After Notre Dame lost to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, head coach Marcus Freeman He was frank in his assessment of what went wrong.
“You always make mistakes, but these kind of damaging mistakes when you play with a really good football team cost you points,” the 39-year-old Freeman told reporters after the match on Monday, January 20. The biggest thing that sticks with me even between series is communication. “Hey, we're good, we got it.” Well, we can't make mistakes.'
He added: “It falls on my shoulders. As a head coach, we have to prepare and be better prepared for this moment. These guys gave it everything they had.”
During the game, Freeman was criticized for choosing to kick a field goal with his team trailing 31-15 in the fourth quarter instead of kicking it on fourth-and-goal from the 9-yard line. Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter He eventually missed the 27-yard field goal. Ohio State won the game 34-23.
Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman has never been shy about admitting his love for his support system off the field: wife Joanna Freeman. Marcus and Joanna married in 2010 after they met while Marcus was a star linebacker at Ohio State University. Along the way, they welcomed six children together: son (…)
“I just thought instead of getting down 16th, let's try to get down 13th,” Freeman told reporters. “I know it's still a two-goal game, but your odds of getting 14 points are better than your chance of getting 16. If fourth-and-goal had been a shorter situation, I probably would have gone for it, but I felt like fourth-and-9 wasn't a great chance for us to make it happen.
In the wake of the loss — during which Notre Dame was trying to win the school's first national title since 1988 — Freeman He told ESPN Molly McGrath The message he conveyed to his persecuted team.
Courtesy of Marcus Freeman/Instagram Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has a great team off the field as well. Freeman, 38, who became Notre Dame's head football coach in December 2021, married his wife, Joanna Freeman, in 2010. The couple met during Marcus's time at Ohio State University, where Marcus was[…]
“There's not a lot of words you can say when you have a group like that, it hurts,” Freeman said. “I just told them I love them. I'm so proud to be a part of this season with them. There's a lot of guys that were hurt. They gave it everything they had. We didn't get the job done tonight.”
“What they did for this school, this program, I think for people who watch college football, I think they sent a strong message about being unselfish, doing your best and putting others before yourselves,” Freeman added.
When McGrath, 35, asked him what made him “most proud” of his team this season, Freeman did not hesitate.
“They were selfless,” he said. “It's a trait that I think will last for the rest of your life, which is to put others before you. That's what they did. And in their toughest times they chose Notre Dame and they chose each other. We have some amazing leaders who continue to preach that message.”
