Five things Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said before USC vs. Irish
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman chatted with the media over Zoom for 10 minutes two days before his No. 21 Fighting Irish (5-2) take on No. 10 USC (6-0) in South Bend on Saturday. Here are five things Freeman said before kickoff.
On the Notre Dame defense stopping the USC running game
“It’s a challenge. They got a stable of good running backs, a good offensive line, good speed. We got to be able to stop the run, and we got to do it in different ways. I think success on defense always starts with being able to stop the run. We’ve been practicing, and we feel like we have a great plan for it.”
On USC’s defense
“They’re aggressive. They have a good scheme. I know some of the stats might not say, but they’ve been really good. They’re aggressive, as I said. They got athletes all over the field. Those guys up front, they put a lot of pressure on the quarterback in the pass game. I know our offense knows it has a great challenge ahead of it.”
On it being midterm exam week at Notre Dame
“As I told them on Monday, every week at Notre Dame is challenging. That’s what they do. I know they had midterms this week, but it goes down to preparation for your midterms and going and doing a great job. As I told them, we won’t look to make any excuses. We embrace the challenge of the academic rigors of Notre Dame. It’s what makes this place so special.
“Our guys have done a great job. They got to prioritize getting rest. They got to prioritize no wasted time. And I think they’ve done a really good job.”
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On what he has seen from Sam Hartman as a leader
“I think the biggest thing with Sam is he’s consistent. He’s experienced. He’s been through wins and losses. He continues to be the same person, the same leader. What happens the week before does not affect the way Sam approaches his preparation and approaches his leadership. I’ve been really pleased with what he’s done in terms of every single week of preparation and leadership.”
On the Notre Dame running back rotation
“I think you’ve seen an increase in [Jeremiyah Love‘s] carries and production the past few games. He’s continuously getting better. Audric [Estimé] is Audric. We got to continue to get the ball to Audric and protect him and make sure we open up some run lanes for him.
“But we still feel comfortable with Jadarian [Price] and Gi’Bran [Payne] and even Devyn Ford coming into the game in their specific roles. We know as the season goes on, as I said a few weeks ago, you can’t continuously play five guys. That’ what you’ve seen, that Audric and Jeremiyah have taken majority of the load with Jadarian being third.
“I think you’ll see a similar type of mindset as we go into this game. There are certain packages for certain guys, but we’re going to continuously make sure that Audric Estimé and Jeremiyah Love have a chance to do some things with the ball in their hands as well as Jadarian Price.”
