Marcus Freeman sets tone as Irish move on from Saturday gut punch

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jim Tressel once asked Marcus Freeman if Freeman remembered a particular speech Tressel gave during Freeman’s career as an Ohio State linebacker. No, Freeman said. He didn’t remember the words. But he remembered exactly how Tressel made him feel in that moment.

Freeman thought about that Monday as he prepared to address his Notre Dame team before its first practice since the Fighting Irish had their hearts ripped from their chests by Ohio State late Saturday night. The coaching staff had hashed out the would’ves and could’ves and should’ves on Sunday. Now it was time to set the tone for a week that can go brilliantly or horribly. The Irish face undefeated Duke on Saturday in what might be the biggest game in the history of Wallace Wade Stadium. For the second consecutive week, ESPN’s College GameDay will be at the site of a Notre Dame game. Notre Dame players probably won’t remember the words Freeman says beyond this week. But they’ll remember how Freeman and the staff make them feel, and they’ll always remember what result that produced — good or bad.

“You have to remember,” Freeman said, sitting on a couch in his office Monday morning as the sun streamed through the windows. “They watch everything we do.”

He looked like the weather outside. Warm, bright, full of promise. Less than 48 hours from the professional equivalent of getting depantsed on national television, Freeman could be excused for being surly or defensive. But he wasn’t, because he knows he can’t be. His players might see the results of this interview. One might pop into the office. Freeman must project self-assurance, even as he admits that he’s still learning himself.

Freeman has now been a head coach for 19 games. When his future coach Tressel led the Buckeyes to a national title in year two at Ohio State in 2002, he had been a head coach for 16 seasons before that one began. Perhaps by that point in his head-coaching life Tressel had a way to stop the action if he found out that his defense only had 10 players on the field just before the opponent was about to snap the ball. On Saturday night, Freeman did not.

As Ohio State prepared to snap the ball that was handed to Chip Trayanum for the 1-yard touchdown that silenced Notre Dame Stadium, word came crackling through the Notre Dame coaches’ headsets that the Irish only had 10 men on the field. They’d only had 10 on the field the play before. They only had 10 now. No one noticed when Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord threw an incomplete pass on second down. No one noticed as the teams took their play signals from the sideline. The word didn’t come down until both teams were lined up and the snap was imminent. By that point, there was nothing Freeman or anyone else could say or do to stop what was coming.

Notre Dame was out of timeouts. Irish coaches could have sent an 11th defender onto the field, but that player would have been stuck on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage. That wouldn’t have stopped the play. An official would have dropped a flag, and the action would have continued. And if Notre Dame had made the stop, Ohio State would have gotten another play, half the distance to the goal line closer.

There was a solution to that quandary, but it would have required a signal. The coaches can’t go past the 30-yard line on either side of the field, and the ball was at the 1-yard line on the hash mark closest to the Ohio State sideline. Nothing any coach yelled would have reached a Notre Dame player with the crowd at full throat trying to will the Irish to a stop.

“We have to have a signal to tell somebody to jump offsides and touch an offensive guy if that ever happens,” Freeman said. “You have to have a signal. So we learned.”

The only way to get an official to blow the play dead rather than allow it to continue is to touch an offensive player. So now Notre Dame will have a way to make that happen. As of Monday, there will be a signal for that situation. Notre Dame cornerbacks from this point forward will be taught in practice to remain alert if they face a similar situation. If they see the signal, they’ll reach across the line of scrimmage and touch the nearest receiver in a way the nearest official will notice.

“Get the penalty. Give them the half-yard or six inches or whatever,” Freeman said. “And freaking get somebody on the field.”

That situation may never arise again in Freeman’s coaching career. But if it does, he’ll be ready.

One situation that will arise again? Freeman inevitably will have to find a way to lift his team off the turf following a gut-punch loss. He’ll be making mental notes about what he and his staff do this week and how that affects the team.

“The No. 1 comfort I have is our coaching staff and the ability for us to go through an emotional 24 hours but rally together,” Freeman said. “Now you have some friction. It wasn’t a great Sunday for anybody in this office. But you get back together in the afternoon and say ‘We have to get better, and we have to move forward.’”

Freeman wasn’t focusing on the words he’d say to his team when it assembled Monday afternoon. The players will forget those words. They will not, however, forget how Freeman and his staff made them feel in the aftermath of heartbreak.

Freeman had to learn how to talk to his team last year after a loss to Ohio State in which the Irish were outclassed. Then he had to learn how to talk to his team after a loss to Marshall that embarrassed everyone.

Now Freeman must remind the Irish that they weren’t outclassed against elite opponent. They played well enough to win but made enough mistakes to lose. And when Freeman describes what the Irish must do, it’s clear he’s talking to himself as well.

“You pick your head up. Don’t be embarrassed. Own the mistakes we made. Attack them, and get back to work. We’re a really good football team that didn’t play well when it mattered the most on Saturday. Great teams play well when it matters the most. You’re never going to be perfect. But when the game is on the line, great teams find a way to execute. And we didn’t. We have to go fix that.”