Marcus Freeman

Marcus Freeman is finally in the win column as Notre Dame's head coach after the Fighting Irish earned a 24-17 victory over California on Saturday in South Bend, Indiana.

Drew Pyne hit Michael Mayer on a six-yard touchdown pass to put Notre Dame ahead 24-17 with 9:16 left in the fourth quarter.

MICHAEL MAYER FOR THE TD! ☘️

Notre Dame retakes the lead over Cal. #GoIrish

📺 @nbc and @peacock pic.twitter.com/aMpiGHDZIU

— Notre Dame on NBC (@NDonNBC) September 17, 2022

Unfortunately for Freeman, his team's performance won't help to get the skeptics off his back.

The logic behind promoting Freeman to the top job was sound. The 36-year-old was a high-level assistant on the rise and poised to get a head coaching opportunity somewhere in the near future. Given his age, he can lead a program for a decade or more and provide a lot of long-term stability as well.

But the extent of Freeman's learning curve was clearly underestimated.

Losing an elite coach and replacing him with a 36 year old who has never done the job before isn’t as easy as it looks https://t.co/HPwYKFSEkK

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) September 17, 2022

https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/1571240211123683328

Marcus Freeman seems headed for that “grand opening, grand closing” tenure

— Joel D. Anderson 🆓 (@byjoelanderson) September 17, 2022

https://twitter.com/TheWilderThings/status/1571219321287753733

Irish are a leaky team right now which -- when you look at the actual situation happening right now -- makes sense. Marcus Freeman is brand new, this staff -- in this existence -- is, too. Team scrapped after two Ls. A place to start.

— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) September 17, 2022

Freeman's defensive influence was evident toward the end, though. Isaiah Foskey in particular wreaked havoc on the Cal offensive line in the fourth quarter.

HUGE 4TH DOWN SACK BY ISAIAH FOSKEY! ☘️ #GoIrish

📺 @nbc and @peacock pic.twitter.com/q8JuDdImn7

— Notre Dame on NBC (@NDonNBC) September 17, 2022

Monster play by Notre Dame EDGE Isaiah Foskey! The great pass rushers show up in moments like that. Foskey showing why he’s a rising prospect with first round potential.

— Todd McShay (@McShay13) September 17, 2022

Notre Dame's pass rush has had a day, Isaiah Foskey's fourth down sack ends Cal's drive to tie it. Notre Dame takes over with 6:30 remaining.

If the Irish offensive line can match the defensive line in production, Notre Dame will get its first win of the season.

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) September 17, 2022

Things don't get much easier for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish hit the road to play 3-0 North Carolina, which has had a week off to prepare. From there, they have a date with 12th-ranked BYU on Oct. 8 in Las Vegas.

Maybe Saturday represents a turning point. Freeman will certainly hope so.

Marcus Freeman's first season as Notre Dame head coach is shaping up to be a long one.

Freeman announced Monday that quarterback Tyler Buchner suffered an AC sprain to his non-throwing shoulder and is expected to miss four months. Buchner is slated for surgery Tuesday.

The sophomore was injured late in Saturday's loss to Marshall and replaced by Drew Pyne, who will likely take over under center for the remainder of the 2022 season. Pine struggled in his limited action against Marshall, throwing for 20 yards and a touchdown against an interception as Notre Dame tried to fight its way back into the game.

Freeman's team is off to the program's first 0-2 start since 2011 after back-to-back losses to Ohio State and Marshall. Brian Kelly's replacement has lost each of his first three games as a head coach dating back to last year's Fiesta Bowl.

Notre Dame had just one losing record in Kelly's 12 seasons at the helm; no first-year head coach has finished below .500 in his first year with the program since Lou Holtz in 1986. After beginning the year as the fifth-ranked team in the country, the Irish have fallen out of the Top 25.

This Notre Dame roster is not stacked at quarterback. Pyne has thrown only 39 passes in his college career, and the team's new backups are freshman Steve Angeli and sophomore Ron Powlus III, who have taken a combined zero collegiate snaps.

