It’s hard to imagine a worse start to the 2022 season for Notre Dame and the first-year head coach Marcus FreemanThe Irish lost their best commitment just weeks before the season started and the product on the field was very disappointing.
Yesterday’s 26-21 loss to Marshall was officially rock bottom. Freeman and Eilish suffered the program’s first loss since 2016 to an unranked team. Brian Kelly Lost to South Florida and Michigan to start that season.
Freeman inherited a flawed team, one that still managed to win games last season. Although we fell behind, that team recovered and was able to win. They had a big lead over Florida State and fell behind the University of Wisconsin in the fourth quarter, but they managed to find a way to beat them.
The current team does not know how to win. Notre Dame led the Marshalls in the fourth quarter and had chances to put the ball up 10 points but couldn’t capitalize on it. Notre Dame led Oklahoma State for more than half the game and didn’t lose the lead until he had less than three men left in the third quarter. They led Ohio State until 17 seconds left in the third quarter.
The program took a step back on the record with the plans Freeman put in place to fix things and move Notre Dame for the better.
There are aspects of Freeman’s implementation that must be preserved, and which are ultimately the building blocks of success. The character he shows and demands of his staff is one to build. It is mandatory to require his subordinates to be workers in the recruitment process.
But there are other aspects that need to be addressed and fixed immediately, and after starting 0-2 and losing to Marshall, everything has to be considered. Freeman seems to know that he has no choice but to simply do what he is already doing.
“It starts with looking at yourself as a head coach and saying, ‘What do we have to do to help this football team? I will see you.”
If Freeman does what he said after the game, it has to make a difference, with a 2-0 California coming to town in six days, the Irish heading to Chapel Hill a week later, and North Carolina’s team going. 3-0 on , averaging 51.3 points per game.
A lot has been done about how the team prepares and things are being strengthened. Too many? Need more? It must be answered and dealt with.
What the staff has been doing offensively needs to change. It needs to change, not get better. From a preparation and coaching standpoint, from a scheme standpoint, and from a personnel standpoint, there are areas that have to change. Notre Dame doesn’t seem to have any kind of flow on the offense and they need to figure it out and deal with it.
The defense was much better than the offense, but they couldn’t stop the run and when they had a chance to put the game away in the 4th quarter, the unit was unable to do so. There have been blown missions against Marshals who have done so, and the staff need to understand why they happened.
Leadership is now a problem for Notre Dame, starting at the top from a coaching perspective and from a player perspective.
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Notre Dame is now broken, and it seems that the corruption that existed before Freeman’s rise was much more problematic than I expected. It’s taking longer than expected, but the reality is Notre Dame can’t keep losing. You need to turn things around quickly, start winning in the field, maintain your current hiring class, and get everyone in your program headed in the same direction.
Everything is on the table, and Freeman must combine the need to make quick fixes with the need to make sure the changes are good and will be better in the future.
It’s not just ‘I have to play harder and coach better’. Change is needed and is needed now.
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Notre Dame 2023 Commit Committee – Defense
Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers
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2022 Signatories Ranking – Defense
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