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SOUTH BEND ― It hurt.
It hurt when he stepped out into a bone cold Atlanta night to board a team bus in late January having just coached the longest season in Notre Dame football history.
It hurt when he stepped through a sea of snow flurries for the Irish Athletic Center and one of his team’s 14 practices in spring.
It hurt when he found himself with a too-rare quiet moment ― at the office, in the car ― as he spent more time than usual as close as possible to home in April and May.
It will hurt as Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman finds ways to unwind this summer before another college football season beckons come the last week of July. He’ll never outrun all the emotions wrapped into that 34-23 College Football Playoff national championship loss to Ohio State on January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
That’s cool. Let it hurt.
From a big picture perspective, there was a lot for Freeman to like about the 2024 version of Notre Dame football. Subtract that inexplicable/inexcusable home loss to Northern Illinois ― on second thought, don’t, because that’s what helped make Notre Dame football what Notre Dame football was last fall ― and there were plenty of reasons for Freeman to smile.
The 13 straight wins from coast to coast post-Northern Illinois. The first home playoff game/win over Indiana. The victory over Georgia in a Sugar Bowl played one day late because of the Bourbon Street terror attack. The quick turnaround and travel and victory over Penn State in the Orange Bowl, the same Orange Bowl whose trophy sits prominently displayed in a second-floor Guglielmino Complex hallway.
Plenty to be thankful…
Source link : https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/sports/college/football/2025/05/29/notre-dame-football-marcus-freeman-national-championship-loss-nick-sirianni-advice-ohio-state/83921326007/
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Publish date : 2025-05-29 21:10:00
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