NCAAF Freeman on Notre Dame upset of No. 4 Clemson: ‘I really didn’t want to leave the field’
Marcus Freeman has been Notre Dame’s head coach for less than a calendar year and just wrapped up his tenth game at the helm. Overall his squad is 6-4 counting last season’s Fiesta Bowl defeat and has losses at home to lowly Marshall and Stanford. To confuse things a bit they also have road wins over North Carolina and Syracuse, both of which were ranked in the College Football Playoff’s top 20 this past week.
And now Freeman has a win over a top-five team as Notre Dame manhandled No. 4 Clemson 35-14 on Saturday night. For those who didn’t see the game, the final score is closer than the actual play on the field.
Here is everything Freeman had to say after what is easily the biggest win of his young head coaching career.
Overjoyed in Opening Statement
Nov 5, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Audric Estime (7) celebrates with fans on the field after defeating the Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
“Man, I wish I could get up here and just say we’re happy with the win, and this is a special one. It’s not every day you get the opportunity to play in this
place, jam-packed with those fans, and have an opportunity to beat a top-five team in the country. It’s really special. I’m so proud of our guys and the way they continue to trust us coaches. They do exactly what you ask them to do. That’s what makes them so special. They’re willing to do whatever you tell them to do to help us have success.
It’s an honor to coach them. It’s special. You can hear those fans, the students. I really didn’t want to leave that field. I mean, just spend some time with those students, and, man, this is a game that I’ll never forget.
But extremely pleased with the way our guys played. Offense, defense, special teams, and all three phases really played well. We’re going to enjoy this one. We’re going to enjoy it tonight, tomorrow, and then at some point, tomorrow get back to work and get ready for Navy. This is a special win for me and for this football program.”
On physical dominance of Clemson defense
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
You know, I don’t want to say we physically dominated them, but we knew going into it, Tim (Prister), that we had to run the ball. You look at every game that we have won, I think we rushed the ball 40-plus times.
That’s been our backbone.
We knew this defensive line was special, but we couldn’t shy away from our strength. It was a challenge to our offensive line, to our quarterback, our running back. But you know what? I think at some point during the game their confidence rose and they said, listen, we can block anybody in the country, and they showed they could do that tonight.
Why tonight for this team?
Nov 5, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jordan Botelho (12) blocks a punt by Clemson Tigers punter Aidan Swanson (39) in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
I wish I could explain exactly how this season has gone. You can’t. You
know, it’s never as you foresee it on the front end. You know, I think you look at a game, it’s never — we didn’t foresee this game going that way, this season going this way.
Shoot as an adult you don’t see life on the front end exactly going the way you dreamed. But you know what? I’m happy that the kids continued to believe in what we’re doing, and today was one of those special moments. You know, we’re not going to — listen, the difficult times — we’re going to have difficult times as a program. That’s part of this growth that we’re continuing to strive to achieve.
Today was the day it all came together and they were able
to truly execute. They really prepared their tails off. I think
tonight was a reflection of the way they prepared.
What he thought after leaving the field
Nov 5, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman watches an extra point attempt against the Clemson Tigers in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
I don’t know. I haven’t been able to yet. George didn’t let me stay on the field as long a I wanted to, he said, get out of here. I hugged the coaches
because usually we go straight and we call up and we say our post-game announcement and move on.
But I went to the coaches’ locker room and gave them hugs. Man, it’s an honor to work with those guys. They. truly prepare their tails off. You know what? Just like the players, coaching staff, the ups and the downs, they just work their tails off. It’s an honor to coach with these guys, too.
I went to the locker room and went to the coach’s locker room and gave them hugs and told them how much I appreciate them. We addressed the team and now we’re. here.
Running the ball is Notre Dame's identity
Nov 5, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Audric Estime (7) runs the ball against the Clemson Tigers in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Yeah, we wanted to run the ball. You know, Ohio State seems so long ago, but there was points of the game we weren’t able to do it. At some point tonight if we weren’t able to run the ball with efficiency, we. were going to have to throw it a little bit more.
We threw it when we needed to, but we were running the ball with the efficiency we needed to to continue to extend the drives.
You know what? You have to play to your strengths. That can be within a game. Can be within each game. Today one the those strengths was playing really good defense and running the ball on offense.
Special teams does it again
Nov 5, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jordan Botelho (12) blocks a punt by Clemson Tigers punter Aidan Swanson (39) in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Yeah, he did it again. That group did it again. Kudos to Coach Mase and his hard work and preparation. You know, I challenged that group yesterday. I said, listen, you won’t surprise anybody. Everybody in the country knows you’re coming after a punt. When you find ways to execute and you find ways to play with relentless effort, it doesn’t matter if a team knows you’re coming after a punt or not.
That’s why I’m so happy for this group. Everybody knows we’re coming after punts. For them to go out and be able to execute, we’re not tricking anybody. It’s about the way we teach it and the way they go out and they execute, and
today as a great job by the punt block unit.
On being a good football team
Nov 5, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Jayden Thomas (83) signals for a first down after a catch against the Clemson Tigers in the third quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
You know, it’s tough because you have some moments in your office by yourself that you got to take a deep dive into yourself, like what are you doing? What do you have to do to get this thing changed?
