Reloading Key to No. 5 Notre Dame Leaving USC with No Regrets
Team glory. One play, one life. Reload. Win the interval.
Marcus Freeman preaches those words every day in the program and if there was any doubt his program embraced his beliefs, then Saturday was a wake up call.
Notre Dame didn’t play its cleanest game but left LA Memorial Coliseum with a thrilling 49-35 victory over USC.
USC head coach Lincoln Riley made it a point to attack Christian Gray on the outside in the first half and the Trojans offense had great success in doing so. Al Golden almost refused to give Gray help, which was a sign of confidence in his cornerback and he was rewarded late in the second half.
The Trojans were driving down seven with less than four minutes to play when Gray picked off a Jayden Maiava pass and returned it 99 yards to end the game and essentially send Notre Dame to the College Football Playoff.
“He had to reload,” stated Freeman. “You hear me say it all the time. Reload. Get your mind back to the place where it needs to be so you can execute. That was a challenge I had for the team before the game, but him, specifically, reload. Don’t let the last play affect the next play.
“There was a play in the first half I thought he did it. It was after the big catch, the next play he got the PI. Christian Gray is a great player, but he had to get back into that moment where nothing else matters but doing your job for us to achieve team glory. Don’t let anything personal impact that. I’m proud of him because he did. He has faith and he’s a really good player and he showed that in the second half.”
Freeman’s words stuck with Gray throughout the game as Gray had to remind himself to calm down and get back to his training.
“Coach Freeman always says reload,” explained Gray. “What he said to me stuck with me. I just kept saying reload, reload.”
Before his pick-6, Gray was animated right before the play. Gray was hyping himself up, and it worked, as his game-sealing interception came on the next play.
“I said, ‘Alright, no more holding back. I just got to break through the chain.’ That’s what I said in my head. I just screamed it out. The best thing you can do is scream it out and just go ball.”
On the offensive end, Notre Dame moved the ball in every way they wanted. The Irish tallied 436 total yards, which included 258 rushing yards.
The one negative play came with around four minutes to play in the third quarter when Riley Leonard threw an interception to John Humphrey as he was trying to find Kris Mitchell on a deep ball.
Notre Dame’s defense didn’t panic as they forced a three-and-out and then the Irish went 62 yards in three plays as Leonard found Mitchell Evans for a 23-yard touchdown to go up 35-21.
“I went to the sideline, and somebody said he had enough time to fair catch it,” said Leonard. “I gotta work on that. To be able to respond is what Coach Freeman talks about all the time. Reload. Win the interval.”
It was a moment Leonard had experienced against Northern Illinois and didn’t respond well. Yet, 84 days later, the senior quarterback responded in a big way.
”Earlier in the year, the next drive it didn’t turn out to be what we wanted,” Leonard stated. “Now, boom, I throw the pick, the defense gets a four-and-out. That’s what should be highlighted. We go down there and I throw it up to Mitch Evans and he makes a great play.
“That gives me a little bit of hope. I have to do a much better job. That was embarrassing on my end.”
Freeman has made sure the pain from the NIU game hasn’t left his program as motivation, but the loss did provide valuable lessons to his team, which Leonard has embraced.
“It was 84 days ago when we lost against NIU,” said Leonard, who finished the game 17-of-22 for 155 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while also adding 50 rushing yards and another score. “I told myself we can win, we can lose, but I’m never walking off the field with any regret. I feel regret only comes from missed opportunities and not failed opportunities. I feel I missed opportunities earlier in the season that left me with regret.
“Now, whether we win or lose this game or not, I live with no regrets letting the ball fly around. 84 days. It’s crazy.”
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