If Freeman turns things around this season, it'll likely be due to his work on the defensive side of the ball.

The No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish were upset by unranked Marshall 26-21 on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, and head coach Marcus Freeman is taking the blame for the team's 0-2 start to the season.

"We have to look at ourselves as individuals, the whole team, starting with the head coach on down, and say, 'What do I have to do?' 'What do we have to do to fix the issues?'" Freeman told reporters after the loss. "We have to look at the lack of execution in all phases of our team."

He added: "This is an evaluation of everything we're doing. It starts with me, it starts with me as a head coach."

Freeman, who took over after Brian Kelly was hired as head coach of the LSU Tigers at the end of last season, is the first Notre Dame head coach to lose his first three games.

The Fighting Irish lost his coaching debut in the Fiesta Bowl last season, which was a 37-35 loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, and also lost their 2022 season opener last weekend against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

After using a limited playbook against Ohio State, Freeman opened it up a little more against Marshall, but the offense still failed to find much success.

Quarterback Tyler Buchner completed just 18 of 32 passes for 201 yards and two interceptions. He also led Notre Dame on the ground with 13 carries for 44 yards and two scores.

The Fighting Irish held a 15-12 lead over the Thundering Herd early in the fourth quarter, but Marshall went up 19-15 with a little more than five minutes remaining in the game when quarterback Henry Colombi connected with Devin Miller for a three-yard score.

Marshall put the game just out of reach when Steven Gilmore returned a Buchner interception for a touchdown to extend the Thundering Herd's lead to 26-15.

Drew Pyne replaced Buchner after the pick six, but he tossed an interception on the next drive, which allowed Marshall to run down the clock even further. After the Thundering Herd punted, Pyne led the team on a touchdown drive, but it was too little, too late for the Fighting Irish.

The season won't get any easier for Notre Dame, which will fall even further in the AP Top 25 poll after starting the season ranked No. 5 in the nation. The Fighting Irish are set to face California, North Carolina and BYU over the next three weeks.

It has been only one week and change, but many fans already believe they've figured out the 2022 college football season.

This is nothing new. No matter the time of the year, games and performance lead to opinions. Many of these opinions will prove to be wrong, although all thoughts are welcomed here. In fact, we want to tap into them.

With two weekends of college football in the books, we asked B/R readers to give us their biggest takeaways heading into Week 2.

Some were quite sensible. Some were perhaps a bit unhinged. And some were downright excessive. We love them all equally.

Here are B/R readers' thoughts after Week 1, with some accompanying commentary.

It’s a Two-Team World

User: @dog79

Response: Bama and Georgia are heads above everyone, it’s not even close. This is what has become of college football. The talking heads can try and say all they want, but facts are facts. They will try to match Bama and Georgia in the first round of the playoffs to help Ohio State. But Ohio State would lose by 21 to either team. And sorry, Coach Day, you are not SEC tough or fast.

This is a lot to unpack. Thanks to @dog79 for the college football brain dump.

Let’s zero in on the first part of his response: It’s Alabama and Georgia, and that’s about it. Well, maybe.

It feels premature to declare this after only 60 minutes of football, especially given what we saw from Ohio State’s defense against Notre Dame. The Buckeyes will be a problem for many, and other teams are likely to emerge.

With that being said, Alabama delivered a 55-0 win over Utah State, while Georgia stomped Oregon, 49-3. The Bulldogs’ win was particularly impressive given all of the talent that exited the program after last season and the level of competition they faced in Week 1.

So, what do we know?

Well, we know Alabama is very, very good. We’ll learn more this week against Texas. We think Georgia might be very, very good as well, and Week 1 helped solidify that sentiment.

These two teams could very well be the best in the country once again. At this point, no one would argue against this. But we should probably allow other teams to have their say, even if we ultimately wind up right back where we started.

