After losing a last second thriller in South Bend, all the pieces are there for Notre Dame to make a run– if they can move past a heartbreaker
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — As the clock struck double zeroes on a coveted night in South Bend, one thing was apparent. The Fighting Irish let this slip away. Up 14-10 right until the final buzzer, Notre Dame only had one 10 players on defense as Chip Trayanum nearly walked into the endzone directly at the void left by the Notre Dame defense.
Rarely ever does a game get this much attention– a No. 6 vs No. 9 showdown in primetime at Notre Dame was sure to garner up the hype however. Red hot Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman, who transferred in from Wake Forest this season looked to take the Fighting Irish to 5-0, banking off four impressive, dominant wins over Navy, NC State, Central Michigan, and FCS foe Tennessee State.
Ohio State came into this game as a favorite, yet still on the road. A year after losing CJ Stroud to the Houston Texans, OSU entered the game as the sixth ranked team in this week’s AP Poll. Quarterback Kyle McCord was the subject of a spring football battle and waltzed into South Bend, won a slugfest, and went home.
Yet, even though Ohio State might have pulled off with this one, Notre Dame isn’t out for the count. In fact, the Fighting Irish can still claw their way back into the spotlight of they can move past this win. Sure, every coach talks about it after a loss. Out with the old, focus on next week. But, no team can simply move on from a heartbreaker like that, a momentum stopper. For a Irish program that had been red hot this year, this shouldn’t mean the end.
This is a Notre Dame team that has a star transfer quarterback, a sizzling four-game stretch, and a schedule packed with serviceable ACC opponents, this loss is nothing to waver about. However, Touchdown Jesus cannot afford to lose another game, as rest of their opponents in the coming weeks are non-ranked opponents. And they must move on to even more dominating proportions.
While still early on in the year, Notre Dame still has the opportunity to prove to the world and the voters that the end isn’t here yet. Instead, what they’re witnessing is a truly resilient team that’s willing to push the envelope.
In terms of what needs to improve, young, up and coming coach Marcus Freeman needs to step up. Situationally, Notre Dame has been shaky to say the least. Going back to the aforementioned last play blunder, Freeman never realized he only had ten players on the field– a brutal miscue on the end of the one guy who’s supposed to know exactly that.
“We did not know,” Freeman said. “By the time we noticed in the last play, it was too late to do anything about it.”
“There’s a whole bunch of systems in place to make sure that doesn’t happen, but ultimately it falls on me,” Freeman said in an interview with The Athletic. “That’s the reality. I’m not gonna get up here and say this person should have done that, ultimately I have to do a better job as the head coach to make sure those systems we have in place are executed.”
“We as a coaching staff should be held to the exact same standards that we tell our players. We tell our players fight the drift. You can’t get caught watching the game. Coaches gotta win the interval too. We all have to own that and make sure that never happens.”
On the other end, Notre Dame’s receivers must step up as they take on Duke this Saturday. The Blue Devils program has been one of a complete 180. 4-0 from a basketball school that hasn’t produced much in the past as well as defeating a Cade Klubnik-led Clemson team poses a scary threat for the Irish.
This is no walk in the park and unlike last week, the Irish are on the defensive as they try to outlive an upset from a Blue Devils team that’s freshly ranked No. 17 on the AP Poll and in Durham.
If that means one thing, it means the sluggish performance from the wide receivers must turn around. Duke believes in their corners and the rest of the Irish’s schedule moving forward. Receivers like Tobias Merriweather, Jayden Thomas, and Mitchell Evans need big performances throughout the next couple of weeks.
A TEAM REBUILT: UConn’s Journey From Rock Bottom to Reaching for the Stars
The loss to Ohio State might not be the dagger in Notre Dame season just yet. Especially in a college football postseason that stressed no loss to one loss teams. For Notre Dame, anything less than last year’s appearance at the Gator Bowl isn’t enough. Especially with all the pieces for a College Football Playoff berth. However, the Irish must be near perfect from here on out, with little to no mistakes.
Marcus Freeman’s legacy might be built on how well he can recover from a loss like this. A doubleheader against a ranked opponent may be all he needs to create something bigger, to start instilling a culture within the program.
“I’m going to tell them, this game, it builds character, it builds resiliency. You can put everything you have into your preparation for a game and still lose. That’s what they did last week. They put everything they had – coaches and players. We still lost. The pain of defeat, it’s tough. It hurts.”
” You’re physically sick when you lose. In the midst of your pain, you have to own it. You have to face it and attack it. You have to go back to work and pick your head up. You can’t feel sorry for yourself. You can’t hope that somebody pats you on your back and say it’s going to be OK… You’re going to have to choose hard no matter how you feel and truly face the mistakes, attack them and go to work,” Freeman said in preparation for Saturday Night’s game vs. Duke.
