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Following Notre Dame’s loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, head coach Marcus Freeman he was straightforward in his assessment of what had gone wrong.
“You always make mistakes, but those damaging mistakes when you’re playing a really, really good football team cost you points,” Freeman, 39, told reporters after the game on Monday, Jan. 20. “I think that’s probably the biggest thing that’s stuck with me even between streaks is communication. ‘Hey, we’re good, we’ve got it.’ Well, we can’t make mistakes.”
He added: “It falls on my shoulders. And as a head coach, we have to prepare for this moment and be better prepared. These guys gave everything they got.”
During the game, Freeman was criticized for choosing to kick a field goal with his team up 15–15 in the fourth quarter instead of going for 4th and goal from the 9-yard line. Notre Dame soccer ball Mitch Jeter he ended up missing a 27-yard field goal. Ohio State won the game 34-23.
Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman has never shied away from professing his love for his support system off the field: wife Joanna Freeman. Marcus and Joanna married in 2010 after meeting while Marcus was a star linebacker at The Ohio State University. Along the way, they welcomed six children together: a son (…)
“I just thought instead of being down 16, we’d try to go down 13,” Freeman explained to reporters. “I know it’s still a two-goal game, but you’re more likely to get 14 points than 16 points. If it was a shorter 4th and 9 situation, I probably would have gone for it, but I felt like 4th and 9 wasn’t much of a chance for us to do it.”
After the loss — during which Notre Dame sought the school’s first national title since 1988 — Freeman he told ESPN’s Molly McGrath the message he delivered to his downtrodden team.
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 wife Joanna Freeman in 2010. The couple met during Marcus’ time at The Ohio State University, where Marcus was (…)
“You can’t say a lot when you have a group like that that is hurt,” Freeman said. “I just told them I love them. I am so proud to be a part of this season with them. There are a lot of injured guys. They gave it everything they had. We didn’t finish the job tonight.”
Freeman added, “What they’ve done for this school, this program, and I think for people who watch college football, I think they’ve sent a strong message about being selfless, going for it and putting others before yourself.”
When asked by McGrath, 35, what made him “most proud” of his team this season, Freeman didn’t hesitate.
“They were selfless,” he said. “It’s a trait I think you carry with you for the rest of your life, putting others before yourself.” So they did. In their hardest times, they chose Notre Dame and they chose each other. We have some amazing leaders who continue to preach that message.”