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The Irish Fought

User: Sglide15

Response: Notre Dame is better than I thought they were!

I completely agree with this, and it doesn’t feel like an overreaction.

Entering the matchup with Ohio State, I expected Notre Dame to be outclassed. The Irish put up a heck of a fight in a 21-10 loss.

Now, it’s still a loss. There are no moral victories, but there was still a lot to like in a losing effort.

We can look at stats and analytics, but I was anxious to look at game speed. Notre Dame was on the same athletic level as the Buckeyes, which is an enormous plus. The defense played exceptionally well against C.J. Stroud, which should be a factor moving forward.

I also thought we saw plenty of good from quarterback Tyler Buchner. Making your first start in Columbus is no easy assignment, but Buchner made some quality throws and will only get better as the season calms down.

Notre Dame’s season gets easier from here. With a handful of winnable games on deck, expect to see a much cleaner, better version of the Irish.

There are different levels of 0-1 across college football. This isn’t a bad 0-1.

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One Step Closer to a Starting QB?

User: @tmoney3

Response: It’s J.J. McCarthy Season

Michigan is giving each of Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy one start to make an impression. While the Wolverines cruised to a 51-7 win over Colorado State, McNamara wasn’t exactly pristine in his opportunity.

After playing solid football last season, McNamara didn’t look like himself. He completed only 50 percent of his throws for 136 yards. Given the very public and unique nature of this quarterback battle, perhaps it’s taking a toll on his performance.

Either way, McCarthy will now get the start against Hawai’i. The Rainbow Warriors have issues, and McCarthy seems destined to post huge numbers as a result. (He also completed all four of his throws last week and ran for 50 yards and a touchdown.)

While Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh hasn’t tipped his hand yet on a potential starter in Week 3 and beyond, McCarthy is in an ideal spot right now.

A big performance in Week 2 should all but secure the starting gig for him moving forward.

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West Coast Dud

User: @rykerlloyd

Response: Pac-12 is a joke

I do not enjoy the yearly ritual of blasting different conferences after bad weekends. It’s an exhausting exercise that does little good, although it won’t prevent these takes from coming.

With that disclaimer delivered, let’s assess the damage after one weekend of Pac-12 football.

Oregon was crushed by Georgia, and Utah lost a heartbreaker to Florida. Colorado also lost to TCU. (I’m not sure whether this last result matters, although we’re taking inventory of all the losses.)

Yes, seeing two of the conference’s top teams suffer challenging defeats is not the optimal way to start the year. Still, USC showcased its reimagined offense against Rice. Oregon State was incredibly impressive in a win over Boise State. And even Arizona, which has struggled in recent years, delivered a solid win over San Diego State.

To be clear, none of this will stop the avalanche of criticism from coming. To do that, the Pac-12 will need to deliver a playoff team. This weekend was unquestionably a blow to those goals. But USC is in the Pac-12 for now, and the Trojans have plenty of firepower.

Plus, it’s early September. Let’s keep our conference affirmations concealed until at least Halloween. Deal?

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QB1 Comes Out Swinging

User: @BigBlueFL

Response: Two words. ANTHONY RICHARDSON!!!!!!

Anthony Richardson showed glimpses of promise last year. In fact, he looked like Florida’s quarterback of the future at various times during last fall.

After beating Utah in the opener, however, the optimism surrounding Richardson has reached an entirely different stratosphere.

In the upset over the Utes, Richardson threw for 168 yards, ran for 106 yards and scored three touchdowns. He was explosive, he protected the football and he led Florida to one of its most important wins in recent memory.

Now, let’s try to be measured about all of this hype. (We won't, but let's try.)

Richardson is still relatively young and is likely to have a hiccup or two along the way. But given his incredible size and duality at the position, he is likely to dazzle throughout the year.

If you’re a Florida fan, you should be thrilled by these developments. It’s been a weird stretch for one of the sport’s most successful programs. Richardson offers hope and excitement all at once, although we still need to try to take it slow. (We won't, but let's try.)

