12/30/2021 football Edit

Assessing the importance of Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame head coaching debut

Todd Burlage • InsideNDSports

Staff

There’s no debate that when the College Football Playoff format was adopted eight years ago, the importance of the other four New Year’s Six bowl games became drastically diminished.

And because these “other” bowl games mean little in the big picture, players more frequently opt out of them, coaches look to the future more than the present during practice prep, and there really isn’t any grand reward or motivation to winning these games with no title to chase.

Ahhh, but given the unique circumstances and unprecedented situation Notre Dame finds itself in, before a Fiesta Bowl date with Oklahoma State on New Year’s Day, a win in this game could arguably become the biggest postseason victory for the Fighting Irish program since it beat West Virginia in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl to claim the 1988 National Championship.

In the immediate, wouldn’t it be nice for Marcus Freeman to stick it to Brian Kelly and become the first Irish head coach since Lou Holtz to win a prestigious bowl game?

Kelly was winless in his four tries; Charlie Weis was 0-2; Tyrone Willingham lost his one attempt; Bob Davie went 0-2; and even Holtz lost his final two bowl games — the 1995 Fiesta and the 1996 Orange.

In all, Notre Dame has lost 11 consecutive premier bowl games dating back to 1994, so prying that monkey — no, make that gorilla — off the program’s back would be one helluva memorable way for Freeman to launch his Notre Dame career, and the coach is taking the task to heart.

“Our only focus is to finish this year as [Fiesta Bowl] champions,” Freeman explained. “And the result of that, and what that does for our program, will be great. But our drive, and our focus, and our motivation is to send this group of seniors that are playing their last game out as champions.”

For some perspective into how long ago the 1994 Cotton Bowl win over Texas A&M was, O.J. Simpson fled police in the infamous Ford Bronco low-speed chase that year, “Forrest Gump” was a box office smash, Sony launched its first Playstation, and BlueandGold.com recruiting guru Mike Singer had not even celebrated his first birthday.

But beyond flipping a longstanding lousy bowl legacy, Freeman with a win can set an immediate tone for the future of his program, and at the same time, he could send an important message to prospective recruits that shouldn’t be undervalued.

As far as tone, let’s not forget that Freeman and the Irish open the 2022 season at Ohio State, likely a top-five team, so beating No. 9 Oklahoma State in his first career game as a head coach would bring a nice vibe during the long eight-month offseason before that epic matchup against his alma mater.

And as another reference point to how nice a Fiesta Bowl win would be against a top-10 opponent, during his 12 seasons at Notre Dame, Kelly won only four times in 15 tries against top-10 foes, which includes a 2-5 record during the “glory days” of his program between 2017-21.

For the recruits, a Fiesta Bowl championship would provide Freeman and Co. some serious ammo to sell both positive momentum and a bright future for the program as it enters a new coaching era.

More eyes and attention will be on Freeman this bowl season than any other coach in the nation.

And if first impressions might leave a lasting impression, Freeman’s debut as Irish head coach in the Fiesta Bowl provides the perfect opportunity to secure both.

Long overdue

With two New Year’s Day Gator Bowl defeats included, Notre Dame has lost 11 straight prestigious bowl games, giving Marcus Freeman a chance to make a quick and lasting impression in his debut game as Irish head coach.

Following is a look at 28 years of elite bowl futility.

• 1995 Fiesta Bowl: Colorado 41, Notre Dame 24

• 1996 Orange Bowl: Florida State 31, Notre Dame 26

• 1999 Gator Bowl: Georgia Tech 35, Notre Dame 28

• 2001 Fiesta Bowl: Oregon State 41, Notre Dame 9

• 2003 Gator Bowl: NC State 28, Notre Dame 6

• 2006 Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 20

• 2007 Sugar Bowl: LSU 41, Notre Dame 14

• 2013 National Championship: Alabama 42, Notre Dame 14

• 2016 Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State 44, Notre Dame 28

• 2018 CFP Cotton Bowl: Clemson 30, Notre Dame 3

• 2020 CFB Rose Bowl: Alabama 31, Notre Dame 14