Live updates: Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman press conference (Oct. 9)
Notre Dame’s season is on the brink of spiraling out of control, if it hasn’t already. Head coach Marcus Freeman speaks to the media Monday at noon ET to issue some final thoughts on the Fighting Irish’s loss to Louisville. Then he looks ahead to the rivalry matchup vs. USC kicking off Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Read real-time updates from Blue & Gold in the section below that.
What Freeman is saying
**Keep refreshing this page for real-time updates of what Freeman is saying.**
• Freeman says Saturday’s loss at Louisville was not what Notre Dame wanted or expected. He attributes it mostly to five turnovers on offense and missed tackles at the second level on defense.
• Freeman says he looks for the Irish to use the adversity created at Louisville to prepare for this week’s great opponent, USC.
• Freeman says quarterback Sam Hartman has some leeway in changing plays at the line of scrimmage, but it ultimately falls on the coaching staff to call the right plays and react to what the defense is showing to put Hartman in a good position.
• Freeman on the Fighting Irish offense: “I have no issues with the play calling. I have issues with the execution.”
• Freeman on the Notre Dame offensive line vs. Louisville: “We were decent. But we got to get better.”
• Freeman says Notre Dame rotated the offensive line vs. Louisville to create competition and to see how the starters responded.
• Freeman says he does not use eight straight games dating back to Week 0 without a bye as an excuse for a lack of performance.
• Freeman: “What I don’t want to use is being tired as an excuse.”
• Freeman: “We have another primetime game against an elite opponent, USC, at Notre Dame Stadium. If you don’t have the bubbles in your stomach then you’re not the elite competitor we need you to be.”
• Freeman says walk-on wide receiver Jordan Faison is talented and has shown some promise since the moment he stepped on campus. “We had a lot of faith and trust that he was going to perform.”
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• Freeman: “Are we dominating the line of scrimmage? No. We didn’t do that offensively.”
• Freeman on the struggles of the Notre Dame offense: “It’s not pointing the finger at anybody. It’s pointing the finger at everybody.”
• Freeman says USC is one of if not the best team in the country offensively. He says the Trojans’ defense is talented too despite the reputation it has gotten lately.
• Freeman: “If we’re going to call a play, we have a feeling it’s going to work. We have to execute it.”
• Freeman says Thomas Harper will be back from concussion protocol. Gabriel Rubio will play vs. USC as well.
• Freeman says Notre Dame wide receiver Jaden Greathouse was not at 100% against Louisville, still a little hampered by his hamstring injury. Freeman is hoping he’s healthier for the USC game, which would allow him to have a more expansive role.
• Freeman says the biggest difference in the Notre Dame offense the last three weeks is not establishing the run and therefore getting behind the sticks, setting up way too many third and long situations. He says the fix isn’t finding ways to convert better on third and long; it’s finding more ways to set up third and short or avoiding third down altogether.