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A Sad Day for Football

User: @mrwhitejr1987

Response: Iowa and South Dakota State set football back 100 years

I spent much of my collegiate life in Iowa City, which is a necessary bit of information before proceeding any further.

The fact that the Hawkeyes scored seven points without scoring a touchdown is maybe the most Iowa moment possible. Iowa scored two safeties and a field goal to reach seven points.

That’s it. South Dakota State also added three points.

The two teams combined for 286 yards of offense. Both teams averaged less than two yards per carry. This game also featured a combined 21 punts for nearly 1,000 yards.

If you watched this game, you should be given a gift certificate to your favorite restaurant and a hug from someone you care deeply about. This was somehow worse than advertised.

Amid the constant reshuffling of conferences across college football, it appears as if Notre Dame is going to remain an independent.

Head coach Marcus Freeman said on ESPN's First Take that being an independent "is what we love" and it's "what our program's built on."

Marcus Freeman doesn't see Notre Dame joining a conference anytime soon 👀

"Right now being independent is what we love, it's what our program's been built on." pic.twitter.com/M95ckg2Yii

— First Take (@FirstTake) July 28, 2022

Notre Dame is one of seven schools that currently operate as an FBS independent. Army, BYU, Liberty, New Mexico State, Connecticut and Massachusetts are the others.

BYU (Big 12), Liberty (Conference USA) and New Mexico State (Conference USA) will be joining conferences starting with the 2023-24 academic year.

The entire structure of college football has been shaken up due to realignment in recent years. Texas and Oklahoma accepted invitations to join the SEC in July 2021.

Per Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman, the 2024-25 academic year will likely be the first year that the Sooners and Longhorns are playing in the SEC.

In response to Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12, the conference announced last September that BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston will be added to the group. They will join the conference for the 2023-24 academic year.

Last month, USC and UCLA announced they were leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten starting in 2024.

Amid all of the conference reshuffling, The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach noted on June 30 that she spoke with someone in college athletics who believes this eventually leads to two "megaconferences" with the Big Ten and SEC having at least 20 members each.

Per a September 2019 report from Chris Smith of Forbes, Notre Dame's three-year average profit of $76 million ranked fifth among all FBS programs. Its three-year average revenue of $120 million was eighth in FBS.

The Fighting Irish are a member of the ACC in all sports except football. The football team did compete in the ACC during the 2020 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They went 10-0 during the regular season and lost to Clemson in the conference title game.

Freeman is entering his first season as head coach at Notre Dame. The 36-year-old spent last season on Brian Kelly's staff as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He was promoted in December after Kelly took the LSU head coaching job.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has clarified the comments he made about academic standards at Ohio State.

Appearing on Morning Juice on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus on Wednesday (h/t ESPN's Adam Rittenberg), Freeman said he would "never discredit the quality of education" at Ohio State.

Freeman caused a stir in an interview with CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd that was published June 10.

"I'm not saying from top to bottom, but the majority of our kids, they—I want to say this the right way—are pushed to learn and their study habits are formulated every day. You can't cheat academics at Notre Dame," he said.

To emphasize his point, Freeman mentioned his alma mater of Ohio State as an academic institution where there were more avenues available to students to pass classes.

"If you don't go to class [at those places], OK. Take some online classes. Show up for your final," Freeman said rhetorically. "At Notre Dame, you're forced every day to go to class."

Freeman clarified he wasn't talking specifically about Ohio State as much as every big school in the country.

"When you really look, what exactly I said, I was talking about if you don't go to class at these big schools that have 60,000, 40,000 students, OK, you can take online classes," he told Morning Juice. "We can't. The majority of our kids cannot take online classes here because it's a smaller school and you're forced to have in-class attendance. That's what I wanted to get cleared up."

Freeman played linebacker for the Buckeyes from 2004 to 2008. He was a two-time All-Big Ten second-team selection in his final two seasons at the program. The 36-year-old also earned two degrees from Ohio State.

