Another week, another decisive victory for Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Irish sit at 10-1, still squarely in control of their own destiny headed into the Battle for the Jewelled Shillelagh this Saturday against the Trojans. While the College Football Playoff picture might have changed drastically for other teams vying for a spot this past weekend, the Irish have proven to be the model of consistency week over week since their historically incompetent performance against that dreaded Mid-American Conference opponent who shall remain nameless for the sake of sanity.
Photo by The Irish Tribune
While some of the bravado of this performance in Yankee Stadium may fall on deaf ears for a multitude of reasons - "It's just Army" being the one I'm seeing a lot - It becomes more impressive when you analyze the season outside the vacuum of a single game. Given the choice, would you rather have a team that comes out of the gates slowly before finding a consistent rhythm, or a team that starts incredibly hot before tailing off at a crucial juncture? One of these teams highlights a coaches ability to adapt, finding ways to play to their team's strengths while developing a winning formula and a winning culture. The other relies solely on talent, and is often exposed for coaching ineptitude.
The point I wish to make is that Marcus Freeman deserves his flowers up to this point. For a man who's job security was in question by many some months ago, he has more than overcome what could have been a program-shifting defeat. Now unfortunately, we've seen this type of failure from Marcus Freeman before. The easiest comparison anyone could make is the loss to Marshall early in the 2022 season. It was a similar story; the Irish come off an extremely emotional and close road game to open the season, only to fall squarely on their face as a multiple touchdown favorite on their home field. After the dust settled, the Irish would turn in a myriad of inconsistent performances for the rest of the season, including another loss to an incredibly mediocre Stanford team at home. It really seemed like you didn't know which Notre Dame team would end up taking the field on a weekly basis. Would it be the one who overpowered No. 4 Clemson by three scores? Or would it be the team who handed the Heisman trophy to Caleb Williams? Inconsistency in approach and philosophy were apparent - perhaps the largest issues under Freeman's regime. But if the last nine games have shown us anything, it's that Marcus Freeman has taken tremendous strides in this area, and is NOT the same coach he was to start the season.
"Winning is hard"
Was the moniker Brian Kelly liked to use a lot. And while he's proving that in Baton Rouge, Marcus Freeman has avoided blanket statement excuses, and let his team's preparation and execution on game day do the talking. The staff has identified areas of weakness and simplified them to a degree where the execution might not be flawless, but it certainly won't be costing them wins anymore. It certainly helps that two of the best coordinators in the country are at Freeman's disposal, but the philosophy and mindset the program is churning out right now doesn't show up in X's and O's.
I don't think this shift in philosophy and mindset could be better summed up by Freeman's pregame interview. When asked what he was looking to see from his team before the game, his message was simple and effective:
"Violence."
As someone who has seen Notre Dame play conservative "try not to lose" football for the better part of my lifetime, this level of confidence and assurance from a head coach punctuated Freeman's development in my eyes. This has been reflected in nearly every performance since their home opener, and it's no coincidence.
So, as Notre Dame looks to ascend further up the CFP rankings this coming Tuesday, it's incredibly important to acknowledge the amount of growth and reflection this coaching staff has gone through this season. Talent can only get you so far, and the lifeblood of every college football program in America is reflected through how the program is being led. Beyond coaching, Marcus Freeman has led this program through a landmine that very well should have destroyed any meaningful achievements this season. And because of this, their season is alive and well.
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