Why Marcus Freeman believes Notre Dame can win a national championship soon
Two words have floated around Notre Dame’s football facility in recent weeks: national championship.
Marcus Freeman has said them countless times after his elevation from defensive coordinator to head coach. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees told players he chose to stay in South Bend instead of following Brian Kelly to LSU because there’s nowhere he’d rather win it all than at his alma mater.
When Freeman joined The Athletic's Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman on their podcast “The Audbile” this week, naturally those two words came up again. And they appeared in this context: can Notre Dame, a program that has not won a national title since 1988, really win it all in the current era of college football?
Freeman said absolutely.
“I believe that you can do it here,” Freeman said. “I believe that with the right talent, with continuing to enhance the culture — and as I tell these guys, it's a culture right now that we're 11-1. We've been to the playoff two of the last three years.
“But it's really little things that we can show them and we can do that are very intentional that I think will take us to that point where we can break through. We can beat the Alabamas or beat the Clemsons or beat the teams right now that are at the mountain top.”
Notre Dame lost to those two programs the only two times the Fighting Irish have qualified for the College Football Playoff, and neither game was particularly close. Clemson beat Notre Dame 30-3 in the 2018-19 Cotton Bowl and Alabama beat Notre Dame 31-14 in last season's Rose Bowl played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
In Notre Dame's only game against a team that finished in the top 25 of the CFP rankings this season, the Irish lost 24-13 to now No. 4 Cincinnati at home. It was the one game that put the Bearcats in the playoff and kept the No. 5 Irish out.
There has to be something holding Notre Dame back from getting over the hump and taking down the top teams in the country. Freeman doesn't know exactly what it is. It's likely a multitude of factors, some more pressing than others.
But he knows he's keen on figuring it out and turning the corner.
“It’s going to be a process,” Freeman said. “It’s going to be very intentional. It’s going to be trial and error. I wish I could just say this is the formula, we’re going to do it, and we’re going to be national champions in a year or two years, but no. It’s going to be about working hard. It’s going to be about getting the talent.”
Against Alabama and Clemson, there was surely a talent gap. The Crimson Tide have had a top-10 recruiting class per Rivals' team rankings every year since 2010. Head coach Nick Saban’s team had the No. 1 class in the country in seven of those seasons. Clemson has had seven top-10 classes since 2010. Notre Dame has had four, and that’s including the class of 2022. The Irish could fall out of the top 10 by the end of the singing period in February.
Just like Freeman has said the words national championship over and over again, he's also said players play the games. Not coaches. So one of his most important lines of work as Notre Dame's head coach will obviously be recruiting. He's been billed as one of the best recruiters in the profession, but he might need to outdo himself to make those coveted two words a reality.
“To get the best players in the country, it takes work,” Freeman said. “It doesn’t take a sales pitch. It takes work. Hard work. We have to understand that we have to work and develop these relationships. We have to convince these kids that have so many different options that Notre Dame is the best place for you. And that takes a lot of work.
“I think our staff is up for the challenge. I know I’m up for the challenge. I want to lead the charge in getting those best players in the country but also understanding that with the guys we have now, with the guys we're bringing in, it's continuing to develop that team, that environment, that culture that is going to get us to the top.”
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @MikeTSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka, @GregLadky, and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.