Notre Dame football: Does Freeman have Irish on Georgia’s path?

Living in Chicagoland since birth, I’ve been told my entire life that if I didn’t like the weather, just wait 15 minutes and it’ll change.  I won’t say an outlook for a college football program changes quite as quickly but it’s not too far off.  The belief that was restored in the Marcus Freeman era at Notre Dame after the Irish knocked Clemson around Saturday night was a feeling Irish fans haven’t had in a long time.

Correction: a very long time.

After the 0-2 start to 2022 and the embarrassing home loss to Marshall, there was fear that Freeman was on his way to being the next Bob Davie.  Perhaps it was a bit strong but only having three losses (Fiesta Bowl vs. Oklahoma State, too) to judge off of and very few of those being games being positive, it didn’t feel good.

Fast forward to Saturday night and a 35-14 win over No. 4 Clemson that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, and there is instead another former defensive coordinator turned first-time head coach I’m seeing Freeman follow the path of:

National champion Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.

All-Conference Defensive Players

Notre Dame fans are aware that Marcus Freeman played his college football at Ohio State where he had great success.  Freeman was a two-time All-Big Ten second-team selection with the Buckeyes before being drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft.

Kirby Smart didn’t end up getting drafted after his college career but did sign with the Colts for the 1999 preseason after earning All-SEC honors as a defensive back at Georgia.  He won four letters with the Dawgs where he starred in the same secondary as the legendary Champ Bailey.

Starts in Coaching

Photo courtesy USA TODAY Sports

After Freeman found out he had a heart condition that ended his NFL dreams before the 2010 season he opted for coaching.  He was a graduate assistant on Jim Tressel’s staff at Ohio State in 2010 before getting the linebackers coach position at Kent State for 2011 and 2012.  A stay as linebackers coach at Purdue from 2013-15 led to getting the defensive coordinator job in 2016 but head coach Darrell Hazell was fired halfway through the year and Freeman wasn’t retained.  He then accepted the defensive coordinator position at Cincinnati under a former position coach of his, Luke Fickell.

Smart returned to Georgia as an administrative assistant in 1999.  From there he spent two years at Valdosta State (defensive backs, defensive coordinator) spending two at Florida State (graduate assistant).  After a year at both LSU (defensive backs) and Georgia (running backs), Smart found himself a spot on Nick Saban’s staff with the Miami Dolphins as a safeties coach.  Saban then brought Smart with him to Alabama in 2007 where he wound up calling the defense from 2008-2015.

First year as head coaches: Talent inherited

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Nobody looks at Notre Dame right now and says the team isn’t talented.  Plenty of current players will have their names called on draft weekend in the next couple of years.  Notre Dame doesn’t have the amount of talent to win a national championship right now, but perhaps it is coming.  We’ll get back to Freeman again shortly, but let’s visit what Smart inherited when he took over the Georgia program in 2016.

Georgia was a talented football team when Smart came back to Athens.  In the four years previous to his arrival they ranked 9th, 12th, 8th, and 6th in national recruiting rankings (247Sports Composite).  They were very good but still needed a boost.  Smart’s initial class finished ranked sixth which gave his players in that 2016 a combined average team ranking of 8.12 nationally.  Since then Smart’s classes have been rated 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 4th, and 3rd.  They needed a bump, have gotten it, and have turned it into wins.

What has Freeman inherited?  Classes that ranked 10th (2018), 15th (2019), 18th (2020), 9th (2021), and 7th (2022) are what Freeman is working with this season (11.8 average nationally).  Like Smart, this first team of Freeman’s will likely be the least talented he works with at least in upcoming years.  There is work left to do but Freeman and Notre Dame currently hold the third-rated recruiting class in 2023 which would be their highest since 2008 (class highlighted by [autotag]Dayne Crist[/autotag], [autotag]Michael Floyd[/autotag], [autotag]Kyle Rudolph[/autotag])

First year as head coach: high expectations

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

When you’re a head coach at Notre Dame or at Georgia you’ll always have high expectations from the media as well as your fan base.  A new head coach can get some leeway but how is this for being on the same level?

After Week 1 of the 2016 season, Smart and Georgia were ranked ninth nationally.  After Week 1 of 2022, Notre Dame and Freeman checked in eighth.

First years as head coach: Week 2 hiccups

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame fans don’t need to be reminded but non-Irish fans out there may.  After playing No. 2 Ohio State close to open the season, Notre Dame came back and laid an egg against Marshall, falling 26-21 despite being a massive underdog.  Notre Dame justifiably fell out of the top 25 immediately after.