After a heart condition forced Freeman to retire as a player in 2010, then-Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel hired him as a graduate assistant.

Freeman went on to be an assistant at Kent State, Purdue and Cincinnati before Brian Kelly hired him as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2021.

After Kelly left the Fighting Irish to become LSU's head coach, Freeman was named his replacement in December.

Buckeyes fans will have the opportunity to let Freeman know they don't appreciate his comments, even if something was lost in translation.

Ohio State will host Notre Dame in the season opener for both teams Sept. 3. This will be the first meeting between the two storied programs since the Buckeyes' 44-28 win in the Fiesta Bowl in the 2015 season.

A 37-35 loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl has dampened some of the excitement around new Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman.

"The honeymoon stage is over," Freeman admitted after the game.

Notre Dame built a 28-7 lead in the second quarter before suffering the late collapse in Saturday's game. It ruined Freeman's debut as the Fighting Irish head coach after taking over for Brian Kelly last month.

Kelly surprised many by leaving Notre Dame for LSU, but the program kept continuity by promoting Freeman from defensive coordinator and linebackers coach to head coach.

There were plenty of fans within the locker room after the announcement:

a player's coach@Marcus_Freeman1 | #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/pf9E1OygA8

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) December 3, 2021

With a recruiting class ranked No. 7 in the country by 247Sports, there was plenty of excitement surrounding the program.

A disappointing loss has likely soured the fanbase, but Freeman remained upbeat.

"You like to learn from a win, but this is going to be a learning opportunity in a loss," the coach said after the game.

Freeman must find more success in his first full season at the helm in 2022.   

Marcus Freeman is prepared to make a seamless transition as the new head coach of the Notre Dame football team.

The 35-year-old discussed his new job at Monday's introductory press conference.

"I'm ready," he told reporters. "I'm ready to lead this program."

"The chance to lead the football program at the University of Notre Dame is an opportunity of a lifetime, and I'll never take that for granted," he added.

The coach also broke down his plans to lead the team to success:

Marcus Freeman's "Golden Standard"

1. Challenge Everything - a mentality to find a better way
2. Unit Strength - turning players in to a team
3. Competitive spirit - creating a winner's mindset

"This is the standard that will drive this program to a 12th national championship."

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) December 6, 2021

Freeman on the attributes he looks for in assistant coaches:

“You have got to be a relentless recruiter. If you can’t recruit, you’re probably not going to be the best for our university and our team.”

— Kyle Kelly (@ByKyleKelly) December 6, 2021

Freeman on his invovlement with recruits as the HC:

“I better be the No. 1 recruiter. I better be the lead recruiter in every kid we recruit."

— Patrick Engel (@PatrickEngel_) December 6, 2021

Athletic director Jack Swarbrick opened the press conference by explaining his reasoning for selecting Freeman:

Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick says Marcus Freeman “won” the job.

Says he met with the seven captains last Tuesday.

The captains insisted that they had built the best culture in college football.

Says they conveyed the message, “Jack, don’t screw this up.”

— Megan Smedley (@MeganSmedley_) December 6, 2021

Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick: Marcus Freeman is the "perfect guardian" of Fighting Irish football culture.

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) December 6, 2021

Freeman takes over for Brian Kelly, who surprisingly left to fill the head coaching vacancy at LSU. 

The team announced Freeman would be elevated to the lead role, a move that got a lot of support in the locker room:

a player's coach@Marcus_Freeman1 | #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/pf9E1OygA8

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) December 3, 2021

The former Ohio State linebacker was in his first year as the Notre Dame defensive coordinator, helping the team go 11-1 while finishing No. 5 in the final College Football Playoff ranking. The defense ranked ninth in the country with just 18.3 points allowed per game and is among the top 10 nationally in sacks (40) and interceptions (15).

Prior to his time with the Fighting Irish, Freeman served as a defensive coordinator with Cincinnati and Purdue.