Frank Commentary
I don’t know about you, but I got a tear in my eye at the end of that game. I’m not ashamed to admit it.
That win meant a lot to me, the ND fan, the ND site business owner, but mostly for the guy who yearns desperately for the good guy to win once in awhile.
It seems, in this world lately, the good guy doesn’t win much anymore. In fact, he seems to be winning less and less, but there were a whole bunch of “good guys” who won on Thursday. And not just because they’re “my” team or the team I cover. Ask anyone who has had the chance to be around these Notre Dame men. They’re outstanding individuals, who, as we say so often, “chose hard.”
They choose not to cut corners. They chose to actually get a legitimate education instead of a piece of paper.
They chose to sometimes put themselves into uncomfortable situations because they knew they’d be a better person because of it.
They chose hard, and they play that way. They’ve earned what they’ve gotten every step of the way.
And Thursday’s win was validation for Marcus Freeman, and the message he’s selling to these top prospects every week. You can choose hard and still be successful. You can challenge yourself and be rewarded even more if you choose a place like Notre Dame.
There were many, many doubters. Just as there has been all season. And they keep showing up every week to prove those doubters wrong, and there is always some excuse. They always have some reason to discount this team. Even when they dominate someone, there is a reason that they will find to suggest that Notre Dame just isn’t that good of a team.
They have had devastating injuries, a soul-crushing early loss, and a lot of people doubting these good guys all season. After NIU, they had good reason to doubt themselves….
But, the people who have never doubted this team has been the Notre Dame coaching staff, and they picked this team up from the ashes of NIU and told them they believed in this team. They told them if they played with the effort, focus, and discipline that they know they can play with, that they can beat anyone….and they have….every single time since then. Now, including the vaunted “SEC Champs.”
They’re not “the most talented” team in college football. I think we can all agree with that. But, I do think they’re the hardest working, most disciplined (minus the penalties), grittiest, most mentally tough team in college football today. That won’t assure them that they will win these next two games. Talent, at this point, means a lot.
But what it does mean, most likely, is Notre Dame is going to represent themselves very well, no matter who they play, and it’s very unlikely they will beat themselves.
The Irish, and Marcus Freeman and his coaching and support staff, have built an outstanding culture. They’ve built it the exact way it needs to be built, at least at Notre Dame.
You need players who respect what Notre Dame is. You need players who are unselfish. You have to find players who won’t jump at the next best offer on the table.
You need players who buy into the culture. And when you find those players, and you get enough of them who have all those ingredients plus real talent—then you get the ND football team we get the pleasure to watch every week.
True, it would be nice to have a few of these players who are on these opposing teams. And, I think with more winning, they’ll land more of them in the future, but this 2024 season should be proof positive to all ND fans that it’s just as important to find the right people who fit this culture as it is to find the most talented players.
I also think it’s important to point out that Notre Dame has themselves what appears to be one hell of a coach.
When Notre Dame was looking to replace Brian Kelly, I know a lot of Irish fans were completely, totally, against hiring another first-time head coach. They have had valid reasons to take that stand after a number of previous Irish failures, and I fully understand the reservations behind it.
But, as I pointed out at the time, experience is something every Athletic Director should look for, but it shouldn’t be the only thing, nor the deciding thing.
What’s most important is you find the right guy. As many of you have read me say over and over, Notre Dame needed to find the “it guy.”
But it’s also important to find the “right it guy,” just as it’s important to find the right players to fit the ND culture.
True, Urban Meyer would’ve likely come in and won a bunch of games if you hired him, and probably some other “it guys” as well.
But who can maintain it? Who can build it the right way? Who understands what Notre Dame is, and also understands that they cannot force Notre Dame to be something it’s never going to be? Who is going to accept these challenges, embrace them, and is willing to work within them?
Who is going to represent Notre Dame well? Who is never going to do anything to embarrass the University?
Here is the thing that I think some people don’t understand about leadership. The best leaders have one really important trait, and that is to recognize talented people, and give them the leeway to maximize their potential without micromanaging them. The recognition part is such a huge part of success in football and in any leadership role, not just in the evaluation of prospects, but in the evaluation of staff. The best leaders find the right people who make their job easy and make them look good.
Over the years, some of our customer base has credited me in my ability to find and develop elite talent and what our staff does here at IrishSportsDaily.com. Let me tell the truth about this. I have only one talent. It’s that I can recognize who can do this job well. I think my “hit rate” speaks for that.
