Marcus Freeman reveals how Notre Dame avoided letting the season unravel
Marcus Freeman started his first full season at Notre Dame 0-2. The loss to Ohio State wasn’t that big of a deal. The loss to Marshall was. In that game against Marshall, Notre Dame lost its starting quarterback, Tyler Buchner, for the season. Drew Pyne, the backup, came in and struggled to move the offense consistently, and Notre Dame dropped another game against Stanford.
With Clemson coming to South Bend and the Irish sitting at 5-3, there was a chance that a once exciting season completely went off the rails. Then, Marcus Freeman’s team came out and punched Clemson in the mouth, dominating the number four team in the country. All of a sudden, the hope and promise of the Marcus Freeman era was back.
While speaking to the media, Marcus Freeman explained what changed and prevented the season from unraveling.
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“Man, it could have unraveled after Marshall, and many other ones,” Marcus Freeman admitted. “But, again, it’s the mindset of, ‘It’s never going to be as smooth as you expect it to be.’ That probably is said for a national championship team.
“A team that wins the national championship, was that road to the national championship as you saw it to start the season? No.”
Marcus Freeman then compared that mindset to what his Notre Dame team has had this season. They might not be competing for a national championship this season, but those challenges are how they grow as a team.
“Same with us. This road to where you are right now is never how you foresaw it to start the year. And, that’s the beauty of growth. And, you know what, when we think about hoisting a national championship trophy, when you think about beating a team like Clemson, sometimes you don’t think about how hard that’s gonna be. You don’t think about the difficulties of getting to that moment, but if you continue to work intentionally, not just work hard–everybody’s gonna say they work hard.
“But, what intersectionality do you have in your work? Are you really addressing issues? Are you really trying to enhance? Do you have belief in the foundation and culture of what you’re doing? You know, and you work tirelessly, man. You work to find a better way to do it. That’s one of the mantras we have with, ‘Challenge everything.’ Find a better way to do it. It wasn’t good enough verse Marshall, it wasn’t good enough against Ohio State. What do we got to evaluate to find a better way to do it and a better way to execute and a better way to make sure that we’re playing better on Saturdays? “
Marcus Freeman explained that he hasn’t wavered from this belief. Because of that, his team and coaching staff have had the mentality, they were able to improve during the season.
“I never lost belief in that, and that’s gonna continue to be my mindset after a win. Is there a better way to do it? Is there a better way to play this game of football?”
Notre Dame has three games remaining on its schedule, Navy, Boston College, and USC. All three are rivals, and a strong run to end the season would leave the Irish feeling great about the future.
Marcus Freeman on Drew Pyne and Tommy Rees’ relationship
One of the key problems that Notre Dame has had to deal with this season has been the quarterback problems the team has faced. There have been frustrating moments as offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and Drew Pyne have learned to work together. However, as Marcus Freeman explained their growth together.
“Those two moments, that’s a real relationship. Anybody in this room. Anybody, that’s a real relationship. You’re not always hugging each other like they were doing on the sideline. You’re not always, hopefully, yelling and screaming at each other like they were doing, I don’t know whatever game that was, Cal game,” Marcus Freeman said.
“That’s a real, authentic relationship and that’s a reflection of two guys that trust each other. That you can have those types of moments but also embrace and tell him, ‘I love ya and I’m so proud of you.”