SOUTH BEND, Ind, — To understand the post-Northern Illinois-loss narrative much of the college football world is just waking up to — in gluttonous doses, no less — is to understand what came before the near-fatal hiccup happened.
And what it looks like now as 7 seed Notre Dame (13-1) settles into its preparation for the latest chapter in the aftermath, a Thursday night College Football Playoff semifinal date with 6 seed Penn State (13-2) in the Orange Bowl at Miami Gardens, Fla. (7:30 EST, ESPN).
The buy-in that everybody has a role in where the Irish wanted to take this season, and that every role matters — no matter how big, how small, how spotlight-saturated, how hidden.
During Notre Dame’s run in the first-ever 12-team version of the CFP, four players joined the Irish practice roster, knowing they’d be ineligible to play in a game until next season’s opener, Aug. 30 against Miami, in the very facility the Irish will attempt to take another historic step.
Safeties JaDon Blair and Ethan Long, linebacker Madden Faraimo and quarterback Blake Hebert are all a part of ND’s future. But the four ultra-early enrollees, who start spring-semester classes a week from Monday, are also a part of its present. In practice. On scout team.
“They have to add value to our program or we're wasting time,” Irish third-year head coach Marcus Freeman said of what he hoped to get out of having the four on campus early.
“If there's somebody in our locker room or a team meeting room that's not adding value to their program, they shouldn't be here. That's what we communicate to them. Your role now, the value you're going to bring is scout team. And all four of those guys have to make sure they add value to our program. And they did. Those four guys made us better.
“And here's the other thing I told them. The reward, the feeling they get from the reward of the last game is going to be different than any feeling they've had to that point. I remember the very first day they were here. I said, ‘You guys get excited and you're happy when you win, right?’ Yeah, yeah.
“They're in the back. I said, ‘Just wait ‘til after this next one, where you're invested in this program. Because the amount you invest is going to determine the feeling you get from the reward.’”
Quarterback CJ Carr last December was the first early enrollee to get a special waiver to attend and participate in practice as the Irish were prepping for a Dec. 29, 2023 Sun Bowl matchup with Oregon State. The Irish won that game, 40-8.
This December/January, the Irish beat 10 seed Indiana, 27-17, at home on Dec, 20, before ousting 2 seed Georgia this past Thursday in the CFP quarterfinals at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
The Penn State clash will be the second game the freshmen have helped emulate the upcoming opponent in practice.
“Those guys have invested in our program, no matter if they played in the game or not. They didn't play,” Freeman said. “But they had a part of making sure we were ready for that game, and I hope they get as much out of it as they're giving to this team.
“And that's why they're doing it. They're getting thrown into the fire. This is different from last year with CJ. We were getting ready for a bowl game. You're talking about [now] you're thrown in the fire getting ready for a playoff game.
“And those guys have done a really good job in the short time they've been here.”
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Speaking of NIU
The Huskies, 8-5 and winners of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 23, appear headed to the Mountain West Conference beginning in the 2026 season as a football-only member, pending an expected final stamp of approval from the school’s trustees.
What Freeman said at the time contributed greatly to the four-touchdown underdogs upending the Irish 16-14 back on Sept. 7 was Notre Dame not handling success, Specifically, its 23-13 season-opening win Aug. 31 at Texas A&M and all the adulation that came with it.
Well, with Notre Dame actually the highest-ranked of the remaining playoff teams in the two traditional polls — the AP and the coaches poll — at No. 3, and the nation’s longest active winning streak at 12 games since NIU, what’s to prevent a rerun?
“It’s probably louder this week than it’s ever been,” Freeman said of the outside buzz surrounding the program. “I think it’s human nature to enjoy people saying good things about you. It’s human nature, but we’ve talked all year about being misfits and that’s what we have to continue to be.
“You have to make the choice to either waste time listening to people tell you how good you are and what the past has been or you’re going to put your time into preparing for this opportunity right in front of us.”
Notre Dame is a 1 ½-point betting favorite. Thursday night’s winner moves on to the CFP National Championship Game, Jan. 20 in Atlanta, against the winner between 5 seed Texas (13-2) and 8 seed Ohio State (12-2) Friday night in Arlington, Texas.
“That’s been my message loud and clear, and we all have to make that choice,” Freeman continued. “It’s not the initial thought of daydreaming about the past or an uncertain future. It’s the second thought, that as soon as you start thinking about the past or what somebody’s saying about you or the future that’s uncertain, get back in the moment and put the work in that it takes to get the outcome that you want.
“Like, don’t dream about the outcome. Put the work in. The minute you start dreaming about the outcome, put the work in that it takes to get that. And that’s a personal challenge for everybody in our program.”
Game week routine
While Penn State does essentially get a couple of extra days of prep, recovery time, Freeman said his team is comfortable with the seven day spread between his team’s CFP quarterfinal and semifinal games.
Even with the circumstances — a terrorist attack in New Orleans — that delayed the quarterfinal and shaved a day off the spacing between ND’s games.
“How you handle the unpredictable things in life will determine success,” Freeman said. “And so, the greatest thing about this week is like, it's just a normal game week.
“So we played. Yesterday [Friday] was ‘game week’ Sunday. Today's ‘game week’ Monday. So, we've done this type of schedule for 10 out of 12 games during the season, so you don't have those extra days.
“Now, what we’ve got to do is utilize the time we have to expedite the preparation. Because what you miss in terms of not having those couple of days is physically, yeah, we're pretty healthy after this past game, but the mental preparation of knowing exactly what to do.
"So, we’ve got to make sure we utilize every hour of the day to capitalize off the preparation. For us it's just the routine. This is just a game week. We have seven days between games.”
Remembering the influential voices
Marcus Freeman showed some heartfelt emotion when asked about the prospect of him being one step away — and Penn State’s James Franklin too — from being the first black head coach to coach in an FBS national championship game.
“I wanted to make sure [to say] I love my mom,” Freeman said. “I love my dad, but boys love their moms, too. And I want to make sure that it's well stated that I am half Korean. It is an honor. It's a great honor to be even mentioned, to be in this position.
“ It's a reminder that you are a representation for so many others that look like you, and I don't take that for granted. And I'm going to work tirelessly to be the best version of me. And it's great because even the guys in our program, my own kids, can understand like, don't put a ceiling on what you can be and what you can do.
“Now, with that being said, it's not about me and it's not about the head coach. It's about us. And more than anything, I want an opportunity to achieve team glory with this program. That's what's important, and what that means to other people is what it means.”
Freeman then, in a follow-up question, has the opportunity to talk about those coaches who influenced him along the way.
“There's so many,” he said. “I mean, there's so many and so many different races. I mean, the impact Jim Tressel has had on my life, and Luke Fickell and Darrell Hazell — the guys I've worked for. It didn't matter what color they were. It's the way they went about their business.
“But then I've followed Tony Dungy from afar, reading his books, meeting with him. Mike Tomlin from afar. Todd Bowles. I mean, there's great coaches, but you don't just follow them because of the color of their skin. You follow them because of their actions and the men of integrity they are and their hard work.
“I think of Nick Saban. I think of Kirby Smart. I mean, those are guys. You’ve got to be yourself, but you're a fool if you don't study what the best do. There's something that they do that is helping them have success.
“So, I have to be Marcus Freeman, but I'm going to study the best. I want to study those guys, and some of them happen to be minorities and some of them don't.”
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