But all of these guys will tell you, I didn’t “develop” them. They have the inner drive within themselves that allow them to be as good as they are. I give them enough guidance to get them rolling, and then I stay out of their way. I let them do what they’re hired to do. We don’t have meetings. I rarely tell them what to do.
One of Marcus Freeman’s best talents as a head coach is he hires great people. He hires competent people. He knows who can both identify and develop talent, but also coach them in the cultured environment he wants to create.
And, probably one of the best attributes of Freeman is his humbleness.
He was asked today about being one of two African American head coaches still in the College Football Playoff, and he had this to say about it:
”Again, you're very grateful. It's a reminder that you are a representation for many others and many of our players that look the same way I do,’ Freeman said. “Your color shouldn't matter. The evidence of your work should. But it takes everybody. And that's what I continue to remind myself. When people will try to point the finger at you, it's a great reminder of you're not in this position without everybody, without all these guys.
“That's what I told them in the locker room. I couldn't get off that stage fast enough because everybody couldn't be up there. It's about the team. It's about everybody that puts everything they have into making sure that we can achieve that success. And so, it's a great honor. It's a privilege. But again, as the head coach of this place, I understand we're not in this position unless everybody in this program gets their job done.”
What is said here is important. His color has nothing to do with it, and it’s not about him. It’s nice to be recognized, but the team’s success is not about him. He’s just one of many who has made this team what it is.
And then you contrast that with comments from the opposing coach on Thursday.
“They got two turnovers, and we didn't,” Smart said afterward. “They returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
“So, we basically spotted them probably 14 points off of that, and cost ourselves a possession in the red area when we fumbled down there.”
Smart is right, all of that happened, but one team made all of that happen. The other team let that happen to them…and that is the difference between Georgia’s team culture this year, and Notre Dame’s, and why Notre Dame won.
“So we're down 6-3. We felt like we had a little quick-game pass. Certainly not counting on getting beat that quick at left tackle. And got a sack fumble, which gave them some momentum. But at the end of the day, we got a great red-area defense. We should stop them.”
Way to throw your left tackle under the bus there coach.
Smart wasn’t second-guessing himself afterward.
“We got an opportunity -- we got timeouts,” he explained further. “We got an opportunity to go score. We work two-minute every week, and we stay aggressive with it. We've got a really good pass pro team, and we didn't pick him up on that play.
“He made a great rush, and he got a sack and fumble. I don't question that call because I really agree with the decision to be aggressive and try to go score.”
“An unblocked player that missed a tackle,” Smart said of what led to the Irish kickoff return to start the half. “Usually when that happens, you give the other team credit, but it's not a mistake. We just missed the tackle, right? And when you don't play for a while, sometimes you miss tackles.
“We had leverage on the ball, and we had somebody that couldn't get him on the ground. And that's what football is. It's fundamentals and tackling. We tackle him there, then we got a chance to stop them. But obviously, it played a huge momentum swing for them.”
Again, throwing your team under the bus.
When Marcus Freeman’s team lost to NIU, this is what he said about it.
“I just told them the same thing I just said. I said, we've got to own this,” said Freeman. “Every person in here, every coach has to own it first, and not blame somebody else. That's the only way to fix it is when every, I'm sure, person, everybody outside of here will try to point the finger at some coach, some player, some person. It should be at the head coach. It's my job. But we all have to own this, and we all have to really take a deep dive and fix it. Our leadership will show. If we have true leadership, which I believe we have, they'll take care of the locker room. They'll make sure that these guys, they don't separate.
“But I also told them I've been here. I've been here. This is as low as it gets, and there's only one option for me, and that's to get back to work and get it fixed. That's who I am, and that's who this team is going to be, and that's the way I'm going to lead is I'm not going into hiding. I'm going to get it fixed.
“Man, I'm going to be just as confident in what we're going to be able to do as a football program moving forward as I was going into this game. But there's some serious, some schematical things that we have to attack and get corrected.”
Two things have really stood out to me in these three years under the Freeman leadership. One, how this team responds when something bad happens, and two, how this team responds in the biggest moments. Most head coaches fail for one of two of these reasons, and often both. They cannot get the team to respond well to adversity, and they cannot get the team to believe in the big games. Lots of coaches have shown signs they can handle these at times, but Freeman has put on a master class in his three years of handling this. The next step is the “little” games, which a lot of head coaches struggle with. Can you get your team to respond when they don’t believe a team is a threat…like NIU, like Marshall, like Stanford.
