Perspective did not change much for Marcus Freeman even after a 70-7 demolition of Syracuse. The Notre Dame football team's head coach downplayed the historic blowout, stressing that his job is to keep the Irish locked into the same mindset every week, whether the score is 70-7 or 10-7.
As he told reporters, per Tyler Horka of On3 Sports, the goal is to celebrate wins, then immediately turn the page and search for corrections, because “it’s never going to be perfect” no matter how gaudy the margin looks.
That pursuit of consistency just got more complicated. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported on X that linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Notre Dame’s fourth-leading tackler, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Losing a young tone-setter in the middle of the defense is a brutal blow for a team still chasing big postseason goals. Viliamu-Asa has been central to the Irish’s physical identity, and his absence will force Freeman and defensive coordinator Al Golden to reshuffle roles in the second level.
The timing makes it sting even more. Notre Dame is riding a nine-game winning streak and just delivered a statement that will resonate with the College Football Playoff committee.
A defense that had been rounding into dominant form must now replace one of its most active tacklers on the fly, leaning harder on veterans and younger backers who have not logged as many snaps in high-leverage moments.
On offense, the Irish at least have a counterweight to that bad news. Jeremiyah Love tied Jerome Bettis’ single-season program record with his 20th touchdown in the rout of Syracuse, continuing a year in which he has been both explosive and relentlessly steady.
Freeman praised Love’s week-to-week reliability and said his consistency builds confidence for the entire roster, per On3 Sports.
So Notre Dame leaves the Syracuse game with its best win of the season and one of its toughest breaks. Freeman has made it clear there will be no dwelling on either.
If the Irish are going to turn this surge into a genuine playoff push, they will have to honor Viliamu-Asa’s season by defending at the same standard without him and letting stars like Love keep driving the offense forward.
