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Marcus Freeman
Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesBefore his team’s Sugar Bowl game against Georgia, the Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman required his players, staff and their families to spend the holidays as a whole.
“It’s an honor, it’s a privilege to be able to celebrate Christmas with my football program, with my football family and to practice for a college football playoff game,” Freeman, 38, told reporters this week.
Notre Dame will play Georgia in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Freeman and his team defeated Indiana 27-17 on Friday, December 20th to advance to the game.
“There are a lot of college football teams that would like to do this,” Freeman continued. “We have to make sure we understand that. Our boys do. None of these guys are thinking about going home – at least they won’t tell me if they are.”
Courtesy of Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman/Instagram Marcus Freeman has a pretty impressive team off the field as well. Freeman, 38, who will become the head football coach at Notre Dame in December 2021, married his wife Joanna Freeman in 2010. The couple met during their stay at The Ohio State University, where Marcus was (…)
Freeman concluded, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The winner of the Notre Dame-Georgia game will advance to the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 in Miami Gardens, Fla., against the winner of Penn State-Boise State on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates with the team after defeating the Indiana Hoosiers 27-17 in a first round playoff game at Notre Dame Stadium on December 20, 2024 in South Bend, Indiana.
Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesFreeman and Notre Dame will face a Georgia team without its usual quarterback. Carson Beckwho was out for the rest of the playoffs with an elbow injury. In his place, Georgia will rely on the second-year linebacker Gunner Stockton.
Despite the change, Freeman said his team’s preparations will not waver.
“Look at the 13 games they’ve played,” Freeman said Tuesday, Dec. 24, on FS1 The Herd with Colin Cowherd. “They won’t be a completely different offense with a new quarterback.
Freeman added: “Some things (Stockton) does well in their system. He makes really good decisions. He makes quick decisions. He can obviously extend the leg game – a little more QB run. But we’re still going to plan to see the things we’ve seen their offense do, regardless of who’s been at quarterback.”
Christmas Day was holy and merry for many celebrities and their loved ones. “Christmas morning in London! Merry Christmas, guys. We love you so much,” Chrissy Teigen wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, Dec. 25. Teigen and her husband John Legend kicked off the festivities in a London hotel room with daughter Luna and Esti and (…)
Notre Dame has won 11 straight since their shocking loss at home to unranked Northern Illinois on September 7th. In retrospect, Freeman said the defeat taught him a lot about his team.
“Well, right after the game you tell them, ‘I’ve been there,'” Freeman recalled Herd. “I told them, ‘Listen, it’s going to be a tough week. It’s going to be a long week, but I’ve been here before.'”
Freeman added: “All season I kept telling them, ‘Keep the pain, keep the pain,’ because we can’t let a loss continue to teach us the lessons we need to learn to prepare. So they did a great job and continued to find ways to improve, but the key was preparation and mindset.”
The Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia begins on Wednesday, January 1 at 8:45 PM ET on ESPN.
