Marcus Freeman using Notre Dame's underdog status as bulletin board material against Ohio State

Marcus Freeman is being gifted some bulletin board material for Notre Dame’s showdown against Ohio State this weekend, courtesy of the oddsmakers in Las Vegas.

At the moment, the Fighting Irish are going off as big underdogs, with some books offering Notre Dame as high as a 17.5-point cushion on Saturday. Freeman — ever the believer in his squad — heard about the spread while speaking with the media, immediately deciding to save it for a team meeting later Monday afternoon.

“I didn’t know that. I’m gonna write that down,” stated Freeman, via Matt Fortuna of The Athletic. “You said 17.5 points, right? We’ll use that in a team meeting today. It’s good to know.”

As if Marcus Freeman needed more ammunition to ready his team with, being overlooked and underrated ahead of Notre Dame’s trip to Columbus is the icing on the cake. You may not bet on the Fighting Irish this weekend, but you can take it to the bank that the new leader of the program is going to have his team roaring and ready to go on Saturday.

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Moreover, Marcus Freeman believes it was important for Notre Dame to name their starting quarterback with more than enough time before Week 1, and Tyler Buchner was tabbed to lead the Fighting Irish into battle.

Evidently, Freeman is already seeing a difference in his squad, as he detailed in a press conference on last week.

“There’s that consistently among who’s the voice in that huddle, and who’s the voice in the field with the ones,” stated Freeman, when asked if there were any differences now that Notre Dame has named Buchner their starting quarterback. “I think that’s important. That cohesiveness. That consistency in terms of who’s making the calls, who’s making the checks, and knowing who’s at quarterback.

“So we thought it was really important to do it, and I’ve been pleased with what I’ve seen. I mean, it’s been two or three practices since we’ve named the starter, named him the starter. Been really pleased with what I’ve seen.”

After beating out Drew Pyne to secure the starting job, Tyler Buchner gets the honor of beginning the Marcus Freeman era as the team’s starting quarterback. Time will tell how it works out in South Bend, but its evident morale is high with the Fighting Irish.