Marcus Freeman on The Herd: Notre Dame coach reveals whether no CFP bye is an advantage

Marcus Freeman’s national media tour continues. On Tuesday, The Herd with Colin Cowherd on FS1 was the latest national program to have Notre Dame football’s coach on for an interview.

Freeman spoke with Cowherd for about 8 minutes to discuss how the team responded after losing to NIU, Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton, Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard, not having a first-round College Football Playoff bye, Irish defensive lineman Rylie Mills and how he views the players that choose to play for Notre Dame.

Here is everything Freeman said. Quotes have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

On how he sold the Notre Dame football team the next week in practice after losing to Northern Illinois

“Well, immediately after the game, you tell them, ‘I’ve been here before.’ I told them, ‘Listen, it will be a rough week. It will be a long week, but I’ve been here before.’

“It took me a day or two to figure out, ‘Okay, what would my messaging be?’ I told them on Monday in our meeting, ‘There are schematic things we have to enhance and fix.’ But to me, the greater lesson to learn was that we had to learn as a program, and I had to learn as a head coach. How do we handle success?

“This was the first year in my three years as the head coach that we won that big game early. We lost to Ohio State early in the season the first two years. And I said, ‘We have to learn how to handle success as a program, and we got to do those things that it takes to prepare mentally and physically for our opponent, no matter who it is.’

“All season long, I’ve continued to tell them, ‘Keep the pain, keep the pain,’ because we can’t let a loss continue to teach us the lessons we need to learn to prepare. So they’ve done a wonderful job of continuing to find ways to get better, but the preparation and mindset have been the key.”

On how they prepare for Georgia with not having much game film of quarterback Gunner Stockton

“You look at the 13 games they played. They won’t be a completely different offense with a new quarterback. You evaluate — we have about 83 plays of him in a cut-up from the second half of the SEC championship and some other time during the season.

“So, there’s some things he does well within their system. (Stockton) makes really good decisions. He makes fast decisions. He obviously can extend plays with his feet — a little more QB run.

“But we’re still going to plan to see the things that we’ve seen their offense do, no matter who’s been at quarterback.”

On what separates Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard and makes him different

“Well, I think he’s an ultra-competitive individual. Now, you would talk to him; he will be the nicest person in the world. But when he steps into the weight room, he steps into the meeting room, he steps on the practice field, he is a competitive individual.

“I think the greatest thing for him was to learn in the first two weeks of the season, the highest of highs being a quarterback of Notre Dame to the lowest of lows. You can’t worry about throwing an interception. You can’t worry about what anybody’s going to say. So, you have to go out there confidently and be the player we know you can be.

“You’ve seen him grow in confidence but also in preparation to learn exactly what is demanded of him. And you’ve seen our coaching staff ask him to do things that he does well.

“But he is a relentless competitor. He has a tremendous work ethic, and he’ll continue to ascend throughout his football career.”

On whether or not having the option for a bye in the first round of the College Football Playoff is an advantage or disadvantage

“Well, I have to look at it as an advantage, right? And not look at anything that happens to us as a disadvantage.

“To play a first-round playoff game at home was an experience like no other. To have our guys understand, ‘Okay, here’s what the playoffs are all about,’ because it’s a first for everybody to have four or three games if you had a bye.

“So it was, to me, a great advantage to prepare and have that first game. Now you got to reset and get ready for your next opponent. Again, I’ve never really had to deal with this because in the season, you know you got the next game. In a bowl game you’re preparing, you know that’s the last one. This is unique, where you don’t know if this will be your last game.

“The minute we won that game, you got to reset your mind and say, ‘Okay, we got to get ready for this next opponent,’ which will be a tall task.”

On how they compensate for the loss of Notre Dame defensive lineman Rylie Mills

“Well, I think all season long — which I’m sure every team deals with — you deal with injuries. We’ve lost some guys to season-ending injuries, some important people. You feel horrible for them as an individual. Rylie’s a guy who decided to come back to try to improve his (NFL) draft stock and captain.

“The next man has to get the next opportunity, and he’s got to do it. And I’ve always said, ‘You’ve earned the trust and the opportunity way before you get thrust out there in front of the national TV. You earn that opportunity in practice and the trust of your coaches.’ The guys we’ll put out there have earned that trust and will do a great job.

“But you’re not going to replace Rylie Mills with one person. It’s multiple people that have to make up for some of the production that he’s had, but we’ll have some guys ready to roll.”

On whether he agrees with the view that people don’t go to Notre Dame for a ‘hand-out’

“We always say, ‘The guys that choose Notre Dame choose hard.’ You have some requirements on you here that you might not have everywhere else in the country. But they’ve chosen this place, and they understand the value of the football program, as well as the education and what this university can do for you in the longevity of your life.

“So, it’s a special place, culture, and people. We haven’t had a guy since the portal was open in December enter the portal. We’ll see what happens after the season. But to me, it speaks volumes about the young people committed to this program.”