September 18 — SOUTH BEND — Marcus Freeman I certainly like his slogans.
Talking about the “12 guaranteed opportunities” his players get each season is a common calling card. His players have also cited it historically.
Saturday, when the The RedHawks When Miami-OH walks into Notre Dame Stadium, it feels like that “opportunity” is far more magnified than any other time his team has faced a Group of Five team.
For the Irish, you either have to show up or show off.
“Just the preparation, the mindset,” Freeman said when asked what it takes. Our Lady can take away from his 66-7 victory over Purdue Saturday. “You can’t take a loss to have the mentality you need to have mentally and physically to prepare the right way for an opponent.”
After a 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois (which remains 2-0 and ranked No. 23 after sitting out last week) two weeks ago, Freeman, his staff and the Notre Dame players were forced to manhandle Purdue in the Boilermakers’ historic rout.
It was probably nice for fans to see the Irish dismantle a team picked last among the 18 Big 10 teams. Notre Dame’s offense, the main subject under the microscope, totaled 578 yards, including 362 on the ground.
Strategist Riley Leonard He ran for 100 yards and three touchdowns and passed for another 112 yards through the air. Jeremiyah Love, arguably the team’s biggest spark on offense, ran for 109 yards on just 10 carries while his backfield partner Jadarian Price ran for 86 yards, most on a 70-yard breakaway home run to signal the end of the first half.
While it was fun, it was also frustrating to see the team come through without any trouble when a week ago asking the Irish not to complete a three-game stretch was too much to ask.
Those three-and-outs happened last weekend, too. After scoring on their opening drive, the Irish failed on a three-play, two-yard drive. Then, once Notre Dame took a 14-0 lead after scoring on their third drive, their fourth time with the ball saw them fail to get the sticks moving once again.
“That’s a challenge we have to overcome,” Freeman said. “You score on the first drive, three-and-out, second drive. Score on the third drive, (then) three-and-out on the fourth drive. You’re not going to score every drive, but we have to be able to move the chains and look at why we did three-and-out and what happened in those series.”
A sustained effort could have knocked the Huskies out two weeks ago. The chance to knock off another Mid-American Conference opponent will be on the cards this weekend. If the Irish want to continue turning the page, struggling against the RedHawks — despite being a talented team that won the MAC a year ago and narrowly lost to Northwestern (13-6) and rival Cincinnati (27-16) — would not only hurt their chances of turning away opponents.
Staying true to the identity of the attack would be a starting point on Saturday.
“I think you always have to commit to running the ball, and that’s what we’re all about,” Freeman said. “We want to be able to run the ball, and you have to be patient. But you also have to, like what happened two weeks ago, not go three-and-out and three-and-out and say, ‘OK, let’s keep running the ball.’ You have to move the chains and change the position on the field. So we have some guys that can run the ball and take it the rest of the way. We know that, and so we have to continue to play to our strengths.”
INJURY NEWS
Notre Dame announced another round of season-ending injuries after the Purdue game, with the impact primarily affecting the already thin offensive line.
Defenseman Jordan Botelho (knee) and center Ashton Craig (knee) will be out for the season, while right guard Billy Schrauth will be sidelined for a few weeks with an ankle injury.
That means junior Pat Coogan will play center this Saturday and senior Rocco Spindler will move to the right side after being the backup to left guard Sam Pendleton.
Freeman also added that the wide receiver Jordan Faison is expected to return this week after missing the last two contests.
Contact Matt Lucas at 574-533-2151 ext. 240325 or [email protected].