You got to believe in what you’re doing. When I’m in front of that group, you got to be the most confident individual that they’ve ever seen. If their leader gets up there in front of the group after a loss or we don’t play well with their
head down, what are they supposed to think? So I make sure when I walk out of my office I’m the most confident leader that I can be. They need that. They will go as their leader goes, and I have to do that.
Listen, there are times, as we all have where we’re by ourselves in solitude and have to reflect and talk to ourselves a little bit. But I think the thing I learned is that what I said earlier, is that it’s never how we foresee it on the front end.
If you go on to win a national championship or if you’re, what are we, 6-3 and you lost a couple of games that you didn’t believe you would’ve at the start of the year, but you can paint a beautiful picture. You can make this thing the way you want as long as you continue.
You can’t just — as I told the guys, this is a spiritual school. We can’t just pray and think things will magically change. We play, but you have to put in the work and be very intentional. Saying we’re not just trusting the process, we have to fix it and attack the deficiencies that we have.
That’s going to be the challenge, even after today. After a great win like this, are we still willing to go and take a hard look at ourselves ans say, how can I improve as an individual? After a win over a top five program, can we still be selfless? Can we tune out all the outside noise? It’s easy to tune it out when you’re not winning because it’s all negativity.
The challenge to this group is can you tune it out right even right now when somebody might pat you on the back and say, you’re doing a great job. Continue to stay focused and continue to work on the things that we know it’s going to take for us to improve, because that’s the challenge every week to improve.
Selflessness of this squad
Nov 5, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Clemson Tigers tight end Davis Allen (84) is tackled by Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker JD Bertrand (27) and cornerback Benjamin Morrison (20) in the third quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
To the coaches, those positions coaches that every day are with them and continue to reinforce that message. To the type of kids we have. You know, Notre Dame attracts a special individual, right? It takes a selfless individual to thrive in a place like this that understands it’s bigger than yourself.
I think that’s the beauty of being here. We got a whole bunch of kids that want to be national champions, first-round picks, but they’re selfless and they understand about the bigger picture, that it’s bigger than themselves. That’s why it’s a joy to coach them. Every day those position coaches have to reinforce that message.
Benjamin Morrison's huge night
Nov 5, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Benjamin Morrison (20) intercepts a pass intended for Clemson Tigers wide receiver Joseph Ngata (10) in the fourth quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Morrison returned the interception for a touchdown. Notre Dame won 35-14. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Just a mentally tough kid. Got a PI called against him and comes back and gets an interception, and got a ball caught on him and then comes back and gets a pick-six.
You know, credit to his parents. He has a special set of parents. Dad played in the NFL for a while, but also he is a minister and helps him spiritually and mentally stay in the right mindset.
His mother is just an incredible woman that has raised a couple of gymnasts and it’s, to me, a reflection of his upbringing. He’s an ultimate competitor that doesn’t get shaken. It’s really uncommon for a freshman to be like that.
Defense's impact on offense tonight
Nov 5, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) drops back to throw under pressure from Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Justin Ademilola (9) in the third quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Yeah, took a lot of pressure off them to start the game; go up 7-nothing after a punt block, offense kind of ran the ball a little bit; had a couple punts. And then to go up and score before the half, right? To go up 14-nothing in that middle eight period, and it was huge.
Now as the defense continues to force Clemson to punt, the offense doesn’t feel that pressure. We have to score. Our defense came up huge today. Again, I’m proud. They have done a really good job all year. I’m proud of that group and those coaches.
Building things his own way at Notre Dame
Nov 5, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman talks to defensive lineman Justin Ademilola (9) in the first quarter against the Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Yeah. I mean, to answer the first part of your question, absolutely. This is still a part of a new foundation, right? You can’t just change leaders and
think, as I said, it’s going to continue to do like this. We have to build this foundation the right way.
And so we believe it becomes infallible. You got such a strong foundation, man, that no matter what happens, man, you’re going to be solid.
Yeah, as I told the team, winning does two things for you in my mind: It gives you that feeling, right, that’s it’s hard to reciprocate. The feeling of being a winner. It’s short-lived, especially here. Next week we got to get ready to go.
For tonight and tomorrow morning you have that feeling. It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world, but confidence and belief in what you’re doing. It reaffirms the process, the things that you teach.
But the challenge will be, as I said to this group last week, the challenge will be will those lessons that you gained when you lose, right, the failures — it’s easy to look at yourself and say, how can I get better and what do I have to do as an individual, and how can we tune out the outside noise and be intentional in our work? Those are things that are easy to do when you lose.
The challenge will be when we have success to continue to have that mindset of improvement and selflessness and continuing to just stay together.
On Drew Pyne's night
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA – NOVEMBER 05: Drew Pyne #10 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish warms up prior to the game against the Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium on November 05, 2022 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Man, he’s a winner, and he has to be unselfish and continue not to look at stats, just look at do I do the things necessary for us to win? And he did. He
took care of the football. When we decided to throw the ball he did. He took some shots. Really ran the play clock efficiently. There are a lot of the things he’ll be able to build off from this one, and he’s doing a great job leading our offense.
