Notebook: How Fiesta Bowl loss motivates Notre Dame's offseason
Bo Bauer has played in all 51 of Notre Dame’s football games the last four seasons.
The Irish linebacker isn’t quite ready to move on from No. 51.
The 37-35 loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl still stings a bit. As the Irish move their focus to the 2022 season, Bauer is letting the 2021 season finale linger as a motivating factor throughout the offseason.
“We play a lot of good football teams this year, but it’s not too easy for me to leave that in the past,” said Bauer, who opted to return to the Irish for a fifth season by using the NCAA’s COVID-19 eligibility relief. “So, I’m definitely going to be carrying that with me.”
Bauer played in the middle of a Notre Dame defense that watched a 28-7 lead turn into a 37-28 deficit. So was safety DJ Brown, who also opted to return to Notre Dame for a fifth season.
Brown has processed the loss with the mindset of a defensive back. At that position, defeat is inevitable. How you respond matters.
“It’s about having a short memory honestly,” Brown said. “It sucks that it was the last game of the year, so you can’t have another game to go back on it. Honestly, I’m excited going forward. We’re just going to evaluate the film and move forward after that.”
The film wasn’t kind to Brown and the Irish secondary, which allowed quarterback Spencer Sanders to throw for 371 yards and four touchdowns.
Notre Dame’s offense left the Fiesta Bowl with a sour taste in its mouth too. Only managing seven points in the second half allowed Oklahoma State’s comeback to matter. It spoiled Marcus Freeman’s head coaching debut.
“I know for myself personally, I’m still disappointed about the outcome of that,” said center Jarrett Patterson, who decided to return for a fifth season as well. “Being in the situation up 21, it’s extremely disappointing. Seeing the guys after that, it’s devastating for some of us.
“Now we know we have to work that much harder to get to where we want to be and finish as champions like coach Freeman talks about.”
Defensive coordinator waiting game
Three weeks have passed since Notre Dame finished its season, yet the Irish still haven’t identified their defensive coordinator for the 2022 season.
Bauer can’t help but be somewhat impatient.
“I just want a defensive coordinator so I can start studying the playbook,” Bauer said. “I haven’t been able to do that yet. I kind of want to get an idea of what we’re going to be playing like next year.
“For me, the sooner the better, but I know coach Free has to make the right decision. I’m ready to wait, but I’m also ready to work.”
Notre Dame defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola decided to return for a fifth season not knowing exactly what the Irish defensive front will look like in 2022. He’s confident that Freeman will make a decision that benefits him and the rest of the defense.
“We all have great faith in coach Freeman,” Ademilola said. “He’s our head coach. He knows what we need to get to the national championship. He’s going to hire the right guy.
“Everything he does, the guys are behind him 100%. We’re all excited to wait to see who’s our DC.”
Lugg on his return
It might be easy to imagine that Josh Lugg chose to return to Notre Dame for a sixth season because of the opportunity to play for the offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, who coached him as a freshman in 2017 before Hiestand left for the NFL’s Chicago Bears.
That’s now how it played out for Lugg.
“I did not know who my new position coach would be until after I decided that I would be returning,” said Lugg, who missed the Fiesta Bowl with a knee injury. “A lot of my decisions went into coming back to help Notre Dame win and help these young guys coming in and be a better version of myself; be a better football player.
“When I came here in 2017, when I committed in (2015), I didn’t commit to a coach. So why would I commit to a sixth year for a coach?
“A lot of it is the Notre Dame brand and what we can accomplish with the brotherhood here. That hasn’t changed in my five years going on six.”
Of course, Lugg wasn’t at liberty to directly discuss Hiestand on Friday because he has yet to be officially announced as the Irish offensive line coach. Lugg, who will be competing with younger players at tackle or guard, wants to be able to help develop the Notre Dame offensive linemen of the future.
“I want to help Notre Dame win,” Lugg said. “I want to become a better version of myself and win the Joe Moore Award (for best offensive line).
“A lot of the emphasis is on ‘How can I help these younger guys coming in and develop?’ Just like Hunter Bivin, Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson did for me when I was coming in. If I have another year where I can do that and help guys become Notre Dame men, then it’s definitely attractive to come back.”
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