The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been an independent in college football for the longest time, which gives them certain advantages. First, they do not have to play a competitive conference schedule, and second, they do not have to play in a conference championship game. Head coach Marcus Freeman prefers it that way and responded to recent criticism ahead of the 2025 Orange Bowl.
Marcus Freeman Responds To Jibes About Notre Dame’s Independent Status
Freeman was asked Wednesday morning about the advantages of being an FBS Independent. He prefers to look at Notre Dame as being what it is and not getting into the politics of whether or not it should have a conference affiliation.
Freeman compares Notre Dame to the Penn State Nittany Lions, an active member of the Big Ten, and their opponent in the upcoming Orange Bowl. Head coach James Franklin has made multiple jibes at the Fighting Irish throughout the College Football Playoff process.
“Coach Franklin has a lot more experience, one, being a head coach in college football, and even just being in college athletics where you can formulate a strong opinion. For us, whatever you’re going to tell us, we’ll make the most of. We pride ourselves on our independence. If they come out with a decision we can’t be independent, then we’ll make it work.”
Freeman then said he will just line up on Saturdays against whomever they are told to play and make the most of it. He has no strong feelings about having a conference affiliation and thinks their schedule is tough enough as it is.
“I don’t have a whole bunch of opinions on it. I’m a guy that, just tell us what we’re doing, and let’s go and move forward, and let’s make the most of it,” Freeman said.
“Not the answer you’re probably looking for, but I’m not strongly opinionated about it. I love where we’re at right now, and [ND athletic director] Pete Bevacqua and our Notre Dame administration will continue to make decisions that are best for our program.”
The Notre Dame coach was brutally honest when pressed about the advantages of not having a conference affiliation. He said he viewed it as a benefit because the Fighting Irish can play the best teams in random conferences.
“Yeah. We view it, I view it as a pro. We’ll continue to look at it that way until and unless something changes. We get to play coast to coast,” Freeman said. “You play multiple different times from multiple different conferences. You started off the season in College Station. You ended the season in LA, and we’re in New York twice.”
Freeman likes the idea of Notre Dame having national exposure. Playing in a conference tends to be regional in nature and limits exposure, especially when it comes to recruiting.
“We get to really view our program as global in terms of a national program, in terms of how we play, and the audience we play in front of,” Freeman said. “Now, it’s not much different than the Big Ten now, with UCLA and USC and some of the West Coast teams being in it. But again, we view being independent as a positive thing, and we sell it to our recruits and our players as a positive thing.”
The only detriments, Freeman said, is that they can’t win a conference title and must play a first-round playoff game as they will not be a conference champion. He said he would really have liked to have a first-round bye this year.
“We know we can’t play in a championship game, and we can’t have a first-round bye, but we continue to use not playing week 13 as our bye, and that’s the way we view it,” Freeman said. “In terms of the finances and the TV deals, I’m sure that people can go into further details about that, but obviously, I’m sure that’s another positive that we view being independent provides us.”
College Football Network has you covered with the latest from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and every Group of Five conference and FBS Independent program.