I believe that is coming because of the culture Freeman has built. The future is bright with Marcus Freeman leading the charge, and I feel confident saying that than any other time I’ve been covering Notre Dame football professionally.
A Shout Out To Four Warriors
There are four shining examples of the Notre Dame culture that need to be recognized, for a couple of reasons.
Defensive end, Junior Tuihalamaka, took a big chance choosing ND. Anyone would followed his recruitment knew that he struggled with choosing the Irish because of the distance, and frankly, the culture shock. Just like Manti Te’o before him, it was a leap of faith, and frankly, it wasn’t looking like he’d play a lot of minutes this season with Jordon Botelho and Boubacar Traore in front of him. A lot lesser men would’ve pouted and doubted their decision. Tuihalamaka kept grinding, and now he’s one of the biggest reasons ND is still in this playoff.
The same can be said for Jaylen Sneed. Things haven’t quite worked out as well for him as he’d likely want since signing with the Irish, but Thursday’s game was clearly the best game he has ever played in an Irish uniform. He’s becoming an outstanding football player. It’s clear this game means more to him than almost anyone. He also could’ve quit, but now he’s another very important, and increasingly critical piece to Notre Dame’s defense.
Lesser men would’ve quit.
What about two others?
Pat Coogan and Rocco Spindler had started a lot of games for Notre Dame, but their starting spots were taken away. Both players have just one more year of eligibility. They could’ve shut it down, decided to go into the transfer portal, but they’re men of character. They kept grinding and now they’re a huge part of this success as well.
In fact, Pat Coogan is the leader of this offensive line. Just watch any pre-game offensive line video and there is clearly one person leading this group, and it’s Coogan. More important, there was no bigger “man” on the field on Thursday than Coogan. He didn’t win a lot of individual battles early, but he won when it mattered, and not only did he win, he owned, and was a big part of the reason ND was able to close out this game.
Again…warriors…team…culture players.
MVP
I think ESPN and the Sugar Bowl got this one wrong. I love me some Riley Leonard, but the true offensive MVP of the Sugar Bowl was Mitch Jeter. I’m not sure who got the “game ball,” but he deserved it. He’s overcome so much, and he made so many critical, clutch kicks that allowed Notre Dame to play the way they wanted to play, and not the way Georgia wanted Notre Dame to play, and that is truly the key to winning a game. Congrats to Mitch Jeter for struggling through a very difficult time to deliver in a huge way.
Final Thoughts
I saw my good buddy Sean Milligan posting on Facebook about how much he loves Marcus Freeman and this Irish team, and it was so great to see, but it also made me kind of sad. I’ve had the pleasure to write about and get to know so many great ND players and men over the years that I’ve covered this team, and his post made me think about all of those guys. How much blood, sweat and tears they poured into making ND great, and it just didn’t happen. I wish all those guys the best, and I wish they would’ve had the opportunity to play for Freeman, in this culture, and with this coaching staff. There would’ve been a whole lot more wins had they had that chance.
I’m thrilled to see so many former Irish players embrace what they’re seeing, and being so supportive of it.
And Some More Final Thoughts
I just want to tell Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, and Kirk Herbstreit that you’ve been wrong about Notre Dame this entire season. Your bias, and your smugness against ND has left you all eating a big old turd sandwich. I will enjoy watching you to try to explain how the SEC Champs lost to lowly Notre Dame. There will surely be an excuse, as there has been all season.
I anxiously await watching Ryan Clark’s smile as he watches Cam Newton try to explain how Notre Dame, a team he was so sure didn’t belong in the playoff, and couldn’t hold up against any of the best SEC teams, physically manhandle Georgia…the best team the SEC had to offer.
Please keep picking agains the Irish. You look more foolish every week.
There is no question the SEC has the best “talent” in the country, but what they don’t have, and why they got embarrassed in this playoff, is they don’t have the best “football players.”
This is still a team game, and I predict the SEC will continue to slide because a lot of the prospects who are interested in playing for the SEC are more concerned with “what’s in it for me” than “how can I help the team.”
That’s why ND whipped Georgia’s butt, whether they want to believe that or not.