Quick hitters: Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman explains only 10 players on the field on the final TD
Following No. 9 Notre Dame’s 17-14 loss to No. 6 Ohio State on Saturday, head coach Marcus Freeman addressed the media. Here are four key things he said, from why Notre Dame only had 10 players on the field on the final touchdown play to going for it on 4th-and-1 early instead of kicking a field goal.
On why Notre Dame only had 10 players on the field on the final Ohio State touchdown play
“Yeah, we were trying to get a fourth D-lineman on the field, and I told him just stay off because we can’t afford a penalty. I didn’t have any time-outs, right? So we couldn’t afford a penalty there. You know — yeah, it’s on us. We got to be better.”
On the possibility of taking a penalty to have 11 players on the field
“Yeah, you could have. You could have. But to me, it was, like, ‘Hey, don’t give them another opportunity to get settled and to try to make a different call, right?’ Hey, guys, like, stay off the field. Let’s not give them a freebie from the half-yard line, and let’s try to stop them.
“And I thought maybe they would do the same thing they did the snap before, and then they ended up running the ball. So I got to watch the play and see where the ball hit. But, yeah, that’s why I made that decision.”
On how Notre Dame allowed Ohio State to convert on 3rd-and-19 with 15 seconds remaining
“Yeah, we wanted to play coverage. You know, and we thought we were going to be able to kind of give them a different look and play some quarters, and he threw a good ball, man. He threw a really good ball. That last series, we were trying to kind of mix it up a little bit with a young quarterback and not just play man every play. And he ended up putting it in a tight window, and he made a play.”
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On going for it on 4th-and-1 early instead of kicking a field goal:
“Yeah, I mean, any time we’re across the 50, I mean, it’s — I’m probably going to go for it on fourth and one. And, you know, that’s — you play the percentage. You’re either going to be all in and do it or not. And, obviously, when you don’t get it, it’s terrible.
“But the percentages show you, man, fourth and one, you have to — across the 50, you have to go for it because of the percentages of getting that. The call was getting big personnel in and, really, trying to get them to think we’re going to run and take a shot and be aggressive. And it was a play-action pass and they covered it well. Sam knows he’s got to make that first down.
“We knew, ‘Hey, if they cover the pass, Sam would be able to scramble.’ And we just came up a little bit short there.”
