Marcus Freeman Emphasizes Focus as Notre Dame Prepares for Miami Showdown

It’s going to be a week of distractions around the Notre Dame football program.

No. 1 Miami is headed to South Bend for a Top 5 showdown, which means the ESPN circus is coming to Notre Dame.

College GameDay and Bussin’ with the Boys will broadcast from the library starting Friday, and one can only imagine there will be a pop-up shop selling merchandise featuring Kirk Herbstreit’s dog.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman knows this isn’t just another game. He acknowledged as much Monday afternoon.

“I like to call these fun games,” stated Freeman. “Every game's a big game, but this one's a fun one. It's the ones you remember. But the thing I've learned is you’re wasting time thinking about the magnitude of the game and thinking about the implications of this game. The ability to get our guys to just focus on what it takes to give you and the program the best opportunities to have success is so important.” 

It sounds like coachspeak, but every coach in the country understands the distractions that come with rivalry games, especially when so much is on the line.

Freeman also knows some of his players haven’t experienced a game of this magnitude. His message this week needs to be direct and consistent.

Notre Dame’s returning players can expect a familiar message from Freeman over the next few days.

“They're young people,” Freeman said. “Some have never played in a game like this, right? Or some have never done it here. It's important that we all reiterate that message to them over and over becaus their phones are gonna talk about a lot of things that don't matter. They spend so much time on their phones is that so our voice has to be so loud that it reminds them that thought after the thought. What if we win? What if we lose? What happens after?

“The thought after the thought is, OK, win the moment, win what you have right now, win this meeting today, win this practice rep, win this day and we'll get to Saturday.” 

The Fighting Irish got back in the win column over the weekend, creating some positive momentum around Shield Family Hall. That doesn’t mean there isn’t work to do.

Notre Dame failed to meet its standard in the first half against Navy, and players can expect demanding practices and pointed criticism this week. Freeman believes his team can handle that coaching without allowing it to undermine its confidence.

“You find areas that you have to improve,” explained Freeman. “Then you've got to figure out why, why we didn't perform the way we want to in that area. Then you own it, and you go to work, and you fix it. But they don't ever lose confidence. My job is to instill it if they do.

“They understand how talented they are. They want to be the best and so they accept it. They want to be coached. They want to be told how to improve. They don't want to be patted on the back. That doesn't make them better. They know we care about them.” 

In the second half against Navy, Notre Dame dictated the game and played fast on both sides of the ball. The performance looked more like the Irish team that opened the season, but Freeman believes his players have faced adversity throughout the year, not just over the last two games.

“I don't know if the outcome of the first six weeks are that much different than this past one,” stated Freeman. “We always forget the struggle when you look back. First game of the year is a three-point game at half. I don't know what the final score was, but it ain't no different than this last one, right?

“To win a football game is always going to be a struggle in whatever way that means. We've got to embrace that, prepare the right way. Don't be surprised when you're in a struggle, no matter if it's 14-13 at half, or whatever the score was in the previous games. Embrace it and make your adjustments, and go back out in the second half and find a way to win it.” 

Miami and the ESPN circus isn’t the only distraction Notre Dame will face this week. The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday evening, giving the Irish another reason to tune out the noise.

Freeman doesn’t plan to tell his players to ignore the rankings entirely. Instead, he wants them to use the outside attention as a reminder to refocus on what they can control.

“Don't tell them, don't pay attention to it,” Freeman said. “Who cares? That's what everybody's gonna say. It doesn't matter. Use it to remember to get back into the moment. The minute you start thinking about the playoff rankings, or you hear, you look on your phone and somebody tells you where you rank, use it as a reminder to win this moment. I don't wanna lose it. Let's use it.”

Freeman expects to address the rankings with the team Tuesday after practice, reinforcing the importance of staying focused even when the outside noise gets louder.

“Tuesday after practice, I'll tell them, hey, tonight the playoff rankings come out,” said Freeman. “If you read it or hear about it, use it as a reminder to go to bed early. Use it as a reminder to win this moment. How you do that on a Tuesday night is you take care of your academics, you take care of your body, and you force yourself to go to bed, turn your phone off. Have a time set to put my phone down so I can force myself to go to bed because we got early morning meetings on Wednesday.” 

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