In Kirby Smart’s first home game as Georgia’s head coach, the ninth-ranked Bulldogs got everything they wanted and more from Nicholls.  The Colonels got within 26-24 of Georgia with roughly three minutes to play but couldn’t quite pull the upset.  Win or loss it was ugly and Georgia fell to number 16.

First years as head coach: Knocked Out of Top 25

Tennessee wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) comes down with winning touchdown in their 34-31 win over Georgia at Sanford Stadium Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016 in Athens, Ga.
USA TODAY SPORTS

We discussed how Notre Dame fell out of the top 25 after falling to Marshall and it has taken until this week to return.  Obviously, that took a big win over a big-name opponent, something we’ll have a comparison for shortly.

Georgia was clinging to a ranking as they checked in 25th when Tennessee entered Sanford Stadium on the first week of October and won by way of a Hail Mary as time expired.  The Dawgs never returned to the top 25 following the loss.

First years as head coach: Brutal home losses

Sep 10, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Marshall Thundering Herd defensive back Steven Gilmore (3) runs an interception back for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

As has been mentioned a time or two (or nine), Notre Dame dropped their home opener against Marshall this year and the Freeman Era was off to an incredibly shaky start.  The Irish bounced back with wins over Cal, North Carolina, and BYU, but were again stunned at home as lowly Stanford knocked off the Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on October 15.

Rewind exactly six years from the day of Notre Dame lost to Stanford this fall and you’ll see a brutal home loss by first-year head coach Kirby Smart and Georgia.  Vanderbilt won in Athens, 17-16 Yes, Vanderbilt won a game at Georgia against the current Georgia head coach.  Crazy to think possible, right?

The Dawgs would also lose at home to rival Georgia Tech 28-27 to close the season.  Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech were both in better states as programs then, but both games saw Georgia be a strong home favorite.

First years as head coach: Early November top 10 home wins

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

Obviously, Saturday night’s destruction of Clemson was a huge night for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame.  Despite the struggles 2022 has brought at times, a win over top-five Clemson behind a suffocating defense made things feel a lot better in a hurry.

Georgia was unranked and just 5-4 overall when No. 8 Auburn made its 2016 trip to Athens in early November.  The Tigers were greeted by a fired-up Dawgs defense that allowed just one touchdown for the night.  Oh, and Georgia’s defense returned an interception for a touchdown that night.  Sounds at least somewhat familiar, right Notre Dame fans?

What happens next?

Dec 30, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart after the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Liberty Bowl. Georgia Bulldogs defeated the TCU Horned Frogs 31-23. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

After Georgia upset Auburn it didn’t mean speed bumps and issues were entirely eliminated from the program.  The Bulldogs lost their regular season finale to rival Georgia Tech two weeks later.  Ultimately Smart’s first season would result in a Liberty Bowl victory over TCU to finish 8-5.

A year later Georgia started the season ranked 15th in the preseason and used a Week 2 victory at Notre Dame as a launching point to bursting onto the scene.  Georgia would end up going 11-1 in the regular season, avenging their only loss to Auburn in the SEC Championship, beating Oklahoma in an all-timer in the College Football Playoff semifinal (Rose Bowl) before falling in overtime in the national championship to Alabama.

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

It’s hard to imagine Notre Dame is playing for a national championship a year from now but then again it was for Smart and Georgia six years ago this week, too.  Saturday night felt like a turning point for Notre Dame under Freeman.  Now can he turn that magical night that was played in front of roughly 60 recruiting targets into a major stepping stone for the Fighting Irish?

A lot sets up for Freeman and Notre Dame to continue on the trajectory of Georgia.  Sure, it’s hard to predict that any team will become the standard in college football years out as Georgia has now, but Freeman has things headed to a better place for Notre Dame.  His 2023 recruiting class currently sits third nationally and he’s made a big impression early in 2024 as the Irish rank second there, trailing only Georgia.

If you’re hung up over loses to Marshall and Stanford still I get it, it means no Orange or Fiesta Bowl trips for Notre Dame this year and we’d all have liked that.  It doesn’t mean something special isn’t brewing here though, either.

In fact, there is a precedent for it we just discussed.

Related Posts:

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Notre Dame’s dominant showing only feels better 24 hours later

Instant takeaways from Notre Dame’s massive victory

Story originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire