The Notre Dame Fighting Irish got very close to winning a national title earlier this year, and head coach Marcus Freeman has felt the disappointment at losing in the biggest stage against Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes. He is now back to the drawing board to try another run at the title.
Ahead of the upcoming 2025 season, the Notre Dame coach spoke with ESPN’s CFB Live and got candid about what the Fighting Irish lacked in that finals loss against Ohio State.
“Well, I don’t know if it’s just one missing piece, right? You always try to enhance your talent. You develop that talent, and you have a culture that hopefully — the process of your culture and the process of the things you do — you know, put out a really good result,” Marcus Freeman said.
“nd so that’s the formula for us: How do we continue to increase this talent level? How do we continue to develop this talent level? And how do we continue to have a culture that helps us have the results that we want? And so that’s what we’ve done this offseason. And, you know, we’re going to get ready for training camp and look forward to the ’25 season,” he added.
Notre Dame started that national championship game red-hot in the first quarter but faltered slowly in the second and third. They tried to make a desperate final run in the fourth but ultimately lost 23-34 in what had been an exciting contest.
Notre Dame is now trying to bounce back, with many of its players from last year, including running back Jeremiyah Love, wide receiver Jordan Faison, tight end Eli Raridon, offensive tackle Aamil Wagner, cornerback Leonard Moore and safety Adon Shuler, all coming back for another go.
Marcus Freeman Talks About Preparing For Season Opener
Ahead of the 2025 season, Marcus Freeman and some of his players have been making the media rounds and talking with some sports shows. One of them is with ESPN’s “First Take” where Freeman talked about preparing for the new season, including that Sept. 1 opener against Miami.
“We just have to continue to build what our identity is,” he said in the show. “The process is very similar but the skillset, the traits and the personalities can be a little different. What is this team going to have as it’s back bone? I think those questions will be answered in fall training camp. We’re going to have a new quarterback; how do we get whoever that quarterback is to get as much experience in training camp without having in game experience?”
“We have to put them in high pressure situations and they’ll have to execute. The real pressure comes when you go down there and there’s 80,000 or 90,000 screaming fans. That’s pressure. Let us simulate some type of pressure in camp so you’re ready for it,” he added.
The Fighting Irish will be visiting the Hurricanes on Sept. 1 before going back at home against Texas A&M on Sept. 14. They have games scheduled against Purdue, Arkansas, Boise State, NC State, USC, and more.
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