Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman won’t allow himself to make the same mistake twice.
After the Fighting Irish lost to Ohio State on a walk-off touchdown when ND only had 10 players on the field, Freeman shared that in the future his team will have a signal to take a penalty if a situation like that arises again.
“You win or you learn,” Freeman said, via ESPN.com‘s Heather Dinich. “Hopefully it never happens again, but do we have a signal to tell somebody, when it’s loud and crazy, jump offsides and touch somebody?”
“We tell our players, every play you can’t be distracted by the things that don’t matter,” the coach continued. “You have to do your job. The same thing applies to coaches. We can’t get caught watching the game and not do our job.”
Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman details plan to avoid repeat of 10-player blunder https://t.co/Sa5FwnYTSs
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 25, 2023
After reviewing the film, Freeman said that “lack of execution” is ultimately what did the Irish in.
“Great teams execute when it matters the most, and we didn’t do that Saturday; Ohio State did. Credit to them and their coaching staff. Fourth-and-1 — twice. We don’t execute. We miss a field goal. Defensively, the last drive, third-and-7 … the last two plays you have 10 guys on the field. … That’s a lack of execution when it matters the most,” he explained.
“It hurts. I forgot the pain of losing. It’s a physical pain that takes time to get through. You get through it. Time heals everything. Monday, we’re ready to go.”
Notre Dame will once again take center stage when they take on undefeated Duke in Durham, North Carolina where “College GameDay” will be on-hand.