wasn’t looking for any style points over Georgia Tech because he wasn’t looking ahead. Instead, it was about making the right decision in that moment.

“Again, I tell our players all the time, the future is uncertain,” Freeman said. “Why spend time worrying about making a decision today about what the committee or somebody else is going to think? I just thought in that moment that’s what we needed to do, and that’s why we called it.”

It will be interesting to see if Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame maintain this aggression moving forward this season. The next game for Notre Dame is against rival Navy. The Midshipmen are excellent at controlling the time of possession, making every possession more valuable after all.