Marcus Freeman shares unknowns that he is concerned about entering first game

It is less than a week before Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and his Fighting Irish team take the field in Dublin, Ireland, to open the 2023 season. But Freeman told the media Monday they can’t focus on Saturday just yet.

There is still work to be done.

And while there are many unknowns facing the team — like any group starting a new season — Freeman wants his players to be in the best position come Saturday.

“It’s tough because you can never measure your team until you face an opponent,” Freeman said. “You often think about, okay, are we doing what it takes to make sure this team is ready when we face an opponent? But the true test comes on Saturday. With that being said, I’m gonna go back to our focus has to be on today. We got a team meeting at 1:45 and only thing I’m gonna talk to them about is winning today. We’ll get to Dublin, Ireland. We’ll get to the Navy game. Our only objective is to win today. I know that’s coaches speak. I know coaches said all the time but it’s true. I can use Saturday maybe to think about how to plan today. But if we don’t win the day then guess what, Saturday’s not going to be the result we want. So our focus has to be to win today. But Saturday we’ll get to measure what team we have.”

Notre Dame and Navy are facing off at Aviva Stadium in Dublin in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. It is the second time the two teams are playing in Ireland after a 2012 matchup also at Aviva Stadium.

The Fighting Irish won that game, 50-10. The Midshipman have won only one game over their rivals from South Bend, Ind., over the past decade — a 28-27 victory in 2016 in Jacksonville, Fla.

One of the big unknowns for Freeman and Notre Dame in this first game will be how its defense goes up against Navy’s new offense under Grant Chesnut. The team will still run the triple option but there will be some differences compared to how the team has traditionally run the offense.

“Our guys defensively are used to being able to do your job, but finding a way to get to the ball,” Freeman said. “Finding a way to make a play happen at times. And when you play triple option, you might not ever make a tackle with a guy on the ball but you have to do your job and it’s something that is extremely difficult.”