‘We Don’t Talk About An Uncertain Future’: Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame Focused on Stanford

Notre Dame appears to be cruising right into the CFP for the second straight year, and doing so while playing some of the best football in the country. 

The Irish are 48 hours removed from a 70-7 drubbing over Syracuse, and with a four win Stanford team on tap, the only question really remaining is where the First Round game will be. 

If you know anything about Marcus Freeman and the program he runs, talk about the CFP is probably the last thing being said in South Bend right now. 

“You learn from the past and you let it go,” Freeman said. “You say, ‘OK, we don't talk about an uncertain future.’ This game Saturday is the Super Bowl and it can't be lip service. Their actions have to follow that. If our actions do follow that, I'm confident. I'm confident in terms of being prepared for the opportunity Saturday. If it's lip service and we all don't commit to doing the things that it takes to improve and treat this game like it's the Super Bowl, then we've all been a part of what that outcome can be.” 

For Freeman and the Irish, the only trophy they are worried about now is the Legends trophy. Because the truth is that if they fail to win that one, there won’t be any more coming after that. If Notre Dame takes advantage of another opportunity on Saturday, it’ll open the door to win a handful of more trophies. 

“The message right now is going to be the opportunity to play for the Legends trophy,” Freeman said. “We got it. We got to do everything in our power to try to keep this team and it's a rivalry game. That's what's most important. We got to respect our opponent. We got to respect the history and tradition of this game.

“And so it's just the maturity to understand the great opportunity you have on Saturday. If you believe it's a great opportunity, it's my job to make sure they understand the great opportunity we have for Saturday. If you believe it's a great opportunity, you'll value the moment. If you don't believe that's a great opportunity, you're just going to lose this moment because you're going to just start thinking about other things. It all starts with believing this is a great opportunity Saturday night. If you truly believe that, then you'll go and focus on and value the moment that you have.” 

Freeman’s job this week is to make sure his team is as motivated and dialed in to take on the Cardinal than they were following their 0-2 start to the season. A team going through the motions during a rivalry week is primed to be upset, especially when the two teams are so lopsided. 

“That's what I told the players the other day. Is your motivation to prepare the same as it was after Texas A&M?” Freeman said. “What was your motivation on that Tuesday or Wednesday as you got ready for Arkansas? We got to make sure that same eagerness to prepare is what we have right now as we get ready for Stanford because you got to let the things that happened in the past go. You got to look at this, this opportunity that we have right in front of us.”

So the main topic of conversation this week will be about how the CFP rankings shake out and the battle for positioning that occurs over the next handful of weeks. People will try to discredit the Irish while they themselves attempt to slide up into a home playoff game. 

Are thoughts of another deep playoff run swirling around Freeman’s mind? Probably. But at the same time those thoughts won’t have any meaning if they don’t take care of Stanford on the road. 

“The biggest thing is right now you're just focused on this one,” Freeman said. “I always say as you look back at something, you say, man, you guys went on a run. Or you guys had a great season. Or you guys did some really good things. But in the moment, you're just so entrenched on this opportunity right in front of you. I think that's what's important. Like that's enough pressure. 

“You start thinking about this big picture and what's happening in an uncertain future, that's added pressure that you don't need. This is the Super Bowl. I've said that plenty of times. But